E Wayne Ross – Page 44 – Critical Theories in Education

Rouge Forum Update: Resistance News! Wars! Pestilence! Attacks on Teachers! The Response! And More!

The Rouge Forum blog, complete with notices of great recent publications about schools and society is here.

And here are two samples:

Kim Scipes: The AFL-CIO’s Secret War Against Developing Countries–Solidarity or Sabotage [pdf] (20% discount!)

Don Perl: Book Chapter – ”Heeding Humble Voices” [pdf]

This is also the first call for nominations for election to the Rouge Forum Steering Committee, 2010. Please send nominations to Community Coordinator Adam Renner. Nominations close September 10.

Little Red Schoolhouse:

Richard Brosio at the Rouge Forum Conference 2010: “Marxist Thought: Still Primus Inter Pares For Understanding And Opposing The Capitalist System” [pdf]

Dems Push Through Bribe to Teachers (and cops) to Continue the RaTT: House Democrats today pushed through a $26 billion jobs bill to protect 300,000 teachers and other nonfederal government workers from election-year layoffs. (Don’t ask about the food stamp cuts…)

Ok. About the Food Stamps: Though many in the education community are celebrating last week’s Senate vote for the so-called Edujobs bill, I can’t find any joy in it. In fact, I am shaken and ashamed because, to pay for it, the Senate snatched $11.9 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Alpert on What the Rich Do When They Lose a School Board Vote–Try to Abolish the Board: “These guys are trying to water down the school board because they didn’t like the way the election turned out,” said John de Beck, a longtime board member. “Himelstein is like the hired gun for the rich. He has no qualifications and he has no training in how to run a school.”

A Note from the Local Valedictorian:

School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker.

Latest from Historians Against the War

To members and friends of Historians Against the War,

Here are some notes, followed by our latest more-or-less biweekly listing of recent articles of interest.

1. Two authors who have frequently been featured in our listings of “articles of interest” have come out with new books this summer. Boston University professor Andrew Bacevich’s latest book is Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War (Metropolitan Books), and Tom Engelhardt’s new book, based on his “TomDispatch” e-mailings (see two articles cited below) is The American Way of War: How Bush’s Wars Became Obama’s (Haymarket Books).

2. Tom Hayden has initiated an online petition supporting WikiLeaks at http://www.gopetition.com/petition/38165.html. The preamble says, “We believe that WikiLeaks and those whistleblowers who declassify documents in a time of secret war should be welcomed as defenders of democracy, not demonized as criminals. We support their First Amendment rights and welcome their continued disobedience in response to a long train of official deception.”

Rouge Forum Update: All out October 7th!

Up the Rebels on October 7th! The Rouge Forum Flyer

Sixty Five Years Ago Fat Man and Little Boy Fell on Japan

Opposing Views on The Bombings:

Richard Frank in the Weekly Standard

Gar Alperovitz on Hnet

Little Red Schoolhouse:

Obamagogue Defends Education Agenda As Class War Agenda:
Saying that reforming education is perhaps “the economic issue of our time,” President Obama went before a major civil rights organization on Thursday to defend his main education program against criticisms from some minority and teachers groups.

KIPP and Teach For America Boost Duncan Grants–$50 million plus for Toadies.

Civil Rights Groups Hide Their Own Report On Obamagogue’s RaTT:
Seven civil rights groups have written a “Framework for Education Reform” that while not a trouncing of the Obama and Duncan education agenda definitely is critical of it and offers up a remedy for the nation’s education ills. That document was supposed to be released on July 26, 2010, but the press conference scheduled was cancelled. A spokesperson quoted in the Washington Post said it was due to scheduling conflicts by leaders of the groups.

Jesse Hagopian: What I learned from Teaching in DC Schools:
The problem with Rhee’s thinking is that our goal should not be to discover “success stories” of kids who were able to transcend the deplorable conditions of life that make it so hard for so many to succeed, but rather to change those conditions in the first place.

Detroit Bamn Loses Lawsuit vs Bobb’s Private Funding:
Foundations that help pay the salary of Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb do not harm the public good by making the contributions, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday.

GAO: 15 For-Profit Colleges Frauding: Many of the largest for-profit entities were named among the 15 sites targeted by GAO investigators:
University of Phoenix, with more than 400,000 students; Argosy University, part of the 136,000-student Education Management Corp.; Kaplan College, part of the 119,000-student Kaplan Higher Education operation owned by The Washington Post Co.; and Everest College, part of the 110,000-student Corinthian Colleges.

Read the full Rouge Forum Update here.

Rouge Forum Update: Firings in DC–Build October 7th!

Don’t forget Rouge Forum 2010 next week! More info here.

Little Red Schoolhouse:

Michelle Rhee of DC Fires 241 Teachers After Hugging AFT’s Weingarten for Helping Out on Sellout Contract. The AFT Does–Nothing Much and More Educators are on Firing Line: D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced Friday that she has fired 241 teachers, including 165 who received poor appraisals under a new evaluation system that for the first time holds some educators accountable for student improvement in standardized test scores….Last month, union members and the D.C. Council approved a contract that raises educators’ salaries by 21.6 percent but diminishes traditional seniority protections in favor of personnel decisions based on results in the classroom. The accord also provides for a “performance pay” system with bonuses of $20,000 to $30,000 annually for teachers who meet certain benchmarks, including growth in test scores

States RaTT Each Other Out: Less than two months after the nation’s governors and state school chiefs released their final recommendations for national education standards, 27 states have adopted them and about a dozen more are expected to do so in the next two weeks.

Their support has surprised many in education circles, given states’ long tradition of insisting on retaining local control over curriculum. The quick adoption of common standards for what students should learn in English and math each year from kindergarten through high school is attributable in part to the Obama administration’s Race to the Top competition. States that adopt the standards by Aug. 2 win points in the competition for a share of the $3.4 billion to be awarded in September. “I’m ecstatic,” said Arne Duncan, (Obamagogue’s Boy Toy)

Stimulus Bait and Switch: The San Dieguito high school district must return $2.8 million of already-spent stimulus funds to the state. The district has to give back the money because it automatically converted to a different category of school system that is entitled to drastically less stimulus funds. The expense comes at a rough time for the district. It’s also facing a $2.78 million reduction in property-tax revenue calculated since June. To deal with the loss of funds, the San Dieguito Union High School District board Tuesday approved laying off 15 nonteaching workers and reducing several school services as steps toward adjusting future budgets.

Read the full RF Update here.

Rouge Forum Update: Rouge Forum Update: Censored News From NEA and AFT Assemblies

Rouge Forum Update: Censored News From NEA and AFT Assemblies

Report from NEA Rep Assembly: The Education Agenda is a War Agenda

NEA RA Photos (All banned on the Rethinking Schools and other Liberal listserves).

The NEA 2010 Rep Assembly: The Longer Version

George Schmidt on the Totalitarian Welcome to Bill Gates at AFT Convention

Bill Gates Speaks to AFT while Some Walkout and Most Cheer the Convicted Monopolist:

Ohanian on Broad Foundation Impact on Schools and the Demagogue, Obama

1/3 of Detroit Principals are New Hires: More than a third of Detroit Public Schools will have new principals when school begins in September after a wave of retirements and reassignments.

Touchy-Feely DPS Boss Arraigned: Former Detroit School Board President Otis Mathis III stood mute Tuesday at his 36th District Court arraignment on charges of misconduct in office and obscene conduct.

Who’s Running For Detroit School Board? Nobody: Nobody wants to run for two available seats on the Detroit Public Schools board. The deadline to get on the Aug. 3 primary ballot passed May 11 without anyone filing, meaning only a write-in candidate can be elected this fall.

Detroit Boss Bobb Already Reneges on Vile DFT Contract: In his outline for the 2010-11 budget, Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb stated that he will raise class size for grades 4-12 beyond the negotiated limits in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the School District and the DFT. The EFM has stated that the contract allows for teachers to receive compensation for oversized classes.

Detroit Snooze Editorializes vs Tenure and Seniority: “ Spurred by a growing body of research that shows teacher quality is the No. 1 in-school predictor of student achievement, states and cities from New York City to Colorado are moving to ensure school districts consider other factors — such as performance and attendance — when staffing the nation’s classrooms, despite enormous political hurdles and risks.

Another Look at the AFT Convention (alt site)

Rouge Forum Update: Toward a Nationwide School Strike October 7th

Toward a Nationwide School Strike October 7th

Rouge Forum Flyer [For Nationwide School Strike (2 pages easy PDF download for meetings, caucuses, etc.]

Aging Pole Dancer Hides Fee At CSU School: “In preparation for Ms. Palin’s arrival, workers had transformed the cafeteria’s dining hall. It was draped with crimson tablecloths, festooned with orchids and surrounded by chain-link fences.”

Strange Bedfellows (save the hankies): Bamn represents DPS: “The board is asking for a temporary restraining order to prevent the layoffs and outsourcing while the case is in court. The board’s attorney, George Washington, said the motion for an injunction will be filed this afternoon.”

Schoolbrary: Library and School Fittingly Covered with a Prophylactic: “The San Diego City Council voted Monday to start building a downtown library with a school on two upper floors. The plan passed despite a downturn that has cut back on library hours across the city and the fact that fundraisers still have to scrounge up more than $30 million in donations.” See the unforgettable image here.

Ohanian on College of Ed Review of Her Site: “This just confirms my view that in schools of education, critical thinking skills are nothing more than reheated mashed potatoes. And as far as “difficult to integrate” the material on my site into “most curriculum and pedagogy for teacher education,” are these people out of their minds? My site only concerns the daily life’s blood of practicing teachers. If this weren’t true, why would the Bank Street College of Education be invited me to launch their new season?”

Detroit School Budget Deficit Booms:The budget deficit for Detroit Public Schools has ballooned from $219 million last year to $363 million, according to budget documents released Tuesday by the district.The 66-percent spike in the debt occurred during the first full year of leadership under Robert Bobb, the state-appointed emergency financial manager. Bobb was appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to help eliminate the district’s deficit. His term expires in March. A year ago Bobb pledged to end overspending and expected a $17 million surplus that would help whittle the $219 million deficit accumulated from previous years.

Read the complete June 30, 2010 update here.

Rouge Forum News #17: Call for submissions (articles, poetry, art)

The Rouge Forum is a group of educators, students, and parents seeking a democratic society. We are concerned about questions like these: How can we teach against racism, national chauvinism and sexism in an increasingly authoritarian and undemocratic society? How can we gain enough real power to keep our ideals and still teach—or learn? Whose interests shall school serve in a society that is ever more unequal? We are both research and action oriented. We want to learn about equality, democracy and social justice as we simultaneously struggle to bring into practice our present understanding of what that is. We seek to build a caring inclusive community which understands that an injury to one is an injury to all. At the same time, our caring community is going to need to deal decisively with an opposition that is sometimes ruthless.

For the next issue of the Rouge Forum News, we invite essays, poetry and art from students from kindergarten through graduate school. Grad students, looking for an outlet for a working paper that you would eventually like to turn into a peer-reviewed article? Send it to us for publication and feedback in the Rouge Forum News. High school students, have a piece of poetry or drawing or comic strip that you’d like to get out to 4000 readers? Send it to us for publication in the Rouge Forum News. K-12 teachers and professors, received a good paper at the end of the spring term? Encourage your students to submit it to the Rouge Forum News.

Please send your submissions via a Microsoft word attachment to adamrenner70@gmail.com . Deadline is September 1.

Issue 17 will be published in the fall 2010. Visit www.rougeforum.org for past issues of the Rouge Forum News and other information about the Rouge Forum.

Rouge Forum Update: Chicago teachers; Puerto Rico students win!

The Rouge Forum update, with details about the Chicago Teachers CTU victory, the students’ win in Puerto Rico, and much more (see the ongoing tragedy of Detroit) is here: www. richgibson .com/blog/

The Rouge Forum Conference schedule, August 2-5, 2010, George Williams College of Aurora University, Williams Bay, WI, is here.

June 19: Juneteenth

1865 – Over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Galveston, Texas, United States, are finally informed of their freedom. The anniversary is still officially celebrated in Texas and 13 other contiguous states as Juneteenth.

Little Red Schoolhouse

Kellen Blumberg, High School Essay Winner, on the Ratt: “In fact, tests have shown that the emphasis on standardized testing has actually led to a reduced amount of “teaching higher-order thinking, time spent on complex problems, and amount of high-cognitive context in the curriculum.” National standardized testing has led to a teaching style that is less innovative and more rigid. Creative teaching styles have been shackled by new standards, and the importance of high test scores has taken precedence over the value of genuine learning. Standardized testing has led teachers to “teach to the test” instead of instilling the fundamental principles of critical thinking,”

Duncan Loves Those Ed-Union Hacks and His Ratt: “Mr. Duncan used his time with the lawmakers to say that the administration does not view charter schools as the answer to closing the achievement gap between affluent students and their low-income peers. He also went out of his way to downplay what he said was the media’s misportrayal of the administration’s agenda as a battle between education reformers and teachers’ unions.”Resist those easy platitudes and narratives,” he said. “There are dozens of examples of breathtaking union leadership.”

What Actually Does Motivate People?

CSU System Fees Hiked Again: “California State University Board of Trustees on Friday approved a 5% fee increase for undergraduate students for the fall, taking action at a special board meeting in Long Beach. The fee hike translates to a $204 increase for full-time undergraduates, bringing the total university fee to $4,230 for the 2010-2011 academic year. Including campus fees, the cost for an undergraduate to attend a Cal State campus would rise to $5,097…Last fall, undergraduate fees rose 32%, after an unprecedented reduction in state support, resulting in a deficit of $584 million.”

D.C. Teachers Ratify Merit Pay Contract: “Teachers in D.C. have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a tentative union agreement, a deal that’s been almost three years in the making. More than 1,400 union members voted in favor of the contract, while approximately 400 voted against it.”

NYTimes Letters: Big Tests Create Big Cheats: “Testing is fine as long as it has no high-stakes results; test scores along with other information help us know what reforms are working, as the editorial points out. But once these tests are linked to high-stakes consequences, like teacher pay, tenure or the closing of schools, the results are no longer dependable for diagnostic purposes, either for schools or individuals.”

Read the full update here.