Choosing Democracy: Minimum funding level for schools increased in May...

Choosing Democracy: Minimum funding level for schools increased in May...: Report of the California Budget Project 5/16/2013 Increased Revenues Boost the Minimum Funding Level fo...

Choosing Democracy: k-12 Education Budget- The Governor's May Revise

Choosing Democracy: k-12 Education Budget- The Governor's May Revise: California. The Governor’s May Revise. Education Funding- From Dept. of Finance. With the passage of Proposition 30, the 2012...

Excellent new TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson on schools and creativity

New excellent talk.

Sir Ken Robinson.  On schools, education, teaching, and creativity.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley.html

“Education does not go on in the committee rooms of legislatures.” May, 2013.

Walmart heirs invest in Rhee's Students First

Laura Clawson.

StudentsFirst has been having a rough week, what with the bad publicity around their choice of one of the authors of Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" bill as "reformer of the year." The organization repudiated the bill in response, but didn't disown the legislator. In the meantime they've been blasted by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and many Democrats nationally who are realizing just how poisonous Michelle Rhee's agenda is. But it's also been a good week for StudentsFirst financially: The Walton Family Foundation is donating $8 million over two years. Sorry, not donating. "Investing."

Think about that for a minute. When the Walmart heirs take a break from paying workers so little they qualify for food stamps and refusing to pay Bangladeshi contractors enough to have fire extinguishers in their factories, their philanthropic agenda is right in line with the Michelle Rhee education policy agenda. This isn't a first, either; $8 million over two years represents an increase in the Walmart investment in StudentsFirst, but the Waltons have already been a substantial source of money, giving $3 million to StudentsFirst since late 2010. StudentsFirst is also only one of many corporate education policy groups the Waltons have backed to the tune of $1 billion so far. Just what might a family whose vast wealth comes from low-wage labor and fierce anti-unionism like so much about so-called education reform? There's the obvious effort to bust teachers unions. But there's more than that. As I wrote last year:

Read more.  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/30/1205905/-Walmart-heirs-invest-8-million-in-StudentsFirst-s-school-privatization-agenda

Choosing Democracy: Rhee strikes again - in California

Choosing Democracy: Rhee strikes again - in California: This morning's Sacramento  Bee has a full page ad directed at the California Senate Education Committee.  It claims to be in favor of...

Michelle Rhee, Once More, Fast and Loose with the Truth | California Progress Report

Michelle Rhee, Once More, Fast and Loose with the Truth | California Progress Report

Choosing Democracy: Michelle Rhee's group endorses anti-gay legislator...

Choosing Democracy: Michelle Rhee's group endorses anti-gay legislator...: Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst is putting together quite the record as far as legislators it selects as "reformer of the year.&qu...