Michelle Rhee involved in the California Calderon ...

Choosing Democracy: Michelle Rhee involved in the California Calderon ...: National education reform advocate sought Calderon's influence Al Jazera America.  by  Trevor Aaronson   October 31, 2013  ...

Choosing Democracy: National Association for Multicultural Education -...

Choosing Democracy: National Association for Multicultural Education -...
Conference in Oakland. Nov. 6-10. 

Choosing Democracy: Obama is not a socialist. But, we are !

Choosing Democracy: Obama is not a socialist. But, we are !: D EMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA 75 Maiden Lane / Suite 702 / New York, NY 10038 212-727-8610 / fax 212-608-695...

Choosing Democracy: Rhee's Failures- Promotion, PR, not Evidence

Choosing Democracy: Rhee's Failures- Promotion, PR, not Evidence: Jeff Bryant Without doubt the poster person for the reform movement has been ex-chancellor of the Washington, D.C. publ...

Bart Strike settled- DSA Convention on Schedule

Bart Strike settled- DSA Convention on Schedule: The Bart Strike has been settled.  We await a vote on the contract. Building the Next Left : Rebirth and Renewal A ...

DSA Supports Bart Unions: Will hold its convention in Emeryville and Oakland

 DSA, which is celebrating its National Convention in Emeryville the weekend of October 25‐27 will face some of the inconveniences faced by 400,000 Bay Area commuters. But we join with the broad Bay Area progressive community in unconditionally supporting the BART workers in their fight for a fair contract

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) joins with the broad labor and social justice community in the Bay Area (including Jobs with Justice and the Chinese Progressive Association) in supporting the strikers of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).

Even after the BART employees, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, and BART management were nearing a difficult economic agreement, management insisted that workers sacrifice long established work rules. The union negotiators offered to submit the rules to impartial binding arbitration, but the BART management team, led by a highly paid union busting attorney, refused. This precipitated the strike.

For the Bay Area Chinese Progressive Association statement on the strike see:

http://www.cpasf.org/standwithbartworkers

For the Bay Area Jobs with Justice statement on the strike see:

http://portside.org/2013‐10‐19/support‐bay‐area‐transit‐strikers

Opinion: On the road to school success - Michael H...

Choosing Democracy: Opinion: On the road to school success - Michael H...: Opinion: On the road to school success - Michael Hancock and Kevin Johnson and Angel Taveras and Julián Castro - POLITICO.com Interesting....

This is sadly how education policy is shaped.  I don't know of any improvement in schooling from the "progress" listed by Kevin Johnson.

Sacramento Unified Superintendent Resigns. Why thi...

Choosing Democracy: Sacramento Unified Superintendent Resigns. Why thi...: Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jonathon Raymond has resigned.  He will leave the district in December. Raymond was ...

What if we default on our debt?

Choosing Democracy: What if we default on our debt?: “Sitting on the Pavement, Thinking About the Government” – What if we default on our debt?   (Dylan, “Subterranean Homesick ...

Building the next left in the Bay area

California continues to underfund its schools

Choosing Democracy: California continues to underfund its schools: Valuable new report from California Budget Project. Rising to the Challenge: Why Greater Investment in K-12 Education Matters for Califor...

NAME Conference - Oakland

Choosing Democracy: Test Obsession is Killing Education

Choosing Democracy: Test Obsession is Killing Education: by Jeff Bryant. Scores on the SAT –  “the nation’s most widely used”  college entrance exam – made news headlines recently, and the aver...

Teaching for Social Justice Conference

13th Annual Conference

Teaching for Social Justice– The Politics of Pedagogy

Saturday, October 12th, 2013 - 9:00am – 5:00pm

Mission High School

3750 18th Street, San Francisco, CA

For directions, click here


Note: Sacramento held such a conference for 19. However, with the abolition of
Bilingual/Multicultural Education at Sac State, the conference is gone.  We encourage all to attend the S.F. event. 

Building the Next Left- in the Bay Area

The Humanist Hall.

Mismatches in Race to the Top Limit Educational Improvement: Lack of Time, Resources, and Tools to Address Opportunity Gaps Puts Lofty State Goals Out of Reach | Economic Policy Institute

Mismatches in Race to the Top Limit Educational Improvement: Lack of Time, Resources, and Tools to Address Opportunity Gaps Puts Lofty State Goals Out of Reach | Economic Policy Institute

Diane Ravitch: School privatization is a hoax, “reformers” aim to destroy public schools

Diane Ravitch: School privatization is a hoax, “reformers” aim to destroy public schools
Excerpt
"Reformers"
They assert that the best way to save education is to hand it over to private management and let the market sort out the winners and the losers. They wish to substitute private choices for the public’s responsibility to provide good schools for all children. They lack any understanding of the crucial role of public schools in a democracy.

The central premise of this movement is that our public schools are in decline. But this is not true. The public schools are working very well for most students. Contrary to popular myth, the scores on the no-stakes federal tests— the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — are at an all-time high for students who are white, black, Hispanic, and Asian. Graduation rates are also at an all-time high.

More young people than ever are entering college. Even more would go to college if the costs were not so high.

Of course some schools and districts have very low test scores and low graduation rates, and this has always been true. Most of these schools and districts have two features in common: poverty and high concentrations of racial minorities. The combination of these two factors is associated with low test scores. Children whose parents are poor and have low educational attainment tend to have lower test scores.

Children who are poor receive less medical attention and less nutrition and experience more stress, disruption, and crises in their lives. These factors have an ongoing and profound effect on academic performance.

That is why poor children need even more stability, more support, smaller class sizes, and more attention from their teachers and others in their schools, but often receive far less, due to underfunding.

Unfortunately, many people are unwilling to address the root causes of poor school outcomes, because doing so is either too politically difficult or too costly.

Teaching for Social Justice - Conference

13th Annual Conference

Teaching for Social Justice– The Politics of Pedagogy

Saturday, October 12th, 2013 - 9:00am – 5:00pm

Mission High School

3750 18th Street, San Francisco, CA

For directions, click here


Note: Sacramento held such a conference for 19. However, with the abolition of
Bilingual/Multicultural Education at Sac State, the conference is gone.  So, please attend the
S.F. event. 

Choosing Democracy: California must change its history books before ad...

California must change its history books before ad...:      California  is  at an important tipping point.  I and my graduate students  participated in the 2009  efforts to revise th...

Spared schools in Chicago see few financial benefi...

 Spared schools in Chicago see few financial benefi...: Mathew Blake In pushing through the closures of 50 neighborhood Chicago schools this summer over the vociferous objections of the teach...