St Louis Forum on March 27 ~ plus link to great film

[proud2BlibKansan]

I attended a forum in St Louis yesterday. It was hosted by AFT members. There were teachers there from 3 states - IL, MO and KS. We discussed RTTT, NCLB and Obama's education policies.

Before the panel discussion we saw a film ~ Pushing the Chicago Plan. You can watch it online at this link; it's about 20 minutes long. The film is about the struggle by parents and teachers in Chicago to push back against Arne's agenda. It also covers activities of a group in Chicago called C.O.R.E.

It was fascinating to hear stories from teachers in other urban areas that are so similar to our stories. One of the teachers on the panel was an ESL teacher and he talked about the failure of his district's scripted reading program to meet the needs of his students. One of the other teachers mentioned research her local union had found that indicates scripted reading programs actually slow down progress in acquiring reading skills.

Susan Ohanian has some interesting things to say about scripted reading programs.

Teachers on the panel also discussed cultural illiteracy as a result of increased emphasis on testing and the deskilling of the teaching profession. And yes charter schools were a hot topic as well. It was interesting to hear the different standards established for charters in different states.

A quote from the film I really liked:

We used to call urban teachers heroic. Now we fire them.

[Catshrink]

1. Very disturbing...

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Indeed

Let's allow that to be our motivator.

[Catshrink]

3. I sent the link to our union membership

wonder how many will watch? There are a few, but most appear to be very apathetic. I think they all feel isolated from all that is going on until one day it bites them in the butt.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. It's biting us now

and I'm not sure enough of them have woken up.

[teacher gal]

4. What a quote.

Thank you for the link to the film. I'm gonna watch.

[Hannah Bell]

5. was there any discussion of push-back? or organizing?

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Yes

We are going to try to do some networking at our national convention this summer and see where we can go from there.

[Dinger]

10. I Wish The NEA Could Join Forces With The AFT

Pipe dream of mine I guess. arne's corporatization republican ass-kissing scheme has to be stopped.

[Starry Messenger]

8. k & r

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. I posted a link to this film in GD

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8042179

[Dinger]

11. Goddamn, Duncan Has To Go

Every single public school teacher in the country needs to unite against this horseshit "reform" plan. Does Obama really think he can win (and his supporters in Congress) without the vote of the teachers? In very general terms, my problem with Obama's education agenda is it's narrow focus. The school, home, and community all are a part of the educational process. If only teachers, or only parents, or only communities are blamed, you leave out two major components of learning success for students. That is a big mistake, period.

[Dinger]

12. Kick And Rec #5 (Greatest Page)!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Dinger]

13. Wow, The Guy In The Yellow Shirt Really Called Out duncan, AWESOME RANT!

duncan was rendered mute.:)

[Dinger]

15. "It took A Death For You to Come to My School"

Goddamn, this kid is REAL!:patriot:

[Dinger]

14. "Separate And Unequal"

That's the ticket!:sarcasm:

[tonysam]

16. That video is good. n/t