Obama says criticism of Arne's programs "reflects a general resistance to change"

[madfloridian]

He further said in his speech to the Urban League that it reflects "a comfort with the status quo." It appears he is going to back the policies of the DOE in education reform in spite of any criticism. His mind is made up.

I don't think he gets it. He appears to think that any criticism of his pal, Arne, is resistance to change and comfort with the way things are. I am quite sure he is much smarter than that.

He's a brilliant man, and he knows they are turning education over to billionaires and their foundations. Yet he persists in saying teachers are not accountable, and they are not wanting change. I am intensely disappointed. Sounds like the decision is made, there will be no swerving from the plans.

Obama defends education initiative

President Obama challenged teachers and students alike to be accountable Thursday, defending his Race to the Top program he acknowledges is controversial. Civil rights leaders and black groups have criticized the program as punishing schools in poor, African-American areas, but the president appealed to them in a speech to the National Urban League "as a president, and as a parent."

Actually in the real world, in reality, the civil rights groups appear to have backed down from their criticism in just two days.

"For anyone who wants to use Race to the Top to blame or punish teachers – you’re missing the point," Obama said. "Our goal isn’t to fire or admonish teachers. Our goal is accountability. It’s to provide teachers with the support they need to be as effective as they can be. It’s to create a better environment for teachers and students alike."

There it is again. He throws out the meme that teachers are not held accountable.

That is the fault of teachers and any groups that oppose the privatization of education.

We let him get away with it.

"They may feel trapped in a community where drugs, violence, and unemployment are pervasive, where they are forced to wrestle with things no child should have to face," Obama said. "There are all kinds of reasons for our children to say, 'No, I can’t.' But it’s our job to say to them, 'Yes, you can.' Yes, you can overcome. Yes, you can persevere. Yes, you can make of your lives what you will."

Thus, the president said that by investing $4 billion in his program, he is "challenging" about 5,000 schools, "so many of which are in minority communities," to do a better job of preparing students for the future.

President Obama, just for a moment, stop the "yes, you can" in relation to education. Some can't. Some can not meet your goals. Some will not go to college ever. It is dream that is not to be accomplished.

That 4 billion of which you speak is going in large part to fire teachers and principals and give the money to companies to run schools privately and without much regulation. That is called privatization. For-profit schools, the last frontier of what was not free market.

When they picked Newt Gingrich to be a spokesperson, we had to know that free market schools were on the agenda.

"Unlike No Child Left Behind, this isn’t about labeling a troubled school a failure one day, and throwing up our hands the next," Obama said. "It’s about investing in that school’s future, recruiting the whole community to help turn it around, and identifying some viable options for how to move forward."

Many of us have not forgotten that when teachers in an entire school in Rhode Island were fired, Obama and Arne had words of praise. Race to the Top IS about replacing faculties and principals, and in many cases turning it over to private management companies.

The education reforms are those of Bill Gates and other billionaires who are planning on setting the education agenda. Remember Bill Gates?

He is the one who famously said that teachers do not improve after 3 years.

Teachers have intrinsic motivation Gates can neither measure nor (apparently) conceive of. I appreciate money, and I’ll say thanks to praise from almost anyone. But I especially treasure it from kids. Last month I told my class I’d miss them. They shouted, “We’ll miss you too!” They asked me if I’d teach them next year. I was honored, far more than by anything Gates could do or say.

But Gates proves things with charts, one of which says:

"Once somebody has taught for three years, their teaching quality does not improve thereafter."

That is one of the billionaires that President Obama and Arne Duncan are listening to for advice on education.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Right. While "changing" students and teachers into political pawns. K&R

[roguevalley]

54. he can bite me. they never ask us and they belittle our disagreements.

typical.

[LWolf]

2. He left out a word:

We are resistant to harmful change.

His change is not the change we believe in, because it is harmful.

Comfort with the status quo my ass.

[Nite Owl]

10. +1

harmful is the word alright.

[glitch]

21. He has established a pool of ignorance around him, he only listens to a corporatist echo chamber

It is a damn shame, he had promise. But it doesn't matter about him, we can lead the way without him, maybe he'll catch up.

[madfloridian]

45. "corporate echo chamber"....

Indeed.

[erodriguez]

37. No doubt LWolf

Teachers would embrace change as long as it will help their students.

Obama's plan definitely does not.

[laughingliberal]

51. +1 nt

[readmoreoften]

74. +1

[DrDan]

3. more testing and easing the firing process . . . . reform we can believe in

[katandmoon]

4. K&R. He's a republican in sheep's clothing.

[Enrique]

5. Obama at his triangulating best

:thumbsup: :sarcasm:

[Jefferson23]

6. Yea, it's a great idea, and one that Duncan can defend?

I'm still waiting for the data that backs Arne's work in Chicago.

K&R, as I see this thread has been unrecommended already.

[gratuitous]

7. One thing that surely won't help is more money

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.

[Spheric]

8. K&R Thanks for keeping us posted on this abomination. /nt

[obxhead]

9. K&R

[Hell Hath No Fury]

11. Shameful, simply shameful.

:( I love "change", I am all for it -- but change of the the right kind is the key. From everything I am reading and hearing, this kind of change is NOT the kind our kids and teachers need.

[Nite Owl]

12. This is not the kind of

change I voted for at all. Listening to Duncan now on xm radio, POTUS channel. He talks real fast, sounds like a scam salesman.

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. Obama promised change and is delivering it despite the efforts of some obstructionists

[w4rma]

15. Obama is going to go down as a lousy President. (nt)

[LostinVA]

25. yup

[tbyg52]

129. Sadly, I agree. I can't even listen to him anymore. I don't trust him. nt

[LWolf]

16. I take pride in obstructing harmful change, and that is exactly

what Obama is delivering.

Helpful change is change I can believe in. And that is not on Obama's agenda for public education. It never was, as he clearly pointed out in the infamous FOX interview when he was asked what Republicans do better than Democrats, and he offered up education.

[newspeak]

107. yeah, right Little Boot's "no child left behind"

has been a real winner. Hey, at least some of his family and felonious friends have made money on the scam. When teachers spend most of their class time preparing for a damn test at the end of the year, I find it counterproductive for one to actually use their thinking skills. It's like cramming as much information into young minds and then hoping they spew it out at the end of the year. Debate, critical thinking seems to be passe now.

[LWolf]

110. Cleverly,

nobody prohibits critical thinking or debate. The threats involved with high stakes testing, and the kinds of "reforms" schools have to undergo when they haven't made AYP for a couple of years, result in standardization of instruction, scripted curriculums, rigid scheduling that leaves no TIME for anything else.

[Forkboy]

18. LOL

:crazy:

[joeybee12]

40. Nope, he's just funneling money to his buddies at the expense of students...

...don't belittle us when we can spot a scam a mile away.

[kwassa]

59. And some of that change is stupid and destructive.

I have yet to see on DU any supporters of Obama's education policies who have more than a very superficial knowledge of the major issues in education right now.

And any who support all the initiatives that are teachers.

[Jim Sagle]

66. He's the Tony Robbins of education.

[IndianaGreen]

78. I suppose that defending Social Security will also be labeled as obstructionism

by the DLC Administration.

[DURHAM D]

14. "reflects a general resistance to change"

I am so tired of Obama talking down to us as if we are stupid.

He may not assign a label to me. He obviously doesn't know anything about us.

He is elitist and it is no wonder the Democratic base is losing interest.

[fascisthunter]

17. we know a scam when we see it

but you just keep defending it...

[truth2power]

92. Did you mean that to be a reply to the OP? n/t

[fascisthunter]

117. oh heck no...

I meant that for the admin... Obama in particular.

[mdmc]

19. I try to embrace change

I hate union busting

[kenny blankenship]

20. Reagan couldn't get away with this. Bush couldn't do it either.

The Democrats would unite against corporate takeover of education policy led by a Repuke President. They'd see it coming from miles away and stop it cold. But get a Judas goat to lead them and suddenly they don't know which way is up.

[LostinVA]

26. "Judas Goat"

Excellent way to put it.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

43. +10

[Marr]

22. Odd. I never hear them talking about how 'change takes time' when it

means more money for fatcats, and less for regular people. That kind of change seems to be easy-peasy.

[kenny blankenship]

27. Very good observation.

When it comes to things Democrats hate, Obama moves decisively and with speed -to implement them. However when it's something Democrats want, he is all caution, timidity and reaching-out compromise.

[eilen]

61. Well he sure waited for Sen Kennedy to meet his

maker before rolling this one out. The Senator is likely rolling in his grave over that speech.

[truth2power]

99. Yes, this destroys the argument of many around here,

that change takes time, we should be patient, blah blah blah...

When Obama wants something done he's certainly capable of moving with all deliberate speed.

[Hannah Bell]

76. +1000.

[Whisp]

114. of course change shouldn't take time.

:eyes:

after all, the generation of everything solved in a half hour tv show can't wait for no change. snap!

[Marr]

125. One of us certainly has a short attention span-- that is true.

I noted that the Obama Administration accomplishes some types of change very rapidly, while other types of change... well, they "take time". They pursue some types of change aggressively and without compromise, and others demand a consensus be reached with the other side.

They don't compromise with the left, but can't wait to compromise with wealthy interests-- even when there's no reason to.

[LostinVA]

23. WTTTTTFFFFFFF

I wasn't expecting much from Obama, but he's wound up being a hell of a lot worse than i thought he would be.

[JVS]

24. They reflect resistance to some horrible plans.

[Karmadillo]

28. Go team! Dems will win! Don't rock the boat and jeopardize our chances!

nt

[Catshrink]

29. 3% of Black &

The Urban League was one of eight civil rights organizations that released a report this week calling the president's $4.35 billion education initiative an ineffective approach for failing schools. The report says federal data shows that just 3 percent of the nation's black students and less than 1 percent of Latino students are affected by the first round of the administration's "Race to the Top" competition.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_education

[Pisces]

30. Change is hard, and everyone fights it.

[LWolf]

32. Reply # 16. nt

[truth2power]

Are you being deliberately obtuse? ...

So I say to my son, "I'm tired of picking up after you. Things have got to change." So he burns the house down. In the midst of my ensuing hysteria, he says, "Well, you said you wanted things to change."

Yes, this is hyperboly. No need to mention it. But as numerous posters on this thread have tried to say, there's change, and then there's CHANGE.

Often, when a person refuses to sign on to a disastrous policy, they're accused of "fearing change". That argument has no merit if the change being promoted is going to come to a bad end.

[Starry Messenger]

31. "Yes You Can"...

pull yourself up by your bootstraps. GMAFB.

[TheKentuckian]

33. All the sudden he's got balls as big as church bells too. Promised to veto if his plan is watered

down.

There won't be any "pragmatic" acceptance of half loaves on scuttling public education and busting unions.

[erodriguez]

35. The Blueprint for Education, and RttT are the same failed policies of NYC's Children First agenda

As I think of the harm that eight years of Children First has perpetrated on the kids, families and teachers of my city, I cannot help but dread the path we are taking as a nation.

BTW, please read my article on the front page of my blog for more of my opinion on what is happening in NYC. If you do, please leave a comment.

Thanks and keep up the good work MF

[JVS]

36. I hope they water it and he vetos it. We don't need this bullshit.

[truth2power]

105. Interesting, isn't it. How different from the way things went on the public option. n/t

[jgraz]

34. Well, at least he didn't say it will hurt the troops. This time.

Progress, I guess... :shrug:

[madfloridian]

38. He insults many workers by insisting on college for all.

It is an impossible dream.

There is an interesting comment at this link:

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/111567-obama-defends-education-initiative-

"He seems to keep insinuating that everyone should go to college,that that is the end all answer to financial stability in ones life. But, not everyone is college material and we still need plumbers, auto mechanics, electricians and all the other service oriented careers. If he insists everyone get a college education, it will only succeed in diminishing the true value of that degree and it will end up being the equivalent of a high school diploma today."

That is from the comments section.

Did you notice that neither he nor Arne put the responsibility on kids?

[Raineyb]

91. College for all? Who the fuck is going to pay for it?

Even countries that have free college education for their citizens don't insist that everyone get it. They also will put their citizens through trade schools so that their citizens can be productive members of society.

This country just wants to turn out mindless automatons to work as cogs for their corporate masters and then won't even pay for the education needed to get the jobs.

[newspeak]

108. well, if it's college for all

There's going to be a lot of janitors and McDee's workers with masters degrees.

[truth2power]

109. This, more than anything, convinced me that Obama doesn't know what he's talking about...

Aside from what you've stated above, how is anyone who hasn't majored in law or medicine EVER going to be able to pay off their student loans? What, on a social worker's salary? Even a teacher's salary? Don't make me laugh!

99% of college graduates are going to be in a state of peonage for the rest of their lives trying to pay off their student loans. Just another way to assure that only the elite can avail themselves of a higher education.

I can't even express my disgust with what Obama and Duncan, who know next to nothing about what they're tinkering with, are doing to the educational system in this country. Pfft!

[JDPriestly]

159. The expression "college material" is not one I would use.

Quite frankly, I know a guy who is a mathematical genius. The other day he made the coffee in an organization we belong to -- but he did not use a filter. He is completely lost when it comes to anything practical.

It's best to be a bit balanced.

I know people with college degrees who work as handymen or who make furniture or design gardens. They love what they do. It's not one size fits all.

But everyone should have the ability to learn what they need and want to know. That is to me the purpose of education.

[Jefferson23]

39. Kick

[EFerrari]

41. There's nothing NEW about trying to dismantale our public schools, Mr. President.

The Republicans have been at it for years. "That's not change, that's more of the same."

[Orsino]

195. +100 n/t

[Radical Activist]

42. Take a few quotes out of context...

paint a worst case scenario, cram it into a cookie cutter narrative.
Rinse. Repeat daily.

[madfloridian]

44. No, I do not do that. It is not my style.

I am not going to quietly watch public education being dismantled and teachers being denigrated. I can't do anything about it, but I can talk about it.

And I will continue to do so.

The fall in line crap went out of date after Bill Clinton used it. People realized it was a way for the people who speak out on issues to be kept in their place.

No more.

[Radical Activist]

46. You'd be a lot more effective

if you left the mind-reading and exaggerations out of your posts. Expecting that is not the same asking ask you to keep in your place.

[madfloridian]

50. Effectiveness is in the eye of the beholder.

There are some whose opinions no longer matter to me.

[Radical Activist]

53. Yes, that's the point.

When I'm used to one person being dogmatic about an issue and seeing a habit of exaggeration, hyperbole, etc ... anything decent that person posts in the future is likely to be ignored anyway.

[madfloridian]

55. I don't expect you to respect anything I say, never have.

so that is one less thing for me to worry about.

[QC]

67. You'd be a lot more effective if you'd stop insulting everyone's intelligence

by pretending to be what you so obviously are not.

[proud2BlibKansan]

82. And you'd be more effective if you offered solutions instead of criticism

and blind loyalty to policies that are so blatantly wrong.

[Catshrink]

100. Cosider the source

OPB

[Radical Activist]

127. Tennessee got $501 million.

Can you tell me exactly what portion of that is going to corporate, non-public charter schools? Since, we're getting daily posts about this being a grand conspiracy to destroy public education, I'd like to see just how much of the money is going to private charters. Has that info been in the daily posts we get on this topic?

[Recursion]

198. There's no such thing as a "non-public charter school"

That's an oxymoron.

[Hannah Bell]

130. decided to drop the che avatar, eh?

[Radical Activist]

194. Did you recognize my new avatar

without looking at the quote? I'll give you a hint. It's someone with actual relevance to modern American politics.

[EFerrari]

47. Wrong. Go watch the video where Obama chastises a schoolul of teachers

in Rhode Island for not "improving" and agrees they should be fired when the state eval showed they DID improve that year.

madfloridian isn't the one who needs a good rinse.

[Radical Activist]

126. So this is about having an emotional response to supposed insults to teachers?

“The whole premise of Race to the Top is that teachers are the single most important factor in a child’s education from the moment they step into the classroom,” Mr. Obama said.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/07/29/37obama.h29.html?tkn=YPSFTuIwSMnvc2wxv6mpspx0ROUv0Qah0KlB&cmp=clp-edweek

Feel better?

[EFerrari]

132. Emotional response? What about misrepresenting a whole schoolful of teachers

on national television?

That wasn't "emotional", that was Obama.

[Radical Activist]

183. How is that relevant to

his education policies as President?
Other than it helps to create the "Obama hates teachers and is out to get you" narrative.

[Catshrink]

134. Single most important IN the classroom

but you know what? Education takes place at home also. Parental involvement and attitudes as well as attendance are also huge indicators of student success. A student could have the best teacher in the world but if that kid would get his ass out of bed in the morning and to school on time, the teacher doesn't much matter. If a student hears his parents dissing education and questioning its worth, he won't feel motivated to pick up a book or do his homework.

But you don't hear Obama talking about parental responsibility or student accountability.

[Radical Activist]

140. Check his father's day speech.

He speaks about parental responsibility all the time.

[Catshrink]

143. Once is not "all the time."

[Radical Activist]

173. Which is why you'll find many more examples if you google.

Genius. :eyes:

[Radical Activist]

191. Obama even mentioned parents in the Urban League speech.

Why didn't mad quote that part of the speech in one of her daily threads?

---
We also know that as significant as these reforms are, there’s going to be one more ingredient to really make a difference: parents are going to have to get more involved in their children’s education. (Applause.) Now, in the past, even that statement has sparked controversy. Folks say, well, why are you talking about parents? Parents need help, too. I know that. Parents need jobs. They need housing. They need -- in some cases -- social services. They may have substance abuse problems. We’re working on all those fronts.

Then some people say, well, why are you always talking about parental responsibility in front of black folks? (Laughter and applause.) And I say, I talk about parent responsibility wherever I talk about education.

Michelle and I happen to be black parents, so -- (laughter and applause) -- I may -- I may add a little umph to it when I’m talking to black parents. (Laughter.)

But to paraphrase Dr. King, education isn’t an either/or proposition. It’s a both/and proposition. It will take both more focus from our parents, and better schooling. It will take both more money, and more reform. It will take both a collective commitment, and a personal commitment.

[Diane R]

141. "You don't hear Obama talking about parental responsibility"....oh, really? Father's day speech?

[Catshrink]

142. One example out of how many?

Have you heard Arne Duncan talking about parental responsibility?

BTW, you never answered my question about why you left teaching.

[Diane R]

150. Okay....I had a very ill son, and needed to be a full time mom.

I also answered your comment about a 'few' bad teachers. If you can't find it, this is what I said:

"Do you want to hear about the special reading teacher who choked his students (leaving bruises and finger marks), when they couldn't read, yet was allowed to teach five more years until his retirement? I was the classroom teacher who had to deal with rightfully irate parents.

Do you want to hear about my own son's first grade teacher who yelled at him until he cried because he was behind in school work after returning from being in the hospital for a month? That son was a fine student; D.D.S at the age of 26.

Do you want to hear about a fifth grade teacher whose students nearly had nervous breakdowns because she was such a tyrant? One boy, the son of a friend of mine, threw up every day before he had to go to school.

How about the second grade teacher I worked with who was only removed from her classroom after she went crazy in front of the kids, started pulling down the window shades, pushing over bookshelves, throwing everything she could find, and finally threw a glass vase at the principal...all in front of the kids.

Or, the fourth grade teacher who spent the whole year as my son's teacher (a different son), teaching nothing at all...and a few months into the next year simply got up from his desk about ten o'clock, walked out of the classroom, and never returned. Did not even walk into the office to say he was leaving.

None of those teachers should have been teaching. That's a small example; I know of plenty others.

If we can't get rid of those teachers, then I think it's fair to say we have a broken educational system."

[Catshrink]

152. Sorry to hear about your son.

I responded to the rest in another post.

[Radical Activist]

186. wow.

Those are worse than my memories.

I remember a 5th grade teacher who used to "punish" the class by making us copy, word for word, a page long statement about why we should behave and be quiet. If a few students acted out then the entire class had to copy this page exactly, without a comma out of place, a prescribed number of times. Usually between 10 and 50 hand written copies of the page. This happened at least twice a week. I was much older before I realized that the punishment was a way for the teacher to give herself time to do things other than actually teach the class. I heard she retired a few years later.

I think many of the objections are about defending the system of seniority pay. I have a hard time with a system that discourages people from entering the teaching profession because the starting pay is very low, yet rewards teachers for staying in the job long after they burn out.

[Diane R]

190. Your concerns are my concerns. I'm sad to see qualified new college grads blocked out of the system

[rpannier]

154. Actually teachers are not seen as the single most important factor

regardless of their rhetoric
They have given Bill Gates a pivotal role in this process and he has nothing but contempt for teachers as is shown by his, "Teachers don't improve after 3 years."
If you're so concerned about where the money is going you have 2 options
1. Go back and read the copious amount of information that has been provided here by numerous posters
or
2. Research it yourself

[Karmadillo]

48. Could you please point out how the quotes were taken out of context? Thanks.

nt

[Radical Activist]

52. In the OP

and the drum beat of basically identical posts.
nt

[Karmadillo]

56. Sorry I wasn't clear. I was hoping you would give some actual examples of quotes taken out of

context. Thanks.

[Jakes Progress]

64. You were clear. He just doesn't have a fucking clue

about what is happening.

[Jim Sagle]

68. Yeah he does. He's helping MAKE it happen.

He's not a Radical Activist, he's a Radical Corporatist.

[Radical Activist]

188. I'm not a sucker

who believes everything I read without critically examining it.

[Catshrink]

101. Doesn't want to know

fingers in ears singing la-la-la-la

[Radical Activist]

131. Fine. I feel like a glutton for punishment today.

Let's start with the random Bill Gates quote that keeps getting brought up in these posts. In this case, it's a completely out of context comment having nothing to do with the main article being posted.

Gates thinks teachers don't improve after 3 years, but what does that have to do with Race to the Top? If you look at the actual proposals it's easy to see that much of Race to the Top is focused on professional development for teachers. If Obama agreed with Gates then he wouldn't propose spending millions on professional development for teachers who are well beyond the three year mark. That's simple logic, isn't it?

Mad's habit of bringing up the petty insult from Gates is an intellectually dishonest smear job to read Obama's mind and imagine that he agrees with Gates despite clear evidence to the contrary. Throwing in that line isn't about understanding Race to the Top. It's about painting an emotionally driven picture of a grand plot to insult and attack teachers. "They're out to get you!!!"

[Diane R]

145. Good work, RA. I'm personally thrilled our president has the guts to take on educational reform...

...even though it's clear SOME teachers will be dragged kicking and screaming. This is about students getting the education they deserve, not preserving the jobs of all teachers for decades (irregardless of performance), until they want to retire.

[Name removed]

156. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kwassa]

58. Why don't you correct the context, then?

Instead of making a baseless post?

[spoony]

73. Another vote to have you elaborate. nt

[Jakes Progress]

63. You really are out of your league here.

You show that you have no idea about these issues. You castigate a truly dedicated teacher and loyal Democrat, one who supported Obama against all comers during the primaries and election. You have nothing to say about the issues. You just don't like the truth being told about what this administration is doing. Read a little. Study a little. Then if you are telling the truth about not liking the quotes that are used, you will see that you won't like the administration's education program. Swallowing the neocon propaganda and defending them is hardly radical.

[Radical Activist]

124. I spoke to people in the Governor's office putting together Illinois' Race to the Top proposal.

It's a public school plan. It's not giving more control to corporations to run private charters. It primarily works within existing public schools to support their efforts. I argued with their approach to a few things, like whether they were targeting vocational programs to low-income areas and college-track programs to higher income areas. That's a problem in many school districts. But, it was not a corporate private charter plan to destroy public schools.

So when I read the daily accusations of a big devious plot to destroy unions, public education and all things good in the world, it sounds a little too...conspiratorial for me to take seriously. Being the boy who cried wolf doesn't make someone progressive either.

[Jakes Progress]

133. In this case

you are addressing someone who has had experience working with governor's offices. Speaking with their PR departments is not where an activist would go to get information, let alone a radical one.

Let's do it this way. Do you support arne duncan's plans for education? Do you support his work in Chicago schools? Do you believe that the plans being implemented will enhance children's education, produce better teachers, and improve schools? If so tell us how the paper tests will do so. Please tell me how hiring less qualified teachers, less experienced teachers, paying lower salaries, and increasing test prep curriculum will go anything other than erode public education.

In the future, I would suggests you avoid Madfloridian's posts if the words of a teacher offend you so much.

[Radical Activist]

139. Who says

I was talking to the PR department? I'm enough of an activist that I know more than a few people who work on the Governor's political staff.
I don't agree with your description of Obama's goals.

[Jakes Progress]

157. Lack of education background

explains why you would confuse goals and outcomes. You still didn't answer any of my questions? Could it be that you aren't really informed about the subject, that you really don't know what is going on? Of course this didn't keep you from trash talking someone who does know, who understands how education works and how it definitely won't work.

Sounds like you have a real good connection there in the gov's office. Maybe real close. Just hazarding a guess, but maybe you didn't call the PR office, but from it? I only say this because your replies so closely resemble damage control from those offices. If you do not work for the Illinois government, then I apologize. Even past that is your assurance that you got the straight skinny, that the people you say you talked to didn't get their talking points from the PR office.

Let's try again. Please explain why you think the efforts of arne duncan have benefitted Chicago schools. What are the qualifications he has to be running Obama's ed program? Do you think that the plans they have put forth will produce better schools? If so, why?

[Radical Activist]

174. I hope you're not a teacher.

Everyone has memories of bad teachers who talked down to and ridiculed students that didn't behave properly. Is that a common defense mechanism when you can't respond to an argument? It's amazing how much I'm seeing of that behavior in this discussion. Your accusation about where I work is a nice added touch of deflection.

No, I'm not going to walk down your long path of leading questions. I'm aware of the little puzzle pieces that combine to form the meme: "they're out to get you!" Instead, why don't you respond to comment 127 or 131. It's amazing that, with four people throwing outraged insults at me, no one is making any substantive response when the specifics are challenged.

I don't claim to be an expert on education, but I recognize manipulative propaganda when I see it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

147. And did those people in the governor's office tell you that their RttT application got extra points

for increasing the number of charter schools, eliminating tenure and tying teacher pay to student performance?

Yep. Didn't think so.

[Diane R]

151. What is so wrong about eliminating teacher tenure? What other profession gets such protections?

[proud2BlibKansan]

153. What's wrong with due process?

Tenure is a right every employee in every profession should have. Instead of applauding its removal from education we should be insisting tenure be extended to all workers. Unless you have a problem with due process.

[Diane R]

162. Nothing is wrong with due process. But there is often NO process or attempt to remove bad teachers.

[proud2BlibKansan]

163. Bullshit

[Diane R]

169. I was hoping for info to demonstrate how bad teachers are removed. I was right; they aren't.

[proud2BlibKansan]

179. That info has been posted repeatedly; why should we bother to repost

when the teacher haters refuse to read it?

Wash DC just fired 250 teachers this week, based on low evaluations. Is 250 not enough for you? They're also firing teachers in Chicago and in LA and in cities all across the country.

Where have you been?

If you can't read there's a bunch of teachers here who could help you. But if you just refuse to pay attention, then I see no point in posting facts over and over.

[Diane R]

202. And why so many personal attacks? It diminishes your argument.

[Radical Activist]

175. Could you link and cite

the parts of the IL plan which do those things? Or are we back to hypotheticals?

[madfloridian]

180. Here's a link. It is Arne's plan. Can't get RTTT unless charter cap is lifted.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/5437

"So, what is the Obama administration now doing? Its $4.3 billion "Race to the Top" fund will supposedly promote "innovation." But this money will be used to promote privatization of public education and insist that states use these same pathetic tests to decide which teachers are doing a good job. With the lure of all that money hanging out there to the states, the administration is requiring that they remove all restrictions on the number of privately-managed charter schools that receive public dollars and that they use test results to evaluate teachers."

[Radical Activist]

182. So, no, you can't.

You print plenty of articles with second-hand characterizations, insinuations, and people painting a worse case scenario. It's all part of your narrative that they're out to get teachers. But I've asked three times on this thread how much Race to the Top is spending on private, corporate charters schools in either the Illinois proposal or the Tennessee plan which, was one of the first recipients.
There's a difference between what someone thinks it COULD do and observing what it actually does. The silence when I ask for specifics instead of scare tactics is deafening.

[madfloridian]

185. I am tired of your insults that I fearmonger and post untruths.

But here is the info on TN...I am not sure they have gotten the money yet. I read last week that Arne was visiting there to finalize plans. Took a long time to get their money.

"In March 2010, Delaware and Tennessee were awarded the first RTTT funds, with Delaware receiving $100 million and Tennessee $500 million. On July 27th, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced an additional 18 states (plus the District of Columbia) to be in the running for an additional $3 billion in funds."

http://etwus.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/the-fierce-urgency-of-now/

You can find a lot of this info easily rather than trying to put me down and discredit me. I think I will update my list, as least I don't have to read it.

[Radical Activist]

187. The TN plan was endorsed by the TN teacher's unions.

Once again, the difference between what someone says RTTT COULD do and what it actually does is a very important distinction to make. I've read descriptions of the TN proposal and it doesn't look like a plan to destroy public education in favor of corporate charters. Your link doesn't suggest that either.

This seriously calls into question the persecution narrative of a devious plot to destroy public schools that you continue to repeat day in and day out.

[donco6]

189. The answer to your question is No one knows yet.

The money isn't distributed until the state has identified the lowest 5% of schools, and has met with them to go over the 4 options. Most schools are on break right now, so they can't meet until they get back.

Here in Colorado, we've been identified as finalists in the second round of RTTT. The state has completed the draft of the Dogmeat List based on last year's CSAP data. But all that has to be updated now that the latest test results have come in. So we don't know who's on the list either.

We also don't know how many schools will ultimately be converted to corporate charters. We already have Edison schools here. Green Dot is making huge pitches at all the conferences. But until schools choose or are given their "choice" by administration, we won't know how much RTTT money is flowing to corporate charters.

I'm not aware of Tennessee's specifics, but I would expect it to be somewhat similar to here.

[Radical Activist]

193. Thanks for giving one of the few rational, fact-based responses in this discussion.

Speculating with worst case scenarios is a lot easier than looking at what's actually happening. I'll just point out that what Duncan did with public charters in Chicago doesn't mirror Colorado charters.

[donco6]

199. I know. I sometimes think Colorado's charters are much worse.

When someone starts an inner-city charter, with a focus on the highest-need students and a willingness to work with kids who can be really hard to work with, I personally don't have a huge problem with that. But here, for every one of those, I think there are about 25 to 30 charters that were formed for essentially "white flight." And ironically, those charters that do start with a mission for low-performing kids would ALL be on the Dogmeat List if they weren't able to classify themselves as "Alternative" schools. Only 9-12 schools can do it, and you can only do it if you're giving an alternative diploma (i.e., a diploma that won't grant you admission to a regular, 4-year college). If you're holding firm for a regular CCHE diploma, you can't escape the Dogmeat list.

Fortunately for us, our reforms are finally showing real results - all scores up at high school for all grades, all subject areas - even math. Most grades show much higher than average growth. But it's taken us SEVEN years to make it this far - and it took closing ALL of our schools, choosing new instructional models and curriculum, implementing the curriculum one subject per year. NCLB only gives you three years to do all this, and that's just flatly impossible. Even if you walked into a school in year one, and the curriculum had already been swapped out, teachers trained in the curriculum, books purchased, everything ready to go, you'd have 7 months before the first round of CSAP. Research shows that not only do you NOT see improvement in the first year of curriculum implementation, you actually see a DIP in achievement as teachers learn the ins and outs of the new program. So you really have a little over two years to "make it happen." And remember, you'd have to change English, Math, Writing and Science all at once.

The arbitrary timelines in NCLB have to be adjusted to match reality. It's really unfair.

[proud2BlibKansan]

200. The most unfair part of NCLB is the 100% mandate

It's unrealistic. We have 4 more years until 100% of our kids have to be proficient. And I don't see any moves to adjust that. Surely Arne and crew understand how ridiculous this 100% mandate is.

The games they are playing with the numbers are also ridiculous. One of the charter schools here had only 17% of their kids score Proficient in Math and Reading. But they made AYP because that was an improvement over last year. Yes. 17% and they made AYP.

I yearn for the day when we can stop this numbers game and go back to teaching.

[chervilant]

95. Blech...

Perhaps sarcasm is the hobgoblin of little minds...

[JanMichael]

160. "Hobby - Confusing others"

Good work?

[laughingliberal]

49. K & R nt

[Greyhound]

57. Oh the irony! K&R.

Blinding...
:kick: & R

[leveymg]

60. They're destroying one the last things in this country that truly does help the poor- public schools

It's called blaming the victim - the global elites really do want to turn this into a giant Third World country - something like Russia or Brazil. Prepare to be assimilated . . .

[amborin]

62. "change" as in: hurry up w/ the privatization & financialization of everything

[Samantha]

65. Gates is a college drop-out and doesn't have the credentials

to teach. So why would his evaluation of the education system, and teachers themselves, be relevant to this discussion? Because he has a lot of foundation dollars to donate???

Additionally, he has been quoted as saying, "Americans are dumb." Hey, speaking for myself, I am not dumb. I am not under the impression that the population of the United States as a whole is dumb either. True, we do have pockets where people have not had the best advantage of getting an education, but that does not mean they lack the capacity to learn. It means in some cases they have not had the best opportunities to improve their knowledge. Still, some in areas such as these excel in skills in other areas. The American population is NOT DUMB.

[sabrina 1]

69. So sad to think that this is the same person who, as a candidate

promised teachers his respect. He made wonderful speeches about the importance of the Public System in this democracy, and how he would fight to preserve it and improve conditions for those dedicated teachers (he seemed to know they existed back then) who he felt didn't get the appreciation and the help they needed.

He makes great speeches ....

[JDPriestly]

70. What are teachers' unions doing to organize charter school teachers?

That's what needs to be done. The only point of the charter school movement is to break the unions. The unions need to go where the teachers are.

[proud2BlibKansan]

84. Were working on it

But we don't have the staff to get that done.

[w4rma]

121. Better move quicker. (nt)

[JDPriestly]

161. Better move quicker is the right response.

I fear that we will gradually lose the right to public education -- that the charters will slowly but surely begin to charge, first almost nothing and then more and more. The whole point of charter schools is to promote private education. It is unrealistic to think that schools that certain parents view as equal to the snobby, private schools be acceptable to the snobby-type parents without supplemental private funding.

I live in a lower income area -- not the absolutely poorest of the poor but lower working class. Parents cannot afford private schools.

My friends who live in wealthier areas of the city send their children to public schools -- that receive a lot of support from the wealthy communities in which they are located and the wealthy parents who put their children in the schools. Fundraising drives that require a lot of participation by parents are not very successful where we live. But in the wealthy areas of Los Angeles County, those drives support all kinds of extras for the children. Charter schools will not deal with the basic disparities in our society that are at the root of the disparities in educational opportunities.

Those that have shall get . . . .

Charter schools will make the disparities worse, not better. A lot of lower income parents are being fooled into thinking that charter schools will be better for their children. It's very unlikely. The initial enthusiasm, the promises, the newness will wear off, and the schools will prove a disappointment. That is my prediction.

[madfloridian]

85. Charter teachers fired who tried to unionize.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/6499

[TBF]

170. Exactly right - and I predict they will use the "teach for America"

model of hiring recent grads to teach dirt cheap. It's disgusting to watch this.

[JDPriestly]

71. Bill Gates was from a wealthy family. He attended private schools.

If his private schools were so wonderful, where in the world did he get his crazy idea that public school teachers are bad.

And what makes people like Bill Gates think that charter schools which are not organized by education professionals or by professionals of any kind will produce better teaching than existing public schools?

It's a lot of wishful thinking on the parts of very wealthy men like Gates and Eli Broad. They should stick to the things they do well. Running classrooms is not one of them.

They should keep their noses out of children'ts education.

\\Broad attended Detroit public schools; he was a 1951 graduate of Central High School, and the youngest Michigan native to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He made his initial fortune in real estate at his company Kaufman & Broad (now KB Home). He is also a founder of the financial giant SunAmerica. He was CEO of SunAmerica, now a subsidiary of the American International Group, until the year 2000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Broad

Broad apparently attended Michigan State. He went to public schools and did just fine in his life.

***

At 13 he enrolled in the Lakeside School, an exclusive preparatory school.<15> When he was in the eighth grade, the Mothers Club at the school used proceeds from Lakeside School's rummage sale to buy an ASR-33 teletype terminal and a block of computer time on a General Electric (GE) computer for the school's students.<16> Gates took an interest in programming the GE system in BASIC and was excused from math classes to pursue his interest. He wrote his first computer program on this machine: an implementation of tic-tac-toe that allowed users to play games against the computer. Gates was fascinated by the machine and how it would always execute software code perfectly. When he reflected back on that moment, he commented on it and said, "There was just something neat about the machine."<17> After the Mothers Club donation was exhausted, he and other students sought time on systems including DEC PDP minicomputers. One of these systems was a PDP-10 belonging to Computer Center Corporation (CCC), which banned four Lakeside students—Gates, Paul Allen, Ric Weiland, and Kent Evans—for the summer after it caught them exploiting bugs in the operating system to obtain free computer time.<18>
. . . .

Gates graduated from Lakeside School in 1973. He scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT<21> and enrolled at Harvard College in the autumn of 1973.<22> While at Harvard, he met Steve Ballmer, who later succeeded Gates as CEO of Microsoft, and computer scientist Christos Papadimitriou, with whom he wrote a paper about pancake sorting.<23> He did not have a definite study plan while a student at Harvard<24> and spent a lot of time using the school's computers. He remained in contact with Paul Allen, joining him at Honeywell during the summer of 1974.<25> The following year saw the release of the MITS Altair 8800 based on the Intel 8080 CPU, and Gates and Allen saw this as the opportunity to start their own computer software company.<26> He had talked this decision over with his parents, who were supportive of him after seeing how much Gates wanted to start a company.<24>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates

Why are these men so worried about the quality of public education? They were both intelligent but really learned what they needed to know because of their own motivation. So they want to throw a lot of people who invested a lot to become teachers -- to enter a serious, demanding profession, people who chose to dedicate their lives to educating other people's children -- out of jobs. Why? What is the point in that?

From their own life histories they should know that the factors that made them successful were not in their classrooms but in the rest of their lives. If these men want to help the children of our country, they should be educating parents about how to help their children. Teachers know their jobs. It's the parents who need help. It's the parents who need to change.

Go to your local divorce court. Watch a few hours, a few days. It won't take you long to figure out that what is wrong with American education, with American students, is not in the classrooms of America. It is in our homes.

Children's courts are not open to the public. That's where you see the really tragic story of American children and why they don't do well in school.

[JDPriestly]

72. We have serious economic problems. Why is Obama distracting

the country with this privatization of education? It's the wrong direction at the wrong time. It shows a very bad sense of timing and priorities.

[WinkyDink]

89. Not "distracting, IMO; I think he's actually trying to go under the radar here.

[Hannah Bell]

75. could the statement be more condescending? "Oh, the poor ignorant footdragging neanderthals...

so resistant to what we the enlightened have deemed best for them..."

gag me.

[IndianaGreen]

77. Opposing Duncan's privatization scheme is indeed opposition to change

The change advocated by conservatives in both parties that want to dismantle what's left of New Deal social net, and destroy public school system.

You betcha!

[Catshrink]

104. You are so right - change is not always good

and in this case, this "change" is harmful to our kids.

OTOH, I'd love to have enough "change" in my school to buy new chairs for my students this year.

[blindpig]

79. 'The business of America is Business."

All else is secondary, at best.

That is the reality of our situation.

[Unvanguard]

80. There is no reason to believe that market principles should apply to public education.

And much reason to believe that attempting to apply them will cause harm, and will do little to no good.

Reforming education cannot be done outside the context of reforming the economy more broadly.

[sendero]

81. Yes Barack...

... we get none of the change we wanted and all of the change we didn't.

[proud2BlibKansan]

83. You wanna help me, Mr President?

Send me some pencils. And a few notebooks too if you can spare them.

Then go work on something else. Like maybe bring the troops home?

[eilen]

138. Give the kids something to look forward to besides getting

blown up in Afghanistan.

[MadHound]

86. It has become real simple for me,

If Obama doesn't support teachers, then I, as a teacher, have no reason to support him. To hell with his madness and lust to privatize our schools.

[WinkyDink]

87. I heard that one A LOT as a teacher! "Change is uncomfortable." Do TPTB ever change?

[rucky]

88. They keep telling us we should support their plan.

But fail to give a compelling reason why.

[WinkyDink]

90. Maybe Obama could follow Adam Lambert's ("A. Idol") lead, and support THIS organization:

http://www.donorschoose.org/

http://www.donorschoose.org/adam-lambert

"To give back to the public schools where he first trained in voice and theater, Lambert created a charity through donorschoose.org that has raised more than $315,000 to date for school arts programs."

[ecstatic]

93. This paragraph is shameful:

"President Obama, just for a moment, stop the "yes, you can" in relation to education. Some can't. Some can not meet your goals. Some will not go to college ever. It is dream that is not to be accomplished."

Which students are you referring to??? Which students should we give up on?

[proud2BlibKansan]

148. No one is saying we should give up on any kids

We need to give every child what they need. Obama's plan does not do that.

[Catshrink]

149. Have you ever tried to get a dachshund to sit?

Labs sit, poodles sit, German shepherds sit, but doxies, with their cute and weird little bodies, can't quite do it right. So, should it be an absolute requirement in doggie training school that dachshunds sit just like the other pups?

So it is with kids.... some of them just aren't cut out for what we call higher education. Do we give up on them? No, we help them find a field in which they can be successful. One of my students couldn't do math at all but the look of pride on his face when he described his "perfect weld" was one of those things that makes a teacher tear up. Or another student, who because of vocational classes, was graduating with her cosmetology license. She said, "I can get a real job! I won't have to work at McDonald's!"

College for these two? Nope - but they have important trades. I don't hear votech training in Obama/Duncan speeches - just the one-size-fits-all.

[proud2BlibKansan]

155. I just made that exact same point. Sitting here talking to my son.

He didn't want to go to college. He got a job and worked his way up in the company. He had on the job training and loves what he does. I said if Obama means trade schools when he says college I can go along with that. My son has a friend who is in school learning to be a manicurist. And we haven't heard Obama mention that kind of post secondary education, only traditional 4 year colleges. My son wondered how many English majors we need in this country.

[madfloridian]

158. It is a true statement. Kids are NOT one-size-fits-all.

You can not force them all to meet the goal of going to college. You can not force some kids to perform on a standardized test.

You start with where a student is and take him as far as he can go.

The fact that you think I am shameful for not wanting all kids put in a box and labeled "bound for college"....shows that all the propaganda has worked.

[chervilant]

94. Well, well, well...

On this issue alone, we see the Obama I feared when it came time to vote. (None of the candidates I supported would have gotten the nomination, since the Corporate Megalomaniacs control that and more.)

Public Education these days is appalling. NOT because of teachers, but because our society has become exponential, and our system of education hasn't achieved that shift. Promethean boards (ActivBoards, Smart Boards, etc.) are a step in the right direction, but far too many schools don't have the technology to challenge students AND capture their interest (especially when you consider that most students have more electronic toys than you can shake a stick at--ipods, gameboys, iphones, puters, ad infinitum).

Furthermore, better than 40% of our adult population is functionally illiterate. Far too many of my students have confessed to me that they cannot ask their parents for help on their homework (and, it bears mentioning that I teach math, the single scariest subject on the planet). Even when I've structured my days to offer tutoring every morning and every afternoon, it's not enough to help my students make up math deficits caused by years of being taught math concepts as isolates (and, don't try to blame teachers for that, either, since most teachers I know struggle to offer more than our administratively-imposed lesson plans allow).

I guess it's obvious that I am a teacher and I oppose what Obama is doing. I find his little speech offensive and condescending. I do NOT oppose change; I wholeheartedly advocate for it...just not the change Obama and his corporatist cashcows are trying to cram down our throats.

[tomp]

96. obama takes on well known republican trait....

...of accusing others of what he himself is guilty of, when he says:

" .....reflects 'a comfort with the status quo.'"

the status quo is govt, dem or repub, not giving a shit about education and doing everything possible to advance the cause of the rich.

obama=fail.

[LWolf]

102. +1

[bemildred]

97. No, it represents a general resistance to the same old shit.

No money and blame the teachers.

[Dappleganger]

98. He's coming from the Chicago schools perspective.

He needs to realize that not all school districts have the troubles which Chicago has and think that Arne's plan is a 'one size fits all.' There are plenty of districts who do it right w/out leaving seasoned teachers in the cold as well as parents and kids hopping from one school to the next each time a charter is shut down. The president is dead wrong with this race to the bottom, NCLB approach and I would tell him that to his face if given the chance.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

106. For insight into Chicago schools and Duncan, this link is good

From Democracy Now

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/26/a_look_at_arne_duncans_vip

A Look at Arne Duncan’s VIP List of Requests at Chicago Schools and the Effects of his Expansion of Charter Schools in Chicago
When President Obama’s Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, was the head of Chicago’s Public Schools, his office kept a list of powerful, well-connected people who asked for help getting certain children into the city’s best public schools. The list—long kept confidential—was disclosed this week by the Chicago Tribune. We speak with the Chicago Tribune reporter who broke the story and with two Chicago organizers about Duncan and his aggressive plan to expand charter schools.

Guests:

Azam Ahmed, reporter for the Chicago Tribune. His latest story is How VIPs Lobbied Schools

Pauline Lipman, professor of education and policy studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago. She is also the director of the Collaborative for Equity and Justice in Education at the university and is on the coordinating committee for Teachers for Social Justice.

Jitu Brown, community and educational organizer with the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization. He teaches at St. Leonard Adult High School for the formerly incarcerated.

*************************************

[EFerrari]

136. Yesterday I heard on Laura Flander's that Chicago is one of the lowest performing systems

in the nation. Soon to be at a school district near you! :sarcasm:

[proud2BlibKansan]

165. A fact not often shared

Under Arne, test scores in Chicago did not rise substantially.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

166. Chicago is no model and Duncan is no miracle worker

Far from it. Just google and read read read.

No one seems to talk about the "clout" scandal at all. He created a tiered and privilege system in Chicago which had elites clamoring to get into certain schools. He "militarized" some schools. It's stuff you would expect from the hardest core right winger

[Chisox08]

103. Om no

It is not a resistance to "change". People like me who is from Chicago who has seen how Arnie Duncan and Mayor Daley ruined the Chicago Public Schools and how Arnie fawned over Bush's NCLB.

[cjbgreen]

111. Change versus Improvement

Resistance to change that does not improve teaching and learning is smart. Bush and Cheney created change and many resisted. Bad change is not reform. The Chicago Public School system is not emblematic of public education. If Obama spoke with educators he would find that most educators are committed to continuous improvement that includes collecting meaningful data that provides feedback to support and evaluate progress on change. The resistance Bill Gates experienced as he attempted to impose his notion of reform on public high schools met some resistance. The resistance and there were individuals who resisted. These individuals are not representative of the teaching profession as a whole. My experience with teachers suggest that when they know that change does improve student learning they jump on the bandwagon. Dictating change or threatening individuals who ask valid questions about change does not in my experience result in positive cultural change. Maybe that is why democracy works and dictatorship fails.

[Catshrink]

112. Bill Gates earned the scorn of every teacher when he said

that after three years teacher quality doesn't improve.

:rofl:

[Angry Dragon]

116. I feel bill was talking about his own experience

he found that microsoft did not improve after the first three years.

[Catshrink]

118. ...

:thumbsup:

[tbyg52]

113. Rhode Island reminds me soooo much of the PATCO firings.

:mad:

[Catshrink]

120. Which is why so many teachers are afraid to speak out.

And why you'll never see a nationwide teachers' strike.

[tbyg52]

128. You'll never see a nationwide anything strike - they've got us split up and scared.

I'm not excepting myself.....

[madfloridian]

178. Once I disagreed with policy and said so.

Not long after I was marked down on respecting authority. They use the evaluation to keep teachers in their places.

[tbyg52]

181. So sadly true. nt

[Angry Dragon]

115. Dear Mr. President

You and I have a difference in the definition of change.

To change something just for change is ridiculous.

I wanted change for the better and all you have done is change for the worse or no change at all.

[Fearless]

119. +10000

[cjbgreen]

122. One more example of change you can't believe in!

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/30-8

[cjbgreen]

123. One more example of change you can't believe in!

Here is a sad example of change that hurts everyone! http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/30-8 and one more example of why firing and Race to the Top isn't the kind of change strategy that works and therefore we can't believe in.

[KoKo]

168. Good article in your link that School who helped kids get reading glasses & access to Health Care

improved the kids scores and behavior problems.

Here's the snip fromt the article from Common Dreams:

CASE STUDY: BROOKLYN CENTER HIGH SCHOOL -Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

In June, 2010, Bryan Bass, the principal of Brooklyn Center High School in suburban Minneapolis, was fired.

Brooklyn Center is one of 34 schools on Minnesota's list of "persistently lowest achieving" schools. The state education commissioner says that the federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program will give the state the opportunity to "really dig deep and try to solve the educational issues" in their failing schools.

For Brooklyn Center, like all schools targeted under the SIG program, receiving federal funding for reform efforts required firing the current principal.

Brooklyn Center High School enrolls about 800 students, three-quarters of whom are low-income and children of color. Roughly 14% of the students have learning disabilities, and about 20% are English Language Learners. The school offers a strong arts magnet program, and an International Baccalaureate program, making it a popular open-enrollment school. Though 82% of students who enroll, graduate, the school has some of the lowest assessment scores in the state.

Bryan Bass has been principal at Brooklyn Center for four years. Under his leadership, the number of suspensions each month fell from 45 to about 10. The number of graduates who went on to college doubled from 35% to 70%. Student mobility dropped from 33% to 26%.

Bass and Superintendent Keith Lester also worked tirelessly on meeting another need of the school community. One wing of the school was recently turned into a one-stop medical and social service center. The center is equipped to care for any student or school-age resident in the area.

With or without health insurance, students have access to dental, vision, mental health and medical services right in the building. The need for wrap-around supports for students immediately became apparent: In the first year, 70% of students who were tested were found to have untreated vision problems. By building a network of existing providers and agencies, identified needs were met. Children who needed glasses were given them. The clinic offers a therapist to help students work through emotional issues.

A social service agency has an office in the clinic that helps students' families find health insurance.

"Overnight - overnight, it absolutely decreased the amount of behavioral issues," principal Bass told a local reporter about the new school-based center. "By eliminating barriers, you start to really understand what's in the way of students getting to learn."

The future of Brooklyn Center High School's health and social services center is not guaranteed under the federal grant program. One thing was guaranteed, though. The school's energetic principal had to go, as a condition for participation in the SIG program.
Superintendent Lester is frustrated with the rigidity of the federal grants program: "I think that's the dumbest thing I've seen coming out of education in my years in education," he said.
© 2010 The Washington Post

[Jakes Progress]

135. I'm not resistant to change.

I can think of a couple of government personnel I would really like to change.

[sulphurdunn]

137. Look at the pantheon of heavy hitting

billionaires and their fellow travelers for privatization: Gates, Broad, Kline, Waltons, Bloomberg, Rhee, Moskowitz, Duncan, Obama, and I can tell you flat out that just about any tenured teacher in any school in America (and that includes the "bad ones")has forgotten more about pedagogy than this narcissistic collection of avaricious, misanthropic sociopaths claim to know collectively. However, any one of the billionaires in this rogues gallery can put more money into the hands of the cretins we elected to fuck us over than all the public school teachers in the country combined.

[AngryAmish]

144. Change is hard

[ibegurpard]

146. kick

[SILVER__FOX52]

164. This obsession with privatizing PUBLIC.....

education is very upsetting. Vouchers and charter schools are destroying public education. It's all part of the "dumbing down" of America and the re-segregation of America.

[democracy1st]

167. the problem with this admin is they never want to discuss what they're actually doing in public!

[johnaries]

171. What privatization? You keep saying that, but it's simply not true.

You keep referring to charter schools as "private", but by definition they are PUBLIC schools.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=1h&oq=definition&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ACEW_enUS381US381&q=definition+charter+schools

While it is true that in some rare cases charter schools may outsource administration to private entities, that is the exception - not the rule.

Stop trying to spread that meme - it is a lie on the face of it.

[WestSeattle2]

172. Repeat a lie enough times........n/t

[madfloridian]

176. It's true.

And not just in rare cases.

[Radical Activist]

192. Obama specifically mentioned PUBLIC charters in his Urban League speech.

It's another part you forgot to quote because it doesn't support your narrative.

----
Now, in some cases, that’s going to mean restarting the school under different management as a charter school -– as an independent public school formed by parents, teachers, and civic leaders who’ve got broad leeway to innovate. And some people don’t like charter schools. They say, well, that’s going to take away money from other public schools that also need support. Charter schools aren’t a magic bullet, but I want to give states and school districts the chance to try new things. If a charter school works, then let’s apply those lessons elsewhere. And if a charter school doesn’t work, we’ll hold it accountable; we’ll shut it down.

So, no, I don’t support all charter schools, but I do support good charter schools.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-education-reform-national-urban-league-centennial-conference

[TheKentuckian]

201. Imcrementalisim...It's not just something Democrats fib about doing anymore.

Republicans have been doing it for years especially in this area.

[bobbolink]

177. The reaction reflects his general resistence to LISTENING.

:(

[scentopine]

184. In centrist world a 'C' is the new 'A' and average is the new leading edge, -nt

[yurbud]

196. why didn't Obama say this to Blue Dogs, DLCers, and insurance companies opposed to public option or

single payer?

[yurbud]

197. change we want must be so incremental it is barely perceptible. Change the rich want

is done overnight.

[joe black]

203. Gates is a drop out.

Fuck him.