As National School Choice Week comes to a close the evidence keeps mounting that there is more and more support for reforming our public schools and, more importantly, ending the dominance of the teachers unions and placing the power of school choice back in the hands of parents.
While I remain unconvinced that the parent trigger laws gaining popularity around the country, after California passed one a year ago, are an efficient way to reform failing schools, it may trigger parents into believing it's time to stand up and fight. The California law allows parents, if 51% or more of them are willing to sign a petition, to demand reform for a failing school by replacing it with a charter school, by making administration changes or by shutting it down altogether.
The law is being tested in Compton, CA by 62% of the parents whose children attend McKinley Elementary School. They are asking for the school to be replaced by next September with a charter school they've already chosen.
It's not hard to imagine how vicious the push-back is from the-powers-that-be. Spreading lies and fear, the status quo education establishment is working hard now to rewrite the law. Let's not forget what the new head of the Washington, DC teachers union said when he took the job...it's all about protecting the teachers. Hopefully the parents in the video will get that and stay strong.
Remember my post discussing the dismantling of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) by Education Secretary Arne Duncan and the US Senate? Well, there is hope that the program will be revived, an effort spearheaded by Speaker of the House John Boehner. OSP offered vouchers, definitely the third rail of the school reform movement, to 2000 children from low income families stuck in maybe the worse school district in the US. Put Kids First is a DC parents group who worked hard to keep the program alive.
President Obama understands that the DC schools are in a wretched state.
But President Obama stood by while his Education Secretary pulled 213 students, all new to the Opportunity Scholarship Program, out of the program last year in order to stop the growth of OSP. If the bill to reinstate funding for OSP passes in the Republican-controlled Congress, and in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and actually reaches the President's desk, I hope he'll watch this before he makes the decision to sign the bill or push it off of his desk.
In fact, I hope he watches it several times...with his daughters. I have a feeling they'd know which decision is the right decision.
Further signs the education powers-that-be need to be more open-minded: vouchers are gaining more attention. They are usually associated with falling school systems in inner cities. Interestingly, a wealthy county outside of Denver, CO is considering adding vouchers to the wide variety of choices the school system already offers, including nine charter schools, two magnet schools and even a school online. A school board member likens it to the choices we enjoy in other areas of our lives. The Superintendent, Elizabeth Celania-Fagen, has a more expansive view of how vouchers (and other proposals the Board is considering) fit into a model for education:
...in a recent letter to parents of the district's 56,000 students, she said her leadership team "did not find the ideas alarming" and pledged the district would "set the stage for new thinking in education."
Support for shaking up the education status quo does seem to be increasing. I do wonder, though, why Waiting For Superman, after so much positive attention, excellent reviews and it's effect on increasing support for school reform from every corner ~ Oprah, Prince, Mark Zukerberg, to name a few ~ was not nominated for an Academy Award. Guess it doesn't matter. The film has opened a lot of minds to the failures of our schools and will, in the future, change the lives of thousands of children.
Showing posts with label Waiting For Superman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waiting For Superman. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Education 24/7...
After seeing Waiting For Superman and visiting First Achievement's Amistad Academy, the interest I've always had in education, pushed aside while I worked 24/7 building my career in real estate, has rewakened big time.
And Lord knows there is plenty happening. It seems like the efforts to reform the public schools are becoming far more mainstream than they were even ten years ago. Charter schools are an important part of the educational system nearly two decades after the first one opened in Minnesota. Many school districts have open enrollment, allowing parents more choice in where their children are educated.
The teacher's unions are no longer the sacred cows they used to be, and the priorities of the whole educational establishment are finally being questioned. In earlier posts (here, here and here) I took a look at the courage of Michelle Rhee's efforts in Washington, DC and the tough stand Chris Christie has taken with the entrenched powers-that-be in NJ education, even while career politicians continue to place a higher priority on teacher's votes than on their performance.
Waiting For Superman has played an important role in focusing the attention of more and more people on our broken schools. Two other films about the problems with public education were released in 2010 as well. They are both available on demand from most cable companies and I finally took the time to watch them.
The first, The Cartel, goes into great detail about how the vast amount of money budgeted for education in New Jersey is spent. It was made before Governor Christie took office but it explains perfectly what he is trying to do ~ break down the destructive power of a gargantuan educational establishment. The Cartel doesn't have the emotional impact of Superman but it offers seemingly endless examples of corruption and dishonesty on the part of school officials who, historically, have been untouchable because they are 'working for the children.' As one of the parents says in the film, "they've been pimping our children for a very long time." Perfectly said.
Here's the preview:
A few weeks ago, while I was researching Chris Christie, I ran across a youtube video showing New Jersey teachers misbehaving during, I guess, the cocktail hour of a union conference they were attending. At the time, I didn't feel it was fair to post it. After watching The Cartel, I've changed my mind. National Review added some fun graphics but the teacher's quotes are all too real.
The next film, The Lottery, is about the lotteries held every year to place children at the coveted Harlem Success Academy Charter Schools. The film is similar to Waiting For Superman as it follows the stories of four children who would all benefit greatly by leaving behind their substandard neighborhood schools and attending one of the charter schools. The focus, though, is very local, specifically Harlem, where schools have been in trouble for decades. The film does a great job showing the push-back from the entrenched educational establishment when written-in-stone power is questioned. The 27 year old filmmaker, Madeleine Sackler, discusses why she was inspired to make the film. The preview:
The founder of the Harlem Success Academy schools is Eva Moskowitz, yet another education reformer who showed amazing courage against vicious attacks from the educational establishment when she pushed for more accountability from them as chairwoman of education while serving on the New York City Council. Now, in a way, she has gotten her revenge by opening seven highly successful charter schools that do not to conform to the same union rules traditional schools have to follow.
Of course, that has only made the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) increase their efforts to bully Ms. Moskowitz, including the hiring of outsiders posing as neighborhood parents and, read this twice, Acorn, to carry signs and scream ugly slogans at the parents and children arriving for the first day of school at Harlem Success Academy. This is repulsive:
How is screaming ugly words at children who are entering the school of their dreams different from this?
All three films are worth making an effort to see. And there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the fight for more school choice and reform.
An obvious answer to finding places at functioning schools for the children who come up short at charter school lotteries is to issue publicly-funded vouchers for use at established private schools. Vouchers, though, remain a sort of invisible alternative, rarely, if ever, mentioned by school reform organizations. The Foundation For Educational Choice includes vouchers, along with other alternatives, as a viable and valid choice. The site offers a lot of meaty information and research for getting up to speed on education reform.
The week starting January 20 has been designated National School Choice Week with events being held around the country promoting, um, school choice. A lot of the events revolve around showing The Cartel. Reason Magazine is holding a panel discussion in their Washington, DC office, with food and drink (of course) as well. It's not too late to organize a viewing of one of the films or to find a local speaker and book a room at the nearest library.
DoneWaiting.org is an organizing tool started by Education Reform Now, with the hope of taking advantage of the motivating force of Waiting For Superman to get more people involved in the reform movement. Both organizations support publicly-funded charter schools and push for improving traditional public schools.
Michelle Rhee has gotten her new effort off the ground. Student's First focuses on improving public education rather than promoting choice. Probably worthwhile if it shakes up the unions. In the few weeks since its start nearly $700,000 in donations has been raised, another testament to impact of Waiting For Superman, which featured Ms. Rhee's struggles in Washington, DC.
Hmmm, maybe it's time to get involved?
And Lord knows there is plenty happening. It seems like the efforts to reform the public schools are becoming far more mainstream than they were even ten years ago. Charter schools are an important part of the educational system nearly two decades after the first one opened in Minnesota. Many school districts have open enrollment, allowing parents more choice in where their children are educated.
The teacher's unions are no longer the sacred cows they used to be, and the priorities of the whole educational establishment are finally being questioned. In earlier posts (here, here and here) I took a look at the courage of Michelle Rhee's efforts in Washington, DC and the tough stand Chris Christie has taken with the entrenched powers-that-be in NJ education, even while career politicians continue to place a higher priority on teacher's votes than on their performance.
Waiting For Superman has played an important role in focusing the attention of more and more people on our broken schools. Two other films about the problems with public education were released in 2010 as well. They are both available on demand from most cable companies and I finally took the time to watch them.
The first, The Cartel, goes into great detail about how the vast amount of money budgeted for education in New Jersey is spent. It was made before Governor Christie took office but it explains perfectly what he is trying to do ~ break down the destructive power of a gargantuan educational establishment. The Cartel doesn't have the emotional impact of Superman but it offers seemingly endless examples of corruption and dishonesty on the part of school officials who, historically, have been untouchable because they are 'working for the children.' As one of the parents says in the film, "they've been pimping our children for a very long time." Perfectly said.
Here's the preview:
A few weeks ago, while I was researching Chris Christie, I ran across a youtube video showing New Jersey teachers misbehaving during, I guess, the cocktail hour of a union conference they were attending. At the time, I didn't feel it was fair to post it. After watching The Cartel, I've changed my mind. National Review added some fun graphics but the teacher's quotes are all too real.
The next film, The Lottery, is about the lotteries held every year to place children at the coveted Harlem Success Academy Charter Schools. The film is similar to Waiting For Superman as it follows the stories of four children who would all benefit greatly by leaving behind their substandard neighborhood schools and attending one of the charter schools. The focus, though, is very local, specifically Harlem, where schools have been in trouble for decades. The film does a great job showing the push-back from the entrenched educational establishment when written-in-stone power is questioned. The 27 year old filmmaker, Madeleine Sackler, discusses why she was inspired to make the film. The preview:
The founder of the Harlem Success Academy schools is Eva Moskowitz, yet another education reformer who showed amazing courage against vicious attacks from the educational establishment when she pushed for more accountability from them as chairwoman of education while serving on the New York City Council. Now, in a way, she has gotten her revenge by opening seven highly successful charter schools that do not to conform to the same union rules traditional schools have to follow.
Of course, that has only made the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) increase their efforts to bully Ms. Moskowitz, including the hiring of outsiders posing as neighborhood parents and, read this twice, Acorn, to carry signs and scream ugly slogans at the parents and children arriving for the first day of school at Harlem Success Academy. This is repulsive:
How is screaming ugly words at children who are entering the school of their dreams different from this?
All three films are worth making an effort to see. And there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the fight for more school choice and reform.
An obvious answer to finding places at functioning schools for the children who come up short at charter school lotteries is to issue publicly-funded vouchers for use at established private schools. Vouchers, though, remain a sort of invisible alternative, rarely, if ever, mentioned by school reform organizations. The Foundation For Educational Choice includes vouchers, along with other alternatives, as a viable and valid choice. The site offers a lot of meaty information and research for getting up to speed on education reform.
The week starting January 20 has been designated National School Choice Week with events being held around the country promoting, um, school choice. A lot of the events revolve around showing The Cartel. Reason Magazine is holding a panel discussion in their Washington, DC office, with food and drink (of course) as well. It's not too late to organize a viewing of one of the films or to find a local speaker and book a room at the nearest library.
DoneWaiting.org is an organizing tool started by Education Reform Now, with the hope of taking advantage of the motivating force of Waiting For Superman to get more people involved in the reform movement. Both organizations support publicly-funded charter schools and push for improving traditional public schools.
Michelle Rhee has gotten her new effort off the ground. Student's First focuses on improving public education rather than promoting choice. Probably worthwhile if it shakes up the unions. In the few weeks since its start nearly $700,000 in donations has been raised, another testament to impact of Waiting For Superman, which featured Ms. Rhee's struggles in Washington, DC.
Hmmm, maybe it's time to get involved?
Sunday, December 5, 2010
It's all garbage...
One would think that the failures of the Los Angeles education system, especially, of course, in inner city neighborhoods, would push fixing the schools to the absolute top of the priority list kept by whomever calls the shots in the City's government and in Sacramento. Especially given the notoriety the movie Waiting For Superman has brought to the LA public schools.
But that would be a silly conclusion, especially if some of the citizens in Los Angeles are undisciplined when it comes to correctly separating various kinds of trash. Talk about a real bummer, mixing plastic bottles with leftover vegetables.
Fortunately Los Angeles has 'recycling ambassadors' who roam the city with their clipboards keeping track of who does and who doesn't follow the rules. The really cool thing? The really smart people who make these rules set as a goal that 70% of, ah, I guess, people throwing away garbage, would do it according to the rules. The really great thing is that 65% are ALREADY doing it. Wow.
Good job, guys.
At least California has proper recycling down pat. And speaking of garbage, check out the very entertaining Last Night's Garbage, a rambling and literary diary of New York City garbage-of-the-day, at least as the author runs across it during his daily travels.
But that would be a silly conclusion, especially if some of the citizens in Los Angeles are undisciplined when it comes to correctly separating various kinds of trash. Talk about a real bummer, mixing plastic bottles with leftover vegetables.
Fortunately Los Angeles has 'recycling ambassadors' who roam the city with their clipboards keeping track of who does and who doesn't follow the rules. The really cool thing? The really smart people who make these rules set as a goal that 70% of, ah, I guess, people throwing away garbage, would do it according to the rules. The really great thing is that 65% are ALREADY doing it. Wow.
Good job, guys.
Maybe the recycling ambassadors could do equally well for the schools.
California ranks near the bottom of all states in the number of students reaching their educational goals, Rogers noted – and not just among students of color. California students generally have lower test scores than students across the nation. Notably, white students in California also perform well below white students in almost all other states.
At least California has proper recycling down pat. And speaking of garbage, check out the very entertaining Last Night's Garbage, a rambling and literary diary of New York City garbage-of-the-day, at least as the author runs across it during his daily travels.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Catching up...on education.
As the federal government pours an ever increasing billions of dollars into public education, students learn less and the powers-that-be grow more and more powerful. The New English Review makes the simple argument that the current structure does little more than protect special interests ~ government bureaucrats, leaders of the teacher's unions, politicians and countless other education-related concerns ~ at the cost of the future of millions of students. I know. Where's the surprise?
Perfectly said (with my emphasis):
Education is big government and big business with far reaching impacts into every nook and cranny in our society, as every school age child attends school, whether public, private or home school. Children use textbooks, computers and receive myriad educational services through the publicly funded K-12 program. Thus, there is much to gain to become ingrained as one of the system’s cohorts.
And regarding most reforms, including No Child Left Behind (Bush) and Race to the Top (Obama):
On the other hand, pseudo-reform is welcomed with open arms because massive sums of money are poured into the system, increasing personnel and power. These faux reforms and fads implemented within the political-bureaucratic education system have this in common: they make no lasting, widespread changes to the education system; they dramatically increase education costs; and they have been unable to significantly improve student performance.
The movie Waiting For Superman shows exactly how the current educational establishment works...and fails. Given the number of people who have avoided seeing Superman, just based on conversations I've had with a few teachers and friends who don't want to 'hear' it, the movie has done pretty well since its release 10 weeks ago. After a weak $139,033 first weekend, it's made $6.2 million to date, and that is with a fairly small release. I would expect that once it hits the rental market the audience for it, via word-of-mouth, will be huge.
It may be my imagination, but it seems like a growing number of people are questioning the structure of the education system and, more surprising, the role the teacher's unions play in the collapse of it. The most recent Phi Delta Kappa & Gallup Poll showed the majority of respondents favoring merit pay for teachers and increasing the number of charter schools. Parents in Chicago have certainly lost their patience.
Frustration doesn't begin to describe how these and thousands of other parents across the country are feeling as their children's school years are wasted ~ heartbreak is more like it. They are done waiting.
And just wait until they see this film. As one of the parents in the moves says, "it's a sad scene but they've been pimping our children for a long time. Read that again out loud without crying.
Writing in The Huffington Post the filmmaker, Bob Bowdon, talks about the reactions he's received from people who have seen The Cartel, especially from those who do their best to argue against breaking up the fortress that protects the educational establishment.
John Taylor Gatto, New York Teacher of the Year in 1991 and long a hero of mine, describes the Big Business of education very well, including the affect it has on the children:
"By preventing a free market in education, a handful of social engineers - backed by the industries that profit from compulsory schooling: teacher colleges, textbook publishers, materials suppliers, et al. - has ensured that most of our children will not have an education, even though they may be thoroughly schooled."
Maybe if public school teachers were made to send their own children to the schools were they teach, we'd see a little more real change.
Perfectly said (with my emphasis):
Education is big government and big business with far reaching impacts into every nook and cranny in our society, as every school age child attends school, whether public, private or home school. Children use textbooks, computers and receive myriad educational services through the publicly funded K-12 program. Thus, there is much to gain to become ingrained as one of the system’s cohorts.
And regarding most reforms, including No Child Left Behind (Bush) and Race to the Top (Obama):
On the other hand, pseudo-reform is welcomed with open arms because massive sums of money are poured into the system, increasing personnel and power. These faux reforms and fads implemented within the political-bureaucratic education system have this in common: they make no lasting, widespread changes to the education system; they dramatically increase education costs; and they have been unable to significantly improve student performance.
The movie Waiting For Superman shows exactly how the current educational establishment works...and fails. Given the number of people who have avoided seeing Superman, just based on conversations I've had with a few teachers and friends who don't want to 'hear' it, the movie has done pretty well since its release 10 weeks ago. After a weak $139,033 first weekend, it's made $6.2 million to date, and that is with a fairly small release. I would expect that once it hits the rental market the audience for it, via word-of-mouth, will be huge.
It may be my imagination, but it seems like a growing number of people are questioning the structure of the education system and, more surprising, the role the teacher's unions play in the collapse of it. The most recent Phi Delta Kappa & Gallup Poll showed the majority of respondents favoring merit pay for teachers and increasing the number of charter schools. Parents in Chicago have certainly lost their patience.
Frustration doesn't begin to describe how these and thousands of other parents across the country are feeling as their children's school years are wasted ~ heartbreak is more like it. They are done waiting.
And just wait until they see this film. As one of the parents in the moves says, "it's a sad scene but they've been pimping our children for a long time. Read that again out loud without crying.
Writing in The Huffington Post the filmmaker, Bob Bowdon, talks about the reactions he's received from people who have seen The Cartel, especially from those who do their best to argue against breaking up the fortress that protects the educational establishment.
John Taylor Gatto, New York Teacher of the Year in 1991 and long a hero of mine, describes the Big Business of education very well, including the affect it has on the children:
"By preventing a free market in education, a handful of social engineers - backed by the industries that profit from compulsory schooling: teacher colleges, textbook publishers, materials suppliers, et al. - has ensured that most of our children will not have an education, even though they may be thoroughly schooled."
Maybe if public school teachers were made to send their own children to the schools were they teach, we'd see a little more real change.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
You know how, um, the Left is really, uh, compassionate and the right, ah, doesn't care about anyone?
To, I'm sure, the discomfort of anyone who lacks the courage to face the truth about our public school system, Waiting For Superman, the new documentary about the failure of our schools, is attracting a lot of attention. A lot. Oprah had the filmmaker and cast on for an hour, followed by another hour with Cory Booker (Mayor of Newark), Chris Christie (Governor of NJ), both intent on educational reform, and the founder of facebook, Mark Zukerberg, who has donated $100 million to the Newark public schools. Her website provides seemingly endless information about failing schools, cutting-edge reformers and videos of the two shows. Oprah's embrace of what many believe is THE civil rights issue of our time will reach people who, in the past, either ignored the problems or pretended they didn't exist at all.
Thank you, Oprah.
But she did vote for Barrack Obama who, after watching Waiting For Superman recently said,
"Oh, it's hearbreaking...And when you see these parents in the film you are reminded that … their stake in their kids, their wanting desperately to make sure their kids are able to succeed, is so powerful…. It’s obviously difficult to watch to see these kids who know that this school’s going to give them a better chance-and that should depend on the bounce of a ball."
Then why, Mr. President, did you, your administration and your party decide to end the D.C. Opportunity Schlarship Program (OSP) in 2009, a program that has saved 3,300 children from one of the worst school systems in the country. Did you not watch this?
Or, more importantly, this?
For a more complete overview of the program, read this.
On March 16, 2010, the US Senate rejected the bill that would have kept the funding for OSP in place, a year after Education Secretary Arne Duncan revoked scholarships from 216 children who were already enrolled for the 2010-2011 school year.
Please read that again, out loud.
Why? Money, power, unions, money, power, unions...what else? It's more important to keep the unions happy - who, in turn, vote for the politicians, putting their own interests before the children's - and it all pays off because there is always a union contract to be renegotiated, and another election to be won. Nearly all of the votes against reauthorization were from the Democratic side while the majority of the votes supporting the program came from the *Republicans.
Almost forgot, what about Waiting For Superman?
Waiting For Superman website
* The Republicans, especially career politicians, share plenty of the blame for failed schools ~ unwilling, as they are, to rock the boat. That said, they overwhemingly voted for reauthorization of funding OSP.
Thank you, Oprah.
But she did vote for Barrack Obama who, after watching Waiting For Superman recently said,
"Oh, it's hearbreaking...And when you see these parents in the film you are reminded that … their stake in their kids, their wanting desperately to make sure their kids are able to succeed, is so powerful…. It’s obviously difficult to watch to see these kids who know that this school’s going to give them a better chance-and that should depend on the bounce of a ball."
Then why, Mr. President, did you, your administration and your party decide to end the D.C. Opportunity Schlarship Program (OSP) in 2009, a program that has saved 3,300 children from one of the worst school systems in the country. Did you not watch this?
Or, more importantly, this?
For a more complete overview of the program, read this.
On March 16, 2010, the US Senate rejected the bill that would have kept the funding for OSP in place, a year after Education Secretary Arne Duncan revoked scholarships from 216 children who were already enrolled for the 2010-2011 school year.
Please read that again, out loud.
Why? Money, power, unions, money, power, unions...what else? It's more important to keep the unions happy - who, in turn, vote for the politicians, putting their own interests before the children's - and it all pays off because there is always a union contract to be renegotiated, and another election to be won. Nearly all of the votes against reauthorization were from the Democratic side while the majority of the votes supporting the program came from the *Republicans.
Almost forgot, what about Waiting For Superman?
Waiting For Superman website
* The Republicans, especially career politicians, share plenty of the blame for failed schools ~ unwilling, as they are, to rock the boat. That said, they overwhemingly voted for reauthorization of funding OSP.
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