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?

Just when you think it can't get any worse...

Mickey Kaus, world famous blogger, now with Newsweek, always cuts to the chase. Responding to a story about teacher layoffs in Los Angeles in the LA Times, Kaus points out how the teachers' union just plain doesn't work, including for many of its' members. The students? Forget it. It's well worth reading the whole article, if your heart can take it.

Kaus writes:

The Trouble With Unions, Part XXVIII: If you ask members of a labor union to choose democratically how to lay people off in bad times, chances are they will say "by seniority." Seniority avoids invidious comparisons of how well various workers are doing their jobs. It curbs managerial favoritism. It's also a terrible way to run an organization. Here's what happened in the L.A. school system, as reported in an effective (i.e. heartbreaking) the LA Times:

Because seniority is largely unrelated to performance, the district has laid off hundreds of its most promising math and English teachers. About 190 ranked in the top fifth in raising scores and more than 400 ranked in the top 40%.


Schools in some of the city's poorest areas were disproportionately hurt by the layoffs. Nearly one in 10 teachers in South Los Angeles schools was laid off, nearly twice the rate in other areas. Sixteen schools lost at least a fourth of their teachers, all but one of them in South or Central Los Angeles.


Far fewer teachers would be laid off if the district were to base the cuts on performance rather than seniority. The least experienced teachers also are the lowest-paid, so more must be laid off to meet budgetary targets. An estimated 25% more teachers would have kept their jobs if L.A. Unified had based its cuts on teachers' records in improving test scores.　

Those are the numbers. Here are some consequences when a recently revived school in a Latino neighborhood tried to fill the slots of the laid-off teachers with higher-seniority union members:

Many of the candidates were elementary teachers whose positions had been eliminated to save money. Under the rules, they had enough seniority to avoid a layoff but had to be placed elsewhere.


Many had little interest in teaching challenging middle school kids in a poor community, Stevens said. Of those who did accept jobs at [the John H. Leichty Middle School], some left in tears within days or called in sick every day, teachers recalled ...


Many classrooms had as many as 10 subs over the year ...


"I got these calls saying, 'Your class is falling apart,'" said Judy Kerber, a laid-off Liechty teacher also in the top fifth of middle school instructors districtwide. "This amazing group of kids just fell apart."


More fights broke out on campus, drug use increased and youngsters became more unruly in class, several students and teachers recalled.


"I'd visit them and see that books were destroyed, their classroom was vandalized," Gascon said. "I could lecture them … but I understand how they feel. They feel like they've been abandoned."

Over to you, Diane Ravitch...

P.S.: If a union-enforced seniority principle is a terrible way to run schools, what makes us think it isn't it also a terrible way to run hospital nursing staffs or water and power departments—or auto factories? ... [via Newsalert] 10:42 a.m.

Kaus, co-King of blogging along with Glen Reynolds, opposed Barbara Boxer during the Democratic primary this year (he didn't win but should have). He was serious in intent during his run against Senator Boxer, but he did it with a smile.

Senator Boxer refused to debate Mr. Kaus. He decided to proceed with the debate anyway.

The Kaus for Senate commercials were cute, fast-paced and packed in a lot of message, including his thoughts on the teacher's unions.