Press Statement on Chicago Teachers Strike

The Chicago Teachers strike is an incredibly important development because it is a the first time a union local has threatened to strike against education policies pushed by the Obama Administration through its Race to the Top initiative, policies, in my judgment have had incredibly destructive consequences for Urban school systems and distressed urban communities The policies pushed by Rahm Emmanuel, which are being simultaneously implemented in New York and many other cities, involve evaluating teachers and schools on the basis of student test scores, closing schools whose test scores fail to meet a certain standard and firing half their staffs, replacing public schools with charter schools, some run as non profits and some run for profit, and trying to weaken teacher tenure and introduce merit pay The first three components have been already introduced in Chicago and the mayor wants to intensify them and legnthen the school day. The union is saying enough is enough. I support the union in taking this stand for the following reasos 1. Closing schools many of which have been a bulwark of neighborhoods for generations, has been a complete disaster. It has destroyed one point of stability in the lives of young people who have precious little. It removes teachers who have been a part of students lives. It is not an accident that Chicago has seen a serious uptick of violence since Emmanuel became mayor. Young people in distressed neighborhoods need to see community institutions strengthened and teachers mentors protected. School closings and staff turnover take away needed anchors 2. Rating teachers and schools on the basis of student test scores, and threatening to close schools and fire teachers if the proper results aren't achieved have not only ratcheted up stress levels in schools, they have led to the elimination of art music, sports, school trips and even recess for test prep. The result is that more and more teachers hate teaching and more and more young people hate school, increasing the drop out rate in neighborhoods which desperately need schools to become community centers where young people want to go. The union wants to make schools welcoming places where students want to come by reducing class size, and bringing back sports and the arts, and strengtheining struggling schools rather than closing them. That makes a lot of sense to me 3. Favoring charter schools over public schools has resulted in the systematic creaming off of high performing students by the charters and the warehousing of ELL and special needs students, along with students who have behavior issues, in the remaining public schools. The result is that overall academic performance in the district has not improved 4. Removing teacher tenure and job protections has resulted in the most talented teachers leaving the city system or trying to move from low performing schools to high performing ones where they are less likely to be fired. The result is an accentuation of racial and economic gaps in performance Basically, what the union wants is to strengthen neighborhood schools and invest in making them places where students are nurtured and want to come, rather than stress filled test factories which the Emmanuel plan and Race to the Top guarantees The union, in this instance is far better advocate for the children of Chicago than the mayor I am available for interviews on my cell all weekend (917) 836-3014

Stubborn Facts About Obama Education Policies That No Amount of Convention Sugarcoating Can Cover Up

If you watched the Democratic Convention, you would never know that the Obama Administration’s education policies were extremely controversial with America’s teachers and had provoked outrage among many of the nation’s most distinguished education scholars. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel spoke at the Convention without anyone mentioning that his policies had provoked an impending strike among tens of thousands of teachers , and that these policies were one’s supported by the Administration’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Duncan also spoke at the Convention, making the incredible statement that “no teacher should teach to the test” when his Race to the Top policies requiring that teacher evaluations be in part be based on student test scores, had resulted in “teaching to the test” everywhere those funds were distributed. And finally, the President’s statement that “teachers shouldn’t be fired” goes squarely against the school closing component of Race to the Top which mandates that schools designated as failing- again, by the criterion of test scores, should be closed, and fifty percent of its teaching staff removed when a new school is put in its place What was also not said is that the Obama Education policies are the one part of its political program most praised by Republicans, and that Obama officials have effusively praised the education policies of two Republican Governors, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. And because these policies are likely to be continued no matter which party wins the Presidency, it is important to enumerate some of the negative consequences of the Race to the Top initiative that has been a hallmark of this Administration’s education policies. The following are some stubborn facts about the consequences of Obama Administration education policy should be aware of FACT ONE. Teacher morale is at the lowest level it has been in recorded history. This is in part because virtually every major leadership group in the society has blamed teachers for the nation’s problems, but also because teachers job protections and job rights are under attack and because they are increasingly evaluated on the basis of student test scores FACT TWO, Special needs students and ELL students are everywhere experiencing humiliation, and occasionally outright discrimination, because students who do not test well are seen as threatening the careers of teachers and school administrators It is in the interest of schools to exclude such students or push them out to maintain a positive test profile, a practice notoriously common among some of the nation’s best know charter schools. FACT THREE The teaching force in the nation is being steadily “whitened” as a result of school closing and teacher firings mandated by Race to the Top and the replacement of experienced union teachers in large city school districts with Teach for America Corps members. FACT FOUR- Students throughout the country, even in middle class, high performing districts, are increasingly complaining that they hate school because of an enormous rise in the number and frequency of standardized tests and the elimination of gym, recess, sports and the arts to make room for test prep. These problems will all intensify in coming years unless there is a radical change in the nation’s education policies. Based on what transpired at the Democratic Convention, no such change will forthcoming unless there is something close to a revolt on the parte of America’s teachers, students and parents. September 7, 2012

Calling All Lawyers- Time For “Testing As Child Abuse Suits” to Fill the Nation’s Courts

A tragedy is quietly taking place in America’s public schools that represent an important opportunity for America’s lawyers to advance the cause of equity and justice All over the nation, with the support of both major parties, schools systems are now requiring that teachers and administrators be evaluated on the basis of student test scores, with their jobs placed in jeopardy if the scores do not reach a certain level. To implement these protocols, the number of standardized tests being administered in schools is being ratcheted up to unprecedented proportions, with some systems testing student in every grade and every subject. Worse yet, these tests are being applied across the board, with no exemptions given to special needs students and English Language Learners, and severe consequences attached to students who don’t pass them, as well as the teachers and administrators who work with them. For teachers and administrators, stress levels have reach unprecedented proportions, as long established job rights are being overturned. But for students, the consequences are far worse. Not only has an adversarial relationship been created between teachers and students which is ratchets up classroom stress, but it puts tremendous pressure on teachers and administrators to remove, or otherwise avoid, students who don’t test well. All over the country, students with learning disabilities are being stigmatized, and marginalized, because of this testing regime, so much so that a identifiable pattern of discrimination has been created that cries out for litigation. But this kind of discrimination against special needs students is not the only consequence of new testing and evaluation norms which is potentially actionable. Another consequence, which is particularly visible in high needs schools, is the cancellation of recess, gym and after school recreation programs for test prep. In communities where there are severe child obesity problems, schools are eliminating already limited programs of physical activity so that every available moment of schools can can be devoted to preparing for tests, even in the face of laws and school procedures which require a certain amount of physical education per day. Finally, and this is taking place even in middle class communities, classes which once left time for the arts, and science projects and school trips, are now concentrating entirely on achieving strong tests results, making a generation of students look upon going to school with emotions ranging from resignation to dread. A final incentive to subject these consequences of high stakes testing to legal action is that the vast majority of tests that help produce these consequences are produce by for profit companies like Pearson which lobby elected officials to get the contracts to produce them. What we have here are not only abusive practices, but identifiable individuals and entities who PROFIT from their implementation. There are organizations all over the country which have sprung up to challenge the destructive consequences of high takes testing- among them United Opt Out and Parents Across America- but they have thus far not yet developed a systematic strategy to subject these practices to litigation I therefore urge justice minded lawyers interested in protecting the nation’s children from discriminatory practices to contact these two organizations so that the abusive dimensions of high stakes testing can be challenged in the courts as well as the political arena When a massive threat emerges to the health and well being of the nation’s children, action must be taken. Protecting children from abusive testing is the REAL civil rights cause of our time. September 5, 2012

A Teacher's Legacy in an Age of Educational Entrepreneuship

My main legacy will always be the accomplishment of my students, who continue to inspire me with all they do to make the world a better place; but in the last few years, I have become immersed in creating another legacy- documenting the descent of the nation into a Dark Age of Educational Entrepreneurship which is turning teaching into a revolving door profession while imposing upon students ( at least those who can't afford to go to expensive private schools) a stifling regime of Universal Testing. An alliance of testing companies, management consulting firms, on line learning programs, and for profit schools, coupled with non profit organizations like Teach for America and charter schools chains which mimic the salary structure and employment policies of the private sector, supported by leaders of America's largest corporations plus Wall Street investers, now have leaders of both major parties in their vise like grip. I do not pretend that I can stop this political juggernaut, which Big Capital has made it's favorite cause,, but I can place my dissent on the public record, day in and day out, and document the damage it is doing, particularly in working class, immigrant areas like the Bronx whom its innovations purport to help. So you can de-friend me, ignore me, marginalize me, even mock me, but I will not shut up. This is a story that needs to be told so that future generations can learn from it

Thoughts for Labor Day

****Hedge fund financiers, such as the ones behind Democrats for Education Reform, who support programs to weaken teachers unions and privatize schools and say "we need to do it for the children" should subject themselves to a bit of transparency. Were the companies they took over, the jobs they eliminated or exported, the taxes they evaded, and the huge commissions they extracted for doing these things also done "for the children." The children of those who lost jobs as a result of their actions, or saw their wages and salaries slashed, might question their sincerity. *****In a just world, Barack Obama, and much of the Democratic Party with him, would be defeated in the upcoming election for betraying the nation's teachers and much of organized labor with them But because much of the Republican Party has been taken over by people who are racist, sexist and Bat Shit Crazy, even people who once swore they were going to sit out this election n are now planning to vote for the President and work for his re-election. Never in my life have I seen such a strange situation. It makes me acutely uncomfortable to work for candidates whose policies I despise to stave off a take over of the country by people whose core values are opposed to everything I have stood for during the last 50 years. To quote Marvin Gaye "Makes me Wanna Holler, Throw Up Both My Hands." *****Just made my contribution to the Chicago Teachers Union Solidarity Fund. This is in keeping with my commitment to fund grass roots initiatives which will pay dividends in terms of protest and resistance AFTER this election is over. *****i have no problem with sacrifice if sacrifice is shared. But if sacrifice for the many is accompanied by enrichment of the few, I think it's time to flip the script.

My Criteria For Judging Charter Schools

Unlike some of my friends and political comrades, I am not against charter schools as a matter of principle. However, I am acutely aware that the charter school movement has been used by the nation’s financial elite as a strategy to weaken public schools, undermine teachers unions, divide parents in working class communities against one another, and in all to many cases,build careers or make profits. The following are some common sense categories I have developed to judge whether charter schools, or charter school organizations, represent well intentioned experiments in diversifying public education, or cynical efforts to undermine public schools and degrade the teaching profession. If charter schools or charter school organizations possess the following attributes, you should be very, very wary of what they are about. 1. The leaders call themselves “CEO’s” and make salaries many time higher than those of public school administrators in their communities. 2. They have extremely high rates of turnover for teachers because they are not unionized and subject their teachers to extreme pressure and intimidation. 3. They systematically exclude, or drive out, special needs students, ELL students and students who can’t and won’t conform to draconian behavior codes 4. They define the communities they are located in as toxic and seek to make their students aspire to cultural values of wealthy people outside their communities who fund their schools. 5. They denounce local public schools and seek to have them replaced by more and more charters and refuse to work with public schools when they are located in the same building. 6, They are run for profit by private companies. When we apply these standards to real life what we come up with is chilling. The most publicized charter school organizations- K.I.P.P., the Harlem Children’s Zone and Harlem Success Academies, all possess the first five attributes while a shocking number of new charters are run for profit. And as a result, the charter school movement, despite incredible support from both major parties and corporate America, have not expanded educational opportunity as a whole in America’s poor and working class communities because it has systematically weakened public education to advance itself and left children not in charter schools in resource starved institutions.

Another Message to Teachers in a Difficult Time

I am not going to lie to you- I have never seen a more toxic political climate for teachers than the one we are in now. After three years of a Democratic Administration holding teachers responsible for the problems of failing schools, we now see the leaders of the Republican party making attacks on teachers and teachers unions a focal point of their Presidential campaign. And while this is going on, privatizers and profiteers circle around the nation's public schools like vultures, waiting to pick their carcass clean as political leaders compete to destroy them and/or sell them off. But my teacher friends, don't let these forces run you off and run you out. Outlast them, outsmart them, and outmaneuver them, all the while serving your students and their families as your conscience dictate. Because the policies offered by those that attack you will not work- they will make the country more unequal, and transform schools into places where young people dread to go. I realize I am asking a lot of you. But you are quite literally the hope of this nation, and what is left of its conscience, so hang in, hang on, and help educate your students, and colleagues, to the damage current policies are inflicting on the nation's children, and the nation's future.