Twisted TeachersEvery conservative in the position to hire new employees should have this list of left leaning schools. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewGroups.asp?type=aca-i Left leaning professors here http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/IndividualDesc.asp? type=aca The Worst School in America (Santa Cruz) http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=28053 Angela Davis retired as a professor at Santa Cruz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2867381/posts?page=1 Read more: The big list: Female teachers with students http://www.wnd.com/? pageId=39783#ixzz1UGn1fxvc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2885095/posts Obama Linked To NAMBLA: North American Man Boy Lust Association Political VelCraft ^ | 9/18/2010 Kevin Jennings is the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools czar, appointed by Obama’s Education Secretary, Arne Duncan. Kevin Jennings is a homosexual and the poster boy for NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association of pedophiles. Child molesters. NAMBLA is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an organization that promotes sex between grown men and young boys. Once, when Jennings was teaching at a private school, a 15 year old male student told him that he was having sex with an “older man” he met in the restroom of a bus station. Jennings response was to encourage the boy to continue and advise him to wear a condom, instead of immediately reporting this to the police and protecting the child. Jennings is an outspoken admirer of Harry Hay, as in this speech he gave in 1997 after Hay’s death: “One of the people that’s always inspired me is Harry Hay, who started the first ongoing gay rights groups in America. In 1948, he tried to get people to join the Mattachine Society. It took him two years to find one other person who would join. Well, [in] 1993, Harry Hay marched with a million people in Washington, who thought he had a good idea 40 years before. Everybody thought Harry Hay was crazy in 1948, and they knew something about him which he apparently did not—they were right, he was crazy. You are all crazy. We are all crazy. All of us who are thinking this way are crazy, because you know what? Sane people keep the world the same [shitty] old way it is now.” “People will know you by the company you keep,” my grandmother told me. - Barack Hussein Obama Like that speech? Nice speech? A good example being set by another swell Obama appointee? And who is Harry Hay? He was a homosexual pedophile who was deeply involved in NAMBLA. He gave keynote speeches and led panel discussions at several NAMBLA conferences. He openly told stories about how wonderful his own experiences were as a young teenager having sex with adult men. He encouraged the gay rights movement to not exclude NAMBLA from the united front of rights for all sexual minorities. Three Homosexual Members of Obama’s Church (Rev Wright) Murdered Before Election Barack Hussein Obama has surrounded himself with the gutter scum of our society to help him CHANGE our government, and he said himself that we will know him by the company he keeps. He said that during his election campaign. Hey, Barry, I knew what you were all along. It’s trying to wake up my neighbors to the dragon in their midst that’s so hard, but with all the help you’re giving me and many others, I think we may just get there yet. • VICTORY: Gay "Safe Schools" office in US Dept. of Education gets funds cut, status demoted. massresistance.com ^ | 07/02/2011 | n/a Just weeks after Obama's "Safe Schools Czar" Kevin Jennings resigned as Obama's "Safe Schools Czar," the office he ran in the US Dept. of Education has been demoted after its funds were severely cut by Congress in the upcoming federal budget. Although it's difficult to pinpoint the exact amounts, it's estimated nearly three-quarters of the funding to Jennings' "Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools" is being cut by Congress in the upcoming 2012 budget! Jennings' office received an estimated $410 million in total in last year's budget! According to Education Week (a liberal journal covering the education industry), on... • Good Riddance…Obama’s Radical Safe Schools Czar Hits the Skids Big Government ^ ...After a two year stint, Obama’s Safe School’s czar Kevin Jennings has resigned from his position with the Obama Administration. *Content warning at link.* • Obama’s Porn-Pushing Safe School’s Czar Is Stepping Down in July (Warning on Content) RightNetwork ^ | May 23, 2011 | Jim Hoft In March 2000 the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) organization of Massachusetts held its 10 Year Anniversary GLSEN/Boston conference at Tufts University. This conference was fully supported by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Safe Schools Program, the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, and some of the presenters even received federal money. Excerpted due to some unseemly content Part 1 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2626827/posts Part 2 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2626825/posts Part 3 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2626828/posts part 1 http://www.aim.org/aim-column/nambla-gate-the-strange-case-of-kevin-jennings-part-one/ George Soros http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2626827/posts part 3 http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/18704 Jennings was announced as the Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools, in the Department of Education on May 19. His official biography mentions his role in creating an organization, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which is supposed to provide factual information about the history of the “gay rights” movement to teachers and students. But the references to Hay in GLSEN literature fail to include anything about his CPUSA, pro-NAMBLA or Radical Faerie activities. • NY principal: 'God Bless the USA' offensive, Bieber’s 'Baby' acceptable for kindergarteners Daily Caller ^ | June 10, 2012 | Caroline May A Coney Island [Brooklyn, New York] principal has pulled Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” from a kindergarten “moving up” ceremony, out of concern that Greenwood’s patriotic song was age-inappropriate and potentially offensive. “We don’t want to offend other cultures,” teachers quoted Greta Hawkins, the principal of the Edna Cohen School, as saying to defend her decision to nix “God Bless the USA” from the ceremony, the New York Post reports. Greenwood’s song had been sung at previous school functions, and students in five classes reportedly spent months rehearsing for the moving up ceremony. Department of Education spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti... • Controversial Professor’s Case before Colorado Supreme Court ( Ward Churchill ) ap ^ | Jun 07, 2012 A University of Colorado professor fired following public outcry over an essay in which he compared some Sept. 11 victims to a Nazi is arguing his case before the Colorado Supreme Court. The court will hear arguments Thursday afternoon regarding the 2007 termination of Ward Churchill. • California Teachers Declare Independence from State and National Teachers Unions Association of American Educators ^ | June 2012 In a bold move for teacher independence in Fresno, California, a group of local teachers, led by veteran educator Mike Cerrillo, recently voted to disaffiliate from the California Teacher Association (CTA) and the National Education Association (NEA) in favor of local representation. The newly formed Washington Unified Faculty Association (WUFA) will now bargain independently and rely on the nonunion Association of American Educators for nonbargaining member benefits and services such as liability insurance and legal counsel. The process to sever ties with the CTA/ NEA was lengthy and often dramatic for this tight-knit group of hardworking teachers. In the diverse... • Soros Spends $400 Million On 'Open Society' Education... CNSNews.com ^ | 6/5/2012 | Dan Gainor About Us Resources Send Tips Donate RSS CNSNews.TV On the Spot On the Scene The Schein OTJ Golden Hookah Soros Spends $400 Million On 'Open Society' Education, 'Social Action,' Colleges And Universities By Dan Gainor June 5, 2012 Subscribe to Dan Gainor's posts School is letting out around the United States, but for George Soros, education never stops. Soros has given more than $400 million to colleges and universities, including money to most prominent institutions in the United States. He also helped establish Central European University (CEU) which, in turn, uses its resources to promote his personal goal of an... • LA High School Brings Planned Parenthood to Campus Breitbart News ^ | 06/05/2012 | Breitbart News The Los Angeles Unified School District and controversial abortion and contraception provider Planned Parenthood are teaming up for a special program at Roosevelt High School. ~snip~ So the school will now host Planned Parenthood on campus. Students do not need parental permission to receive either an abortion or contraceptive care in California. Planned Parenthood provides free contraceptive care, including a patch, a ring, pills, or a shot. “We don’t really experience the traditional narrative of angry parents not wanting access to reproductive care in the schools,” explained Planned Parenthood’s LA executive director, Sue Dunlap. “It’s really the opposite.” ~snip~ It... • Percentage of Minn. teachers taking leave on rise pioneer press ^ | 6-3-12 | ap ST. PAUL, Minn.—Minnesota teachers have been taking medical leaves more often in recent years, and while there could be many factors for the increase, some teachers say they are using the leaves to get a break from mounting pressures and high expectations being placed on them. A Minnesota School Boards Association survey of 85 school districts found a 27 percent increase in days that educators spent on various types of leave in 2008 compared with two years earlier. The association also said it has been receiving more questions about medical leaves, while districts have seen a spike in mental-health-related leave... • Political Correctness in Public Schools Set Our Children Free ^ | 6/5/12 | Tony Caruso On May 15th and 16th of 2012, Channel One, which is shown to six million middle and high school students each school day, aired a two part video series that gave a very sanitized view of Islam and Muslims in America. Schools accepted Channel One a few years ago because it put free TVs in every classroom, and it was paid for by a few brief commercials which pedaled products that appealed to teens. The initial programming was apolitical, but like everything else connected to public schools, it apparently has succumbed to political correctness. Political correctness, as practiced in today’s... • Publicly-Funded Oakland School Sends Kids Panhandling To Raise Cash breitbart.com ^ | 5 June 2012 | Breitbart News In Oakland, California, you may notice students out on street corners, panhandling. Unfortunately, that’s not too uncommon these days – there are too many homeless children desperately seeking aid. But that’s not the problem here. In Oakland, those kids are raising money for Saint Andrew Private School, a publicly-funded school that often sends students out to raise money by panhandling in dangerous areas, even after nightfall. Said one student, “It’s called interpersonal communications class.” The pastor, Robert Lacy, would apparently drive the kids around in a brokedown white van with no seatbelts, and then drop them off to raise funds.... • Tribunals fire two in APS (Atlanta Public School's teacher) cheating cases AJC ^ | 5/28/12 | Jaime Sarrio Tribunals fire two in APS cheating casesBy Jaime Sarrio The Atlanta JournalConstitution 6:51 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Idalina Couto's blemish-free teaching career with Atlanta Public Schools ended after 20 years Tuesday when a panel of educators upheld a decision to fire her for breaking testing procedure and failing to report cheating. A decision to fire a second teacher, Vanessa Jackson, was also upheld, bringing to seven the number of educators terminated as a result of cheating allegations. Couto, a third grade teacher at Jones Elementary, allegedly told GBI agents she prompted students to reread incorrect questions on 2009 state... • Misconduct scandal prompts L.A. schools to send 604 teacher discipline cases to state CNN ^ | 6/01/12 | Michael Martinez Misconduct scandal prompts L.A. schools to send 604 teacher discipline cases to stateBy Michael Martinez, CNN updated 6:19 AM EDT, Fri June 1, 2012 Los Angeles (CNN) -- In the wake of a teacher misconduct scandal, Los Angeles school officials have referred the discipline cases of 604 teachers from the past four years to state authorities to decide whether the teachers' licenses should also be revoked, a school spokesman said Thursday. Of the 604 cases in which teachers were fired or facing discipline, 60 teachers were accused of sexual misconduct with pupils on or off campus or with minors who... LAUSD will pay $200,000 settlement over alleged sexual harassment by former Superintendent Ramon Cortines http://www.dailynews.com/ci_20692418/lausd-will-pay-200-000-settlement-over-alleged? source=most_viewed • Reality Check: Is Teacher Pay So Low They Cannot 'Eat and Have a Life'? Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 5/28/2012 | Tom Gantert Rockford Public School high school teacher Craig Beach wrote a column for MLive in which he alleged that Republican lawmakers are ruining the teaching profession and talked about a colleague’s daughter’s views on teacher pay. Beach quoted the young woman criticizing the teaching profession’s “extremely low pay” with “I want to eat and have a life.” The article quotes the young woman as saying: “Mom, I know what goes into the profession. You demonstrate the many hours put in after leaving school, the stress, the lack of respect and now extremely low pay. • Teacher caught kissing her boy-toy student New York Post ^ | May 30, 2012 | ANNIE KARNI and DON KAPLAN They look like a picture-perfect young couple kissing in the park. The problem is, she’s his high-school teacher. Stunning global-studies instructor Julie Warning got a bit too worldly with a pupil in the middle of a Greenwich Village park after school — and the makeout session was caught on camera by one of her own stunned students. • Another School Day, Another Sex Scandal The Christian Diarist ^ | June 1, 2012 | JP Erin Sayer is a high school English teacher in Brooklyn. She’s the target of a lawsuit filed this week that accuses her of carrying on a month-long sexual liaison with a 16-year-old student she tutored. The suit was brought by the boy’s parents who say that the 35-year-old Sayer, a wife and mother, plied their son with pot she kept in a file cabinet at school and sexed him up in her SUV. “As parents,” said the Eng’s family attorney, Bruce Baron, “we entrust our teachers with the care of our children, to cultivate and nurture their foundations. • Springfield (MA) school condom policy to be discussed The Republican ^ The School Department’s new policy on making condoms available to students ages 12 or over will be subject to discussion at a public hearing Wednesday at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The event, scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., will be held in the Mass Mutual Gallery Room, 1150 West Columbus Ave. Azell Cavaan, school spokeswoman, said all parents with children in the city’s public school system are invited to attend. The event is being held to “get input from people on how the policy will be implemented,” Cavaan said. The event is being co-sponsored by the... • Obama Admin Tells High Schools to Push Obamacare Big Government, Breitbart ^ | May 22, 2012 | Ben Shapiro The Departments of Health and Human Services and Education are now acting as outlets for the Obama re-election campaign. In a press announcement released yesterday, HHS stated that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan “are reaching out to campus leaders to remind graduating high school, college and university seniors about their new health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act – the health care law.” This is obvious propagandizing; under the old health care law, most insurance programs allowed dependent care coverage for people under the age of 21. So why would Sebelius and company be... • Mississippi Marine's family rips school for making little brother hide Corps logo Fox News ^ The mother of a 13-year-old boy said she's outraged her son was banned from wearing a T-shirt in class that shows an anatomically correct U.S. Marine Corps bulldog. Sandra Griffith, of Ellisville, Miss., said her son, Jordan, was was told by administrators at South Jones Elementary School to turn the shirt inside-out because the genitalia of the dog was deemed offensive. "They said turn the shirt inside-out or go home and get a new one,'" Griffith told FoxNews.com. "I was in complete shock." The front of the USMC T-shirt shows the bulldog's face with the words: “If you are not... • Florida teen has diploma withheld, ... after Tebowing during graduation ceremony Foxdc.com ^ | May 22, 2012 | NewsCore FORT MYERS, Fla. - A Florida teenager had his diploma withheld and was ordered to clean the school gym as punishment for Tebowing on stage during his graduation ceremony -- and later discovered the punishment was his mother's idea. Chuck Shriner, a 17-year-old football player at the private Fort Myers Catholic school, performed the popular kneeling-in-prayer pose Saturday and said he was shocked at his punishment, Naples News reported Tuesday • Progressivism: The purpose of colleges it to indoctrinate and manipulate PGA Weblog ^ The following words are attributed to Woodrow Wilson in 1909: (14th quote down) The purpose of a university should be to make a son as unlike his father as possible. By the time a man has grown old enough to have a son in college he has specialized. The university should generalize the treatment of its undergraduates, should struggle to put them in touch with every force of life. This is important, for several reasons. He's making clear the progressive point of view about universities they're not really there to educate people with meaningful and substantive information(although, • Arizona bill would fire teachers for indoctrination Times 24/7 ^ | Feb 22, 2012 | Madeleine Morgenstern Teachers in Arizona would automatically be fired for bringing “partisan doctrine” into their classrooms under a bill pending before the state legislature. Arizona Senate bill 1202 is meant to ensure students get a balanced view of what they’re taught in school, Capitol Media Services reported. In addition to firing teachers who bring partisanship into the classroom, school districts that allow it to happen would face losing state funding. The bill is being sponsored by state Sen. Lori Klein of Anthem, who said she has received complaints about “political indoctrination in the classroom,” according to CMS. Klein, a Republican, is also... • Student Who Recorded Teacher Yelling at Him for Criticizing President Obama Speaks Out (Video) Fox News ^ | May 22, 2012 | Fox News Insider A teacher is now suspended with pay after audio was found of her yelling at a student for criticizing President Obama. It all began in the classroom when the topic of the day was a discussion regarding GOP contender Mitt Romney being a bully in high school. When the student challenged the teacher, the audio reveals she began yelling at him. (snip) The student involved in that incident, Hunter Rogers, and his mother, Gina Rogers, spoke out about this matter on today’s Fox and Friends. After he asked the teacher if Obama had been a bully, he said she immediately... • Student defends criticism of Obama after being berated by teacher (photo included) FoxNews.com ^ | Published May 22, 2012 He wanted to "laugh" when he heard the teacher suggest he could be arrested for criticizing a sitting president. "Honestly, at the time I wanted to laugh at her, because I've been taught all my life that nobody can take your opinion," He said he knew that it takes an actual threat against the president, not just criticism, to be arrested. "(The teacher) doesn't want to hear anything but what she believes, and ... if you disagree, you get berated and put down," Rogers said. "I just decided to finally get some proof of it." "Didn't Obama bully somebody though?"... • Student’s diploma withheld after he Tebowed on stage during graduation LarryBrownSports.com ^ | 5/22/12 | Larry Brown A high school senior’s diploma was withheld after he Tebowed on stage during his graduation ceremony last weekend. 17-year-old Chuck Shriner played football for Fort Myers Catholic school and thought Tebowing after crossing the stage would make his ceremony “fun” and “memorable.” While his move elicited plenty of laughs, it didn’t go over well with the school’s administration. Shriner’s diploma was withheld at the behest of his mother, who is also a teacher at the school. “They said what I did would give underclassmen inspiration to do something else, that it might lead to something else,” Shriner said about the... • Half of Florida high school students fail reading test Yahoo News ^ | May 18, 2012 | Staff Nearly half of Florida high school students failed the reading portion of the state's new toughened standardized test, education officials said on Friday. Results this year from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test showed 52 percent of freshman students and 50 percent of sophomores scored at their grade levels. Students in the 10th grade must pass the exam in order to eventually graduate but can retake it if they fail. The results came days after the Florida State Board of Education voted to lower the standards needed to pass the writing part of the test, known as FCAT. The test is Student Loan "Help" Makes Education More Expensive Townhall.com ^ | May 21, 2012 | Terry Paulsen If you want to know what is wrong with the cost of education in America, look to some of the politicians you elected. We've been sold that cheap student loans are the answer to making education affordable. Nothing can be further from the truth. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma Senator, could summarize this column in one sentence: "If you want to make something expensive, have government get involved in making it affordable." When you disregard basic economics, we learn the hard way. With limited supply, the greater the demand for a given product or service the higher the price. High school teacher tells student he can be arrested for criticizing Obama Spokane Conservative Examiner ^ | May 20, 2012 | Joe Newby May 20, 2012 High school teacher tells student he can be arrested for criticizing Obama Joe Newby Spokane Conservative Examiner After criticizing Mitt Romney, a North Carolina high school teacher yelled at a student for asking a question about Barack Obama, telling him that he could be arrested for criticizing Barack Obama. Sarah Campbell wrote at the Salisbury Post Saturday that the heated exchange began "with a classroom conversation about a recent news story detailing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney allegedly bullying a classmate in prep school. It turns into a heated, sometimes confrontational debate." “Didn’t Obama bully someone though,”... • School pulls boy from class for black face costume Associated Press ^ | May 18, 2012 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- A white Colorado second-grade student who wore black face paint as part of a Martin Luther King costume has drawn criticism from school officials. Sean King was pulled out of class Wednesday after donning the makeup for a project requiring students to dress up as a historical figure. Calif students rank 47th in science students state scores – news – The OCR http://www.ocregister.com/news/students-353581-state-scores.html • Free Our Kids From Arne Duncan Townhall.com ^ | May 14, 2012 | Star Parker President Obama now commands center stage following his formal announcement that, yes, he supports same sex marriage. But for perspective on how we got to this point, we should shift our sights to three days before the president’s announcement. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appeared on MSNBC where he responded “yes, I do” when asked if he supports same sex marriage. Duncan at best raised a few eyebrows by stating his support for same sex marriage. If he had said that homosexuality is immoral there would have been demands for his ouster. How have we gone from a nation where... • Test coordinator accused of ‘ultimate betrayal' of students (Atlanta's cheating teachers) AJC ^ | 5/11/12 | D. Aileen Dodd Test coordinator accused of ‘ultimate betrayal' of studentsBy D. Aileen Dodd The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 6:37 p.m. Friday, May 11, 2012 A Slater Elementary School teacher allowed her colleagues to cheat as they erased stray marks on 2009 state exam sheets, resulting in the "ultimate betrayal" of students, an Atlanta Public Schools lawyer said at the teacher's termination hearing. The teacher and test coordinator, Vanessa Jackson, denied the allegations, saying she went "beyond my call of duty" in her job. The termination hearing will continue next Friday as the defense presents its case. Atlanta Public Schools officials said Jackson was responsible... • California science proficiency has plummeted with immigration (Calif. students rank 47th in science) The Orange County Register ^ | May 10, 2012 | Fermin Leal About 22 percent of California's eighth-graders tested on a national science test passed, ranking the Golden State among the worst in the nation, according to figures released Thursday. Scores from the 2012 National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation's Report Card, show that too few students have the skills that could lead to careers in the field, educators said. Nationally, 31 percent of eighth-graders tested scored proficient or advanced. Both the national and state scores improved slightly over scores from two years ago, the last time the test was administered. The state ranked 47th, only above Mississippi,... • NJ to no longer ask 3rd-graders to reveal a secret Associated Press ^ | May 12, 2012 3:30 PM ET New Jersey education officials will no longer use a standardized test question that asked third-graders to reveal a secret and write about why it was difficult to keep. The question appeared on the writing portion of some versions of the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge given to third-graders this past week. And it drew criticism from some parents, who thought it was inappropriate. • Almost 80% of California eighth grade students failed the National Science Test. OCR ^ | 5-10-2010 | edcoil About 22 percent of California's eighth-graders tested on a national science test passed, ranking the Golden State among the worst in the nation, according to figures released Thursday. Scores from the 2012 National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation's Report Card, show that too few students have the skills that could lead to careers in the field, educators said. http://www.ocregister.com/news/students-353581-state-scores.html • "Head Start" an Abysmal Failure for Kids, a Spectacular Success for Teachers Townhall.com ^ | May 9, 2012 | Mike Shedlock Head Start, a preschool program for low-income kids has been a spectacular success, not for kids, but for teachers and teachers' unions. Please consider MiamiDade County seeks to unload Head Start program, salaries For more than four decades, Miami-Dade County officials have managed Head Start, the storied preschool program for children from low-income families. But the county now wants out — and “generous” salaries are partly to blame. On average, Miami-Dade paid its Head Start teachers $76,860 in salary and fringe benefits in 2011, county records show. That’s about 90 percent higher than the second highest-paying Head Start provider in... • House overturns school bake sale ban Boston Herald ^ | 5/9/12 | Chris Cassidy State lawmakers overturned a controversial ban on school bake sales this afternoon after a fierce public outcry over school nutrition guidelines that also prohibited pizza, white bread and 2 percent milk. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve seen in my career,” state Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord), moments after the House unanimously voted to ease the statewide cupcake crackdown. “Talk about hitting the nerve of government reaching far into people’s lives.” State Rep. Brad Hill (RIpswich) offered the amendment, which leaves it up to local school committees whether to adopt the Department of Public Health rules, after hearing about an Ipswich... • Hunger Strike Forces University to Build 'Gender Neutral' Bathrooms Campus Reform ^ The University of Minnesota-Duluth administration ceded to student Blair Moses's demand for gender neutral bathrooms on campus after he threatened and began an extended hunger strike. In late April, Moses sent a letter to the administration with two demands. First, he insisted they "take immediate action to begin the process of designating more gender neutral bathrooms." Second, he demanded an "announcement stating the said day of change." In the letter, Moses threatened that if his demands were not met by April 26, he would begin a hunger strike for three weeks or more • Over 15,000 protest Georgetown’s invitation to Sebelius cna ^ | May 9, 2012 | Michelle Bauman Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies before the Senate Finance Committee. Credit: HHS-Chris Smith. Washington D.C., May 9, 2012 / 02:17 am (CNA).- More than 15,000 people have signed an open letter protesting Georgetown University’s decision to invite U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to speak at an award ceremony during its commencement weekend.“Our courageous bishops have been vigilant against this threat and they deserve, at a minimum, the respect and support of prominent institutions that claim to be in communion with the Church,” said CatholicVote.org president Brian Burch, who organized the letter.In a May 8 e-mail to CNA,... • Military Mom on School T-Shirt Ban [son wore a USMC t-shirt to school] The Rush Limbaugh Program ^ | 9 May 2012 | Rush Limbaugh BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Here's Sandra in Ellisville, Mississippi. Hey, Sandra, great to have you on the EIB Network. Hi. CALLER: Mega dittos, Rush. Much to my shock this morning at 11:15, I'm just gonna make this short and sweet, I get a call from my sixth grader in elementary school saying that I had to bring him another shirt or go home. And I didn't understand what the problem was. He was wearing his brother, who's in the Marine Corps fighting in Afghanistan, a United States Marine Corps shirt that had the logo of the bulldog that said "If you're... • Students Raise Awareness of Trayvon Martin Case with Hoodie Protest (School okay with it) Patch ^ | May 8, 2012 | Brendan J. O'Reilly Typically, it's against the dress code at Southampton public schools to wear a hood up in classrooms and hallways, but for the past three Fridays, several students have been spotted in hoodies — with the school administration's blessing — as an act of protest. The quiet demonstration is designed to raise awareness of the killing of unarmed African-American teen Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26. Subsequent comments in the media said the hoodie Martin was wearing when he was shot bore as much responsibility for his death as the man who pulled the trigger, George Zimmerman. “Trayvon Martin was killed because... • Readers boiling about school ban on bake sales Boston Herald ^ | 05/08/2012 | Laurel J. Sweet The state’s declaration of war on cupcakes in the classroom went over like a lead souffle with Herald readers who voted resoundingly with their stomachs in an online poll yesterday. Readers pummeled bans on bake sales, pizza parties and ice cream socials during the school day — with 95 percent of those participating in the poll bucking the rule. “It’s really a shame for them to dictate to us what (our children) eat,” said baker extraordinaire Hillary Souza of Mansfield, whose Veronica’s Treats have been featured on “30 Rock” and “The Today Show” and gobbled up by health-obsessed celebrities. In controversial move, LAUSD’s Deasy wants to raise highschool graduation requirements Los Angeles Daily News By Barbara Jones, 5//5/2012 http://www.dailynews.com/education/ci_20558014/controversial-move-lausds-deasywants-raise-high-school Only 50 percent of Los Angeles students graduate Deasy is lowering the number of units required to graduate by 50 units. In an email from Deasy, he says the schools will cut their number of days per semester by 5 days • UC Berkeley adviser fired after affair San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/6/12 | Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross, Chronicle Columnists A former UC Berkeley assistant vice chancellor who doubled the salary of a male subordinate during a 15-month affair has been fired from the university. Diane Leite, 47, who had already been bumped from her assistant vice chancellor's job, was dismissed from the six-figure-salary adviser's job where she had landed, UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof confirmed Friday. Leite's relationship with purchasing manager Jonathan Caniezo, who is 17 years her junior, was detailed in a whistle-blower letter to her boss back in August. Records show that Caniezo's pay grew from $57,864 in late 2008 to $120,000 in 2010.When the scandal went... • Documentary ‘The War on Kids’ compares U.S. public schools to prison system Foxnews,com ^ | May 03, 2012 | By Hollie McKay Are public schools becoming more and more like prisons? That’s what the documentary “The War on Kids” says. Based on interviews with educators, medical professionals, students and sociologists, the documentary, which received a limited film festival run in 2009 and is being released this week on the Documentary Channel, paints the picture of an increasingly authoritarian and paranoid school system that is failing its students, stripping them of their civil liberties and constitutional rights. “Kids have no voice. Everyone pretends to care, but it is never true, and it’s the children who are being blamed for all the failings in... • Cut world population and redistribute resources, expert urges (Says Stanford Prof. Paul Ehrlich) The Guardian ^ | 04/26/2012 | John Vidal The world's most renowned population analyst has called for a massive reduction in the number of humans and for natural resources to be redistributed from the rich to the poor. Paul Ehrlich, Bing professor of population studies at Stanford University in California and author of the best-selling Population Bomb book in 1968, goes much further than the Royal Society in London which this morning said that physical numbers were as important as the amount of natural resources consumed. The optimum population of Earth – enough to guarantee the minimal physical ingredients of a decent life to everyone – was 1.5 to 2... • Obama Administration Honors 78 Schools for Educating ‘Tomorrow’s Environmental Leaders’ CNSNews ^ Obama Administration Honors 78 Schools for Educating ‘Tomorrow’s Environmental Leaders’ By Penny Starr April 24, 2012 (CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration on Monday recognized 78 schools across the nation for their efforts to promote a “green” environment – and train budding environmental activists for “jobs of the future.” "Science, environmental and outdoor education play a central role in providing children with a well-rounded education, helping prepare them for the jobs of the future," said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. He schools that focus on the environment can help students build “realworld skillsets.” Duncan – along with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson... • Indoctrination 101: Chicago School Teaching Students How To Protest (Part 1) Townhall.com ^ | April 24, 2012 | Kyle Olson Jones College Prep – a Chicago Public Schools “selective enrollment” school – recently held “Social Justice Week” in March, a collection of events geared towards turning students into activists. See the schedule of events here. According to a flyer on the school’s website: “Social Justice Week was created to promote community advancement through dialogue and community service based activism. Moreover, we hope to unify the voice of various JCP and community organizations in which to facilitate collaboration for the betterment of the community at large and promote a unified human rights advancement initiative.” http://www.krla870.com/column.aspx?id=0239dfc6-5f67-4c40-88d7-3fea4c04f78f Look What's Going On in Charter Schools By Phyllis Schlafly Tuesday, April 10, 2012 print this page The charter school movement was presented to the American people as a way to have more parental control over public school education. Charter schools are public schools financed by local taxpayers and federal grants. Charter schools are able to hire and fire teachers, administrators and staff and avoid control by education department bureaucrats and the teachers unions. No doubt there are some good charter schools, but loose controls have allowed a very different kind of school to emerge. Charter schools have opened up a path for foreigners to run schools at the expense of the U.S. taxpayers, without much news coverage. One of the few breakthroughs in the media was a June 7, 2011, front-page article in The New York Times, which carried over to two full inside pages, about the many charter schools run by a secretive and powerful sect from Turkey called the Gulen Movement. Headed by a Turkish preacher named Fethullah Gulen who had already founded a network of schools in 100 other countries, this movement opened its first U.S. charter school in 1999. Gulen's schools spread rapidly after he figured out how to work our system and get the U.S. taxpayers to import and finance his recruitment of followers for his worldwide religious and social movement. The Gulen Movement now operates the largest charter school network in the United States. It has at least 135 schools, teaching more than 45,000 students in at least 26 states, financed by millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars a year. The principals and school board members are usually Turkish men. Hundreds of Turkish teachers (referred to as "international teachers") and administrators have been admitted to the United States, often using H-1B visas, after claiming that qualified Americans cannot be found. In addition, the Gulen Movement has nurtured a close-knit network of businesses and organizations run by Turkish immigrants. These include the big contractors who built or renovated the schools, plus a long list of vendors selling school lunches, uniforms, after-school programs, web design, teacher training, and special education materials. Several other news sources have started to publish information about the Gulen charter schools. In Ohio, an NBC-TV station reported that Ohio taxpayers' money was used to recruit teachers for charter schools from overseas, especially from Turkey. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Turkish scientists, engineers and businessmen have opened several charter schools in Pennsylvania, plus 120 charter schools in 25 states, funded with millions of taxpayer dollars. Just one charter school, called the Truebright Science Academy, received $3 million from the Philadelphia School District. According to a guest article in the Washington Post on March 27, Gulen's U.S. schools are openly discussed in the Turkish press. The goal for Gulen's schools is to "teach tens of thousands of people the Turkish language ... introduce them to our culture and win them over," and so the schools regularly take students to Turkey for "cultural immersion." The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that charter schools in New Orleans and Baton Rouge are linked to businesses run by people from Turkey. In Texas, 36 Turkish charter schools, called the Harmony Network, have received over $100 million in government funds. These schools now have 290 (mostly Turkish) employees on H-1B visas, about 16 percent of its workforce. In Inver Grove Heights, Minn., a substitute teacher named Amanda Getz reported about what goes on inside a charter school called Tarek Ibn Ziyad Academy, TIZA. TIZA is a K-through-8th-grade charter school funded by U.S. taxpayers and sponsored by Islamic Relief. The teacher says there is no clear division between the subjects studied during school and the study of the Quran after school. She says that homework assignments for after-school religious instruction are written on the board right alongside assignments for math and social studies. Getz says she was informed that, on Fridays, the Muslim holy day, there would be a school assembly in the gym after lunch. She was instructed to take her students before the assembly to the bathroom, four at a time, for "ritual washing," and afterwards "teachers led the kids into the gym, where a man dressed in white with a white cap" led the students in Muslim prayers. This school has only 300 students, but it has a waiting list of 1,500. TIZA shares its building with a mosque and also with the headquarters of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." Getz said almost all TIZA students stay after school for "Islamic studies" instruction provided by the Muslim American Society. The religious instruction is technically not part of the school day, but the school buses don't leave until after Islamic studies are over. Most American taxpayers would be mighty surprised at what their money is financing. http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/smedcohort/files/2009/07/Teaching-as-a-Subversive-ActivityPostman.pdf • UC Berkeley economists contribute to just-released “Occupy Handbook” UC Berkeley News Center ^ | 17 April 2012 | Public Affairs BERKELEY — “The Occupy Handbook,” a new publication examining the factors contributing to the Occupy Wall Street movement – as well as where it stands now and where it goes next – contains contributions by leading economic scholars, including UC Berkeley’s own economists Emmanuel Saez, Brad DeLong and Robert Reich. The book hit the bookstore shelves today (Tuesday, April 17). Saez is well known for his work on income inequality; DeLong is an economic historian with one of the most popular blogs dealing with economics and politics; and Reich recently described himself in a blog post as “a class worrier”... • TN Coach Fired for Song Criticizing Dear Leader self | 16 April 2011 | wjcsux A Tennessee Middle School football coach, aged 26 was fired for writing and performing a song critical of The One because a few parents complained. Here is the link. Great song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfH46DTAkxo • Ohio baseball player can’t walk at graduation after caring for cancer-stricken mother Yahoo ^ | 4/16/2012 | Cameron Smith A 17-year-old varsity baseball player in suburban Cleveland is being banned from walking at his own graduation for racking up two too many unexcused absences. While those circumstances might be considered the fault of the athlete in most cases, Carrollton (Ohio) High senior Austin Fisher's case is a rather extraordinary one: His absences were all brought on by time he spent caring for his mother, who has spent the past six years battling breast cancer. As reported by Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW, Fisher has missed 16 days during his senior year, none of which have technically been excused. • Swedish Home-Schoolers Flee 'Parental Inquisition' Christian Broadcasting Network ^ | April 10, 2012 | Dale Hurd ... Before 2010, it was possible to home-school in Sweden. But new laws now ban the practice in almost all cases and forces private schools to teach the state curriculum. Swedish human rights lawyer Ruby Harrold-Claesson calls what's happening in Sweden a "parental inquisition." "Sweden's treatment of parents in the area of education is totalitarian, essentially. They want to take children from birth to graduation and control them," said Michael Donnelly, director of international relations at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Donnelly claims Sweden's treatment of parents violates established standards of human rights. "In fact, the U.N. Declaration on Human... • Nation’s Second-Largest Teachers’ Union Hires Militant Communist And 9/11 Truther Weasel Zippers ^ | April 13, 2012 | Sara Noble Via Independent Sentinel: Remind me why we support public education again? At least the Totalitarians are out in the open. The Socialists, Communists, DemocraticSocialists (euphemism for Socialists and Communists) are hiding in plain sight and they are in charge of our children. They are making public education their base of operations for obvious reasons. One of their new organizer’s jobs is to unionize charter schools which would destroy alternative public education and continue the failed public education monopoly, while relegating poor children to the fate of an inferior and radical education. One of the reasons public education is failing is the unions. • Systematic Practice of Political Indoctrination at Universities and Colleges Atlas Shrugs ^ | April 13, 2012 | Pamela Geller Homeschool is the only option left to the rational, freedom-loving American. The left and their subversive partners have destroyed our universities and colleges. Every parent with a child in school knows how awful the leftwing indoctrination is. The war on education commenced with the student rebellion of 1964. Brick by brick, piece by piece, the great American education system was dismantled, destroyed. This did not happen organically. This was a deliberate, systematic attack on America and individualism. “Teaching as a Subversive Activity”: The Theory of Political Indoctrination PJM Last weekend I visited the U.C. Berkeley campus and on a whim... • MONSTERS IN THE CLASSROOM:NYC TEACHERS UNION REINSTATES ALLEGED MOLESTERS breitbart.com ^ | 04/14/2012 | n/a What are parents to do when their child comes home from school with stories about "this creepy guy in my class" – and it turns out to be the teacher? That’s a very real concern for parents with children in New York City public schools, where 14 teachers of highly dubious character have been reinstated to the classroom – and two others have been given "desk duty" – thanks to appeals by their powerful teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers. NYDailyNews.com reports that 16 teachers "kept their jobs after being brought up on egregious charges, some sexual, some involving... • Spies from China, Russia and Iran infect American universities to steal gov’t, corporate secrets Daily Mail (UK) ^ | PUBLISHED: 15:48 EST, 9 April 2012 | UPDATED: 17:14 EST, 9 April 2012 | (Daily Mail Reporter) American universities have become infected with foreign spies posing as humble students and researchers, who are working to steal government secrets and new technologies to take back to their own countries. Untold numbers of foreign agents are hidden among the thousands of legitimate international students who are studying science, technology and engineering in the US. China, Russia and Iran are among the nations who are attempting to exploit the culture of openness and transparency in American higher education. … Several recent arrests and discoveries illustrate the point. Even the high-profile network of Russian sleeper agents that was dismantled in 2010... • Parents Speak Out and Keep “God” in “God Bless the USA” Song FaithIssues ^ | 4/12/2012 | Liberty Counsel Parents Speak Out and Keep “God” in “God Bless the USA” Song Faith Issues/Liberty Counsel Today, fourth graders at Stall Brook Elementary School were permitted to perform “God Bless the USA” at their public school assembly, because people in Bellingham, Massachusetts, and around the country stood for common sense and the children’s First Amendment rights. Originally, teachers replaced the phrase “God Bless the USA” with “We Love the USA,” in the song written by Lee Greenwood. After parents strongly voiced their disapproval, the school pulled the song from the itinerary altogether, http://www.krla870.com/column.aspx?id=0239dfc6-5f67-4c40-88d7-3fea4c04f78f Look What's Going On in Charter Schools By Phyllis Schlafly Tuesday, April 10, 2012 print this page The charter school movement was presented to the American people as a way to have more parental control over public school education. Charter schools are public schools financed by local taxpayers and federal grants. Charter schools are able to hire and fire teachers, administrators and staff and avoid control by education department bureaucrats and the teachers unions. No doubt there are some good charter schools, but loose controls have allowed a very different kind of school to emerge. Charter schools have opened up a path for foreigners to run schools at the expense of the U.S. taxpayers, without much news coverage. One of the few breakthroughs in the media was a June 7, 2011, front-page article in The New York Times, which carried over to two full inside pages, about the many charter schools run by a secretive and powerful sect from Turkey called the Gulen Movement. • Top Teachers Union Organizer Self-Declared Socialist, bin Laden Apologist Townhall.com ^ | April 12, 2012 | Kyle Olson It’s been said you can judge a person’s character by the company he keeps. The same can be said of organizations. That’s why it’s so troubling that a national teachers union – the American Federation of Teachers – continues to employ such radicals. The latest example is Shaun Richman, the deputy director of organizing for the AFT. It was first reported at EAGnews.org. Richman’s previous organizing experience? The Socialist Party-USA. In 2001 he was quoted discussing the party’s plans to run candidates for office and in 2005, he was running the party’s national convention. In 2006, he was producing... • Report: Girls Who Admitted To Drawing Swastikas In Maple Syrup Expelled From School (Video at link) CBS Los Angeles ^ | April 10, 2012 Jon Lovitz may have been a comedian since he was 15, but for him, a prank involving maple syrup was no laughing matter. Lovitz took to his Twitter account to decry swastikas and “Jew” written in maple syrup on the front walkway of a childhood friend’s home in Northridge. Three girls, who admitted to what the Los Angeles Police called an ill-advised prank, have been permanently expelled from their school, Nobel Middle School, Lovitz tweeted Tuesday. The prank, which also included feces left on the family’s doorstep and toilet paper on the property’s trees, was discovered April 3. The family... • 5,200 Milwaukee Teachers Took 92,691 Days Off Last Year Townhall.com ^ | April 11, 2012 | Kyle Olson EAGnews.org is releasing a series of stunning reports to show taxpayers exactly how our dollars are being spent in government schools. We repeatedly hear from the education establishment that school coffers are being raided, requiring teachers to be laid off and programs to be cut. We hear schools are on the brink of bankruptcy and are operating on shoe-string budgets. But local media outlets have long been derelict in telling citizens how the billions of K-12 dollars are really being spent. How can taxpayers determine if schools actually do need more money if no one is tracking where the dollars... • The U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Recognition Award [Scam] The US Department of Education ^ | 2011 | DoE Staff The document below is directly from the Department of Education(which doesn't educate children). Anything noteworthy will have emphasis or will have comments in brackets. Without further ado: *********************************** "The U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Recognition Award On September 29, 2011, the U.S. Secretary of Education opened the pilot year of the Green Ribbon Schools award to recognize the highest performing green schools in the nation. The recognition award recognizes exemplary achievement in environmental impact, health and education. The standards and resources that the award relates advance the complementary aims of cutting schools’ costs, saving jobs; fostering health, wellness... • Union says average teacher with a master's degree makes less than $12k a year after deductions Capitol Confidential ^ | 4/9/2012 | Tom Gantert The Michigan Education Association’s newest strategy is to portray their teachers as underpaid while hoping no one is paying attention to the figures they are using to make their case, says one education policy expert. “Clearly, their facts are not straight,” said Michael Van Beek, education policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. It started when Steve Cook, the MEA’s president, said in a Detroit News op-ed that one teacher who contacted him was in his second year of teaching with a master’s degree and made $31,000 a year. Michigan Capitol Confidential looked at the contracts of the... • “Revolutionary Marxism” Course Offered At Portland State University 54°40’ Or Fight! ^ | April 5, 2012 New for the 2012 spring term at Portland State University is a course called “Revolutionary Marxism: Theory and Practice”, where students will learn the fundamentals of Marxism and enacting revolution. The primary textbook will be “The Meaning of Marxism”, by Paul D’Amato... • Public School Paints Over Student Mural of 'Offensive' Traditional Family http://www.youtube.com ^ | 4-7-2012 | News 10 via Youtube Public School Paints Over Student Mural of 'Offensive' Traditional Family YouTube • Teacher tells 6th grade class that ‘Republicans are stupid’ Hot Air.com ^ | April 7, 2012 | Howard Portnoy I suppose it can said of a Virginia elementary school teacher who allegedly told her students “Republicans are stupid” that she at least spoke her mind. Her actions are more defensible than those of a fellow Old Dominion State colleague who deviously tasked her students with finding flaws in the GOP presidential candidates but not in the lone Democratic candidate. The Daily Caller reports that “as Republican voters were filing into the halls of [Colin] Powell Elementary School in Fairfax County to vote on Super Tuesday,” teacher Kristin Martin told her sixthgrade class that “Republicans are stupid” and “they don’t... • Iowa Republicans blast law school over refusal to hire conservative professor as faculty Foxnews.com ^ | April 6, 2012 | Cristina Corbin Iowa Republicans are taking aim at the state's top law school for denying a faculty position to a conservative law professor, who an assistant dean once said embraces politics the rest of the faculty "despises." Teresa Wagner, who works as an associate director of writing at the University of Iowa College of Law, is suing former dean Carolyn Jones for employment discrimination, claiming she was not hired for a professor position because Jones and other law faculty disapproved of her conservative views and activism. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/05/iowa-republicans-blast-law-school-overrefusal-to-hire-conservative-professor • Sixteen teachers singled out for pervy (sex) conduct get to keep their jobs in New York City schools NYDN ^ Sixteen New York City public school teachers have been singled out by education officials for pervy classroom behavior — but they can’t be fired, the Daily News has learned. One instructor allegedly bent a kid over a chair and thrust into him from behind, saying “I’ll show you what is gay.” Another couldn’t stop calling girls in his gym class “sexy.” And yet another is accused of telling a student: “I slept with your mother last night.” Fourteen of the shady instructors are still working with city kids • UCLA Honors Sharia Apologist Khaled Abou El Fadl Campus Watch ^ | 4/5/12 | Cinnamon Stillwell and Judith Greblya Academic self-congratulation reached new heights at the University of California, Los Angeles on March 21, 2012, with "An Event Honoring Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl." Abou El Fadl—Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor in Islamic Law and chair of the Islamic Studies Interdepartmental Program at UCLA —was feted by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, the UCLA School of Law Journal of Near Eastern and Islamic Law, the UCLA School of Law Muslim Law Students Association, and the UCLA School of Law Critical Race Studies Program. Eighty students, professors, and community members gathered to commemorate "the world's leading authority on... • Virginia Elementary School Teacher Tells Students “Republicans Are Stupid”… weasel zippers ^ | 4/5/12 | zip We’re so stupid that we find it abhorrent when a teacher pushes liberal propaganda on unsuspecting students. Via Daily Caller: A Virginia elementary school teacher told her students that “Republicans are stupid” and “they don’t care about anyone but wealthy people and businesses.” Kristin Martin said this to her 6th grade class as Republican voters were filing into the halls of Powell Elementary School in Fairfax County to vote on Super Tuesday. “It all started when this disabled kid came in and named all the Republicans candidates for Super Tuesday,” one student told The Daily Caller. “She [Martin] said to... • Massachusetts School Removes “God” From Lee Greenwood Song “God Bless the USA” Fox ^ | 8/5/2012 An elementary school in Massachusetts has told kids not to say the word “God” in the Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the USA” during a recent assembly. Instead, they wanted students to say, “We love the USA.” Many parents were not happy with this move, but some agreed that the principal did the right thing. The school decided that they would pull the song from the assembly all together instead of continuing a debate about it. Michael Graham, a conservative radio talk show host with WTKK in Massachusetts, joined Martha MacCallum on America’s Newsroom to discuss the matter. Graham disputes... • School changes lyrics from 'God Bless the USA' to 'We love the USA' myfoxboston.com ^ | 04/04/2012 | n/a Following outrage from parents; a changed version of "God Bless the USA" has been pulled from an upcoming school assembly concert. According to parents, children at Stall Brook Elementary school were told to sing "We love the USA" instead of "God Bless the USA" during the chorus of the popular Lee Greenwood song. • Obama a Creature of the Corrupt University FrontPage Magazine ^ | April 4, 2012 | Bruce Thornton The November presidential election was the favorite topic at the Freedom Center’s West Coast Retreat last weekend. Amidst the prognostications and arguments about which Republican would or should get the nomination, or how pessimistic or optimistic conservatives should be about defeating the President, the personality and motivations of Barack Obama were a constant theme of conversation among participants. What makes Obama tick? Is it psychological conflict and neuroses created by an absent father, a Muslim stepfather, and a flighty mother addled by Third-Worldism? Is he a Manchurian president, nursing socialist or Islamist agendas? • Univ. of Iowa should commit to political diversity among faculty Iowa City Press Citizen | March 31 2012 | Bob Anderson Gannett newspaper. Link only. • Oakland's Oikos University -- Another Visa Mill? Limits To Growth ^ | April 3, 2012 | LTG I live less than 12 miles from Oikos University, the site of Monday’s mass murder, and had never heard of the place. A television news segment reported Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid whose district includes the school said he didn’t know of it either. You could say the school kept a low profile. The shooter who killed seven has been identified as 43-year-old One L. Goh, a former nursing student and a Korean national who resides in Oakland. Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan stated that a source of Goh’s fury was his inability to speak English: • For the Love of Marx Townhall.com ^ | April 3, 2012 | Mike Adams There are more Marxists teaching in Sociology Departments in America than living in the former Soviet Union. These sociologists hold themselves out as scientists despite the fact that they fail consistently in their efforts to predict the future. In fact, most of them lack the competence to accurately predict the past. Among the least competent and most intellectually dishonest is Gary L. Faulkner, Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina. Faulkner recently claimed that Marx predicted the events we are seeing in the Occupy Wall Street movement. He also claimed that events from the 20th Century bolster the... • Leftism at UC leaves many with unbalanced education, study says LA TIMES ^ | 01 Apr 12 | Larry Gordon The University of California is a hotbed of leftist faculty and politically correct thinking where many students are receiving a weak and unbalanced education, according to a report by a conservative organization of professors and administrators. The study by the California Assn. of Scholars repeats objections conservatives have had for decades over what they see as an overwhelmingly liberal academia that stifles dissent. Especially in UC humanities departments, study of classics and rigorous analysis have been replaced by advocacy of a leftist agenda and teaching about the grievances of various minorities, the report says. "It has reached an extreme where... • UC's Leftist Echo Chamber Drowns Out Diverse Voices Townhall.com ^ | April 1, 2012 | Debra J. Saunders Political activism has drawn the University of California into an academic death spiral. Too many professors believe their job is to "advance social justice" rather than teach the subject they were hired to teach. Groupthink has replaced lively debate. Institutions that were designed to stir intellectual curiosity aren't challenging young minds. They're churning out "ignorance." So argues a new report, "A Crisis of Competence: The Corrupting Effect of Political Activism in the University of California," from the conservative California Association of Scholars. The report cites a number of studies that document academia's political imbalance. In 2004, for example, researchers examined... • High school principle blocks 'respect women' posters, allows 'black power' signs The Daily Caller ^ | 03/31/2012 | Alexandra Myers In honor of “Women’s History Month,” Grosse Point North High School student Grant Strobl wanted to place posters throughout the school teaching students to respect women, but was met with defiance from the school principal, calling his actions “vitriolic.” Strobl, the chair of the Young America’s Freedom chapter at his school, recalled his events on the Young America’s for Foundation’s (YAF) website. The posters he created featured women like Sarah Palin — who faced claims from liberal blogs that her mentally challenged baby was not actually hers and another with this statement: “The annual worldwide number of so-called ‘honor-killing’ victims may be... • Christian Professor Fired for Refusing to Watch Vulgar Gay Play at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX Texas Conservative Republican News ^ | 3/30/2012 | David Bellow Wow, this appened right here in southeast Texas. A theater arts department professor, Linda Ozmun, at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX had no problem doing her job. She was teaching kids about theater arts. That was her job and she was doing it just fine. The school wanted more than that though. According to a lawsuit that the terminated professor filed, the school chairwoman Judith Sebesta, and eventually the Dean, told her that she had to attend a vulgar gay pride play, by Tim Miller, or else she would be terminated. • Military academies hold first gay pride events [Condom Olympics, Queer Prom] Atlanta Urinal ^ | 3/27/2012 | Wilson Ring At the beginning of the school year, gay pride events at a military academy with titles like "condom Olympics" and "queer prom" would have been unthinkable. This week, they're a reality. Cadets in uniform at Norwich University, the nation's oldest private military academy, participated Monday in sessions about handling bullying and harassment as part of the school's first gay pride week. The events are believed to be the first of their kind on a military campus. • Teacher Fired After Not Noticing Third Graders Having Sex Under Desk http://houston.cbslocal.com ^ | 03/24/2012 | n/a A teacher at Tallulah Elementary School lost her job after not noticing two third graders participating in o*** sex under their desks. The News-Star is reporting that the teacher was fired for not keeping a proper eye on her students, as the incident occurred under her watch. • 130 LAUSD Educators Being Investigated For Possible Wrongdoing(CA) Los Angeles Daily News ^ | 3/24/2012 | By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer Based on information unearthed in a search of Los Angeles Unified's personnel files, the state teacher credentialing agency has opened investigations into 130 educators and the district has reported some past allegations of misconduct to law enforcement, officials said Friday. The California Teacher Credentialing Commission has been flooded with misconduct reports in the month since LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy ordered principals at nearly 900 campuses to scour personnel files for evidence of possible wrongdoing. Deasy said Friday the review had turned up "some cases that we believe warrant police investigation," and that "some" teachers had been removed from classrooms while... • University Stops Closing School for Christian and Jewish Holidays Faith Issues ^ | 3/22/2012 | American Center for Law and Justice University Stops Closing School for Christian and Jewish Holidays American Center for Law and Justice The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, today urged the president of New York's Stony Brook University to reverse a troubling decision that ends a long-standing practice of closing school in observance of major Christian and Jewish holidays. The ACLJ calls the move "an unnecessary, ill-advised change that demonstrates hostility to members of all religious faiths." "This schedule change demonstrates hostility toward religion and departs from the American tradition of the government accommodation of religious practices," said Jordan Sekulow, Executive... • Va. middle-schoolers assigned opposition research on GOP candidates The Daily Caller ^ Va. middle-schoolers assigned opposition research on GOP candidates By Kalyn McMackin - The Daily Caller 1:16 AM 03/22/2012 A Virginia middle school teacher recently forced his students to support President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign by conducting opposition research in class against the Republican presidential candidates. The 8th grade students, who attend Liberty Middle School in Fairfax County, were required to seek out the vulnerabilities of Republican presidential hopefuls and forward them to the Obama campaign. “This assignment was just creepy beyond belief — like something out of East Germany during the Cold War,” one frustrated father, who asked for his... • Exclusive: Bell's Critical Race Theory Promoted in Public Schools Breitbart ^ | 3/19/12 | Kyle Olson A radical organization known as the Pacific Educational Group (PEG) is actively promoting Derrick Bell’s Critical Race Theory in public elementary and high schools nationwide, with an intense focus on what PEG calls “Systemic Racism.” With the approval of the Obama administration, and under the guise of closing achievement gaps between black and white students, PEG is promoting teaching methods that discourage “black and brown” students from conforming to an inherently “white” -- and therefore racist -- curriculum. PEG also encourages teachers to conform to the presumed cultural backgrounds of students, rather than focusing on norms of assessment and accountability.... • Court upholds CSU's refusal to fund Christian groups San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 3/19/12 | Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal from a Christian sorority and fraternity challenging California State University's refusal to provide funding and other campus benefits to student groups that exclude members of other religions. CSU denies official recognition and funding to student organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin and sexual orientation. The Christian groups at San Diego State argued that the policy itself was discriminatory for two reasons: The ban on gender-based admissions doesn't apply to sororities and fraternities, and secular organizations are allowed to make viewpoint-based distinctions - an immigrants'-rights... • Illinois Mom: PEG Trained Teachers on 'Institutional Racism' Breitbart ^ | 3/19/12 | Christian Toto “Mary” is an Evanston, IL mother whose children have attended local public schools from kindergarten through high school. She noticed the recent debate on CNN and Breitbart.com over Derrick Bell's Critical Race Theory--and to her, it was nothing new. She has seen elements of Critical Race Theory introduced into teacher and staff training at Evanston Township High School by the Pacific Educational Group (PEG) in recent several years. “It just sounded familiar from what I see happening in the schools,” says Mary, who spoke to Breitbart.com on the condition that she remain anonymous. “This has already been going on in • Exclusive: Bell's Critical Race Theory Promoted in Public Schools Breitbart ^ | 3/19/12 | Kyle Olson A radical organization known as the Pacific Educational Group (PEG) is actively promoting Derrick Bell’s Critical Race Theory in public elementary and high schools nationwide, with an intense focus on what PEG calls “Systemic Racism.” With the approval of the Obama administration, and under the guise of closing achievement gaps between black and white students, PEG is promoting teaching methods that discourage “black and brown” students from conforming to an inherently “white” -- and therefore racist -- curriculum. PEG also encourages teachers to conform to the presumed cultural backgrounds of students, rather than focusing on norms of assessment and accountability.... • Court upholds CSU's refusal to fund Christian groups San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 3/19/12 | Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal from a Christian sorority and fraternity challenging California State University's refusal to provide funding and other campus benefits to student groups that exclude members of other religions. CSU denies official recognition and funding to student organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin and sexual orientation. The Christian groups at San Diego State argued that the policy itself was discriminatory for two reasons: The ban on gender-based admissions doesn't apply to sororities and fraternities, and secular organizations are allowed to make viewpoint-based distinctions - an immigrants'-rights... • Illinois Mom: PEG Trained Teachers on 'Institutional Racism' Breitbart ^ | 3/19/12 | Christian Toto “Mary” is an Evanston, IL mother whose children have attended local public schools from kindergarten through high school. She noticed the recent debate on CNN and Breitbart.com over Derrick Bell's Critical Race Theory--and to her, it was nothing new. She has seen elements of Critical Race Theory introduced into teacher and staff training at Evanston Township High School by the Pacific Educational Group (PEG) in recent several years. “It just sounded familiar from what I see happening in the schools,” says Mary, who spoke to Breitbart.com on the condition that she remain anonymous. “This has already been going on in... http://www.motownsports.com/forums/political-discussions/81916-pacific-educationalgroup-racial-predictability.html Read Sheila Kihne’s response Snip What the heck is racial predictability? And doesn’t the fact that the Superintendent says that there is “racial predictability” mean that there is – by definition – institutionalized racism in the Eden Prairie schools? I was so perplexed by the term, that I googled it. The idea of “racial predictability” comes from one organization, “The Pacific Educational Group” which was co-founded by Glenn Singleton, Our Superintendent, Melissa Krull – along with four other staff members – are… Snip Here is one of the Pacific Educational Group’s training Power Points. Read this piece: “Embarrass your Eployer, While Getting Rich Off of “Diversity Scams” by Hans Bader, counsel for the Competitive Enterprise Institute: Snip • Sudbury Catholic girl school hands out oral sex flyer to 12-year-olds Life Site News ^ | 3/15/2012 | Patrick B. Craine SUDBURY, Ontario, March 15, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Sudbury Catholic girls school is under fire this week after grade 7 students brought home handouts showing them how to perform oral sex. The flyer was given out last Thursday at Marymount Academy, a Catholic all-girls school for grades 7-12, at an event to mark International Women’s Day. Carmen James-Poulin, 62, says her granddaughter, who is in grade 7, “could not believe” it was handed out. “It’s not educational. It’s vulgar. It belongs on a porn site,” James-Poulin told QMI Agency. The flyer, produced by the Toronto-based Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange... • Judge rules school must allow access to sexually explicit LGBT sites Greely Gazette ^ | March 14, 2012 | Jack Minor A federal judge has ordered a Missouri school district to unblock its web filters and give students access to sexually explicit material by the middle of March. A US District Judge issued a preliminary junction against the Camdenton R – III School District banning them from using filtering software. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the district claiming it was deliberately restricting access to homosexual themed sites, while allowing students to view what it claims are “anti-LG BT sites that condemn homosexuality.” In issuing its ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri said... • New Science Curriculum to Address Climate Change Controversy Education News ^ | March 14th, 2012 | Julia Lawrence The groups currently drafting new science standards for American classrooms have decided to include a section addressing the issue of climate change. The Congressionally chartered National Academies, including the National Research Council, plan to include a document drafted last year that says that human activities have at least a partial impact on climate. Although there’s a strong consensus in scientific literature on anthropogenic climate change, in America the issue is a source of significant controversy and debate. Just how strident the debate over climate change had become came as a surprise to one California middle school teacher: • Univ. of California president defends Farrakhan appearance on campus JTA ^ | 3-13-12 University of California President Mark Yudof defended Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s right to speak at the university’s Berkeley campus. Farrakhan’s speech Saturday was billed as being about black empowerment, but was also peppered with anti-Semitic and hate speech, students told The Daily Californian student newspaper. A petition circulated after the speech by Jewish student leaders, which opposed Farrakhan’s speech and character, but not the Black Student Union’s right to bring him to campus, garnered more than 350 signatures, the student newspaper reported. “Louis Farrakhan is a provocative, divisive figure with a long history of racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic... • Forget evolution, climate science is the most controversial subject in school Hot Air ^ | posted at 8:20 pm on March 12, 2012 | Tina Korbe Little by little, the federal Department of Education appropriates ever more power for itself. (Never mind that the department might very well be unconstitutional in the first place.) Today, most public schools are dependent one way or another on federal funds. Those funds don’t come without strings — and, under the Obama administration, bureaucrats have tightened those strings considerably. Through the Race to the Top competition, the Ed Department enticed states with reward funds to adopt national standards. (Some state leaders — like Texas Gov. Rick Perry — turned down the funding, but they were the exceptions.) • Louisiana Teachers Cancel Class to Protest Education Reform Bill TheWeeklyStandard.com ^ | 4:08 PM, Mar 13, 2012 | DANIEL HALPER Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is moving ahead with education reform--but it isn't without controversy. Later this week, on Wednesday and Thursday, education committees in both houses of the state legislature will be considering the governor's proposed package. The reforms include moving toward a voucher program, eliminating teacher tenure programs, and changes in teachers' pay. And so, in response to these reforms even being considered, "at least three school districts are canceling classes and telling children to stay home to allow school employees the chance to lobby the legislature," according to Aaron Baer, the governor's deputy communications director. • Washington, D.C. School System Spends $18,000 Per Student New American ^ | 3-12-12 | Brian Koenig The Washington, D.C., school system ranks among the worst in the country, despite spending a lofty $18,000 per student. According to Texas Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, the federal government has sunk an astronomical amount of money into the system, and it has only intensified the crime and educational deficiencies in D.C. public schools. Therefore, Dr. Paul recommends a bold solution: Abolish the Department of Education. Speaking at a town hall meeting in Idaho on Monday, Paul observed: The federal government … has one responsibility in education, and that is over the city of D.C. So why shouldn’t... • Missouri Burning: The Kansas City School of Hate Canada Free Press ^ | March 7, 2012 | Selwyn Duke The boy raised his hand, eager to answer the question. “What would you know about it?” exclaimed the teacher dismissively. “You’re not our race.” This was not dialogue from a Hollywood movie. According to a woman named Melissa Coon, it was what a teacher at East High School in Kansas City told her 13-year-old son, Allen, when he attempted to answer a question during Black History Month. Coon identifies that teacher as Mrs. Karla Dorsey, who is black; Allen is white. As has already been reported, Allen was a victim of a vicious racial attack last week in which two • Texas high school apologizes after USA chant is deemed racist WFLA ^ | 3/7/12 | 970 WFLA A local school district is apologizing after an apparent incident of racism at a boys high school basketball game this past weekend. When the final whistle blew Saturday, Alamo Heights celebrated a convincing victory over San Antonio Edison. Alamo Heights Head Coach Andrew Brewer said he was proud of his team. “Tremendously proud,” Brewer said. “Tremendously. It’s the best group of kids.” But it was just after the trophy presentation when the coach was not proud of the chant coming from Alamo Heights fans. “USA, USA, USA,” they chanted. San Antonio Independent School District officials took the chant as a... • Public School Gets State Bailout — Already Receives $14,000 Per Student Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 3/5/2012 | Tom Gantert Highland Park public schools will receive an additional $8.2 million in extra funding from the state this school year to keep their doors open. That translates to an extra $8,000 per pupil, which is more than most districts receive for students for an entire year. In a deal brokered with the state March 2, Detroit Public Schools will receive $4 million to pay Highland Park's bills, and Jack Martin will take over as the Highland Park district’s emergency manager. As part of the deal with the state, any students who leave Highland Park would have a $4,000 per-pupil allowance follow... • Government Feeds Children Pink Slime (Soylent Pink) Moonbattery ^ | 3/6/2012 | H/T AC Apparatchiks have been seizing lunches packed by parents and forcing kids to eat government-issued lunches instead. These lunches often include an ammonia-laced substance microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein has dubbed “pink slime”: Made by grinding together connective tissue and beef scraps normally destined for dog food and rendering, BPI’s Lean Beef Trimmings are then treated with ammonia hydroxide, a process that kills pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli. The resulting pinkish substance is later blended into traditional ground beef and hamburger patties. Carl Custer, a retired microbiologist who spent 35 years in the Food Safety Inspection Service, doesn’t think much of... • Black Students Face More Discipline, Data Suggests New York Times ^ | March 6, 2012 | TAMAR LEWIN Black students, especially boys, face much harsher discipline in public schools than other students, according to new data from the Department of Education. Although black students made up only 18 percent of those enrolled in the schools sampled, they accounted for 35 percent of those suspended once, 46 percent of those suspended more than once and 39 percent of all expulsions, according to the Civil Rights Data Collection’s 2009-10 statistics from 72,000 schools in 7,000 districts, serving about 85 percent of the nation’s students. The data covered students from kindergarten age through high school. One in five black boys and... • SACRAMENTO: Thousands rally for higher education funding at Capitol SacBee: Capitol Alert ^ | 3/5/12 | Torey Van Oot Several thousand protesters descended on the state Capitol Monday to protest the rising cost of higher education and call on lawmakers to increase funding for California's public colleges and universities. Speakers at a rally on the west steps of the Capitol blasted the budget cuts to higher education and the cost of tuition and fees at campuses throughout the state, framing access to a degree as a right that should be extended to students of all socioeconomic standings. "Regardless of our backgrounds, we all have been wounded by these cuts," said Sydney Fang, a student senator at UC Berkeley. "Today... • The Truth About Education?? You Can’t Handle The Truth RightSideNews.com ^ | Feb. 20, 2012 | Bruce Deitrick Price Our Education Establishment, in plain sight, is doing a second-rate job. Who, we should ask, is in charge of this train wreck, and what motivates them? First, let’s add up the evidence. The fifty million functional illiterates. The one million dyslexics. The poor performance against international competition, despite our huge budgets. The ignorance of average Americans about basic geographical, historical, and scientific information. SAT scores slide; kids cannot multiply and divide; students reach college not knowing what six times seven is. About 65% of the children in fourth and eighth grades are reading at a level below “proficient,” that is • What Kids Now Learn in College (Save your money. Here’s a list of the lessons they'll be taught) National Review ^ | 02/29/2012 | Dennis Prager As high school seniors throughout America will be receiving acceptance letters to colleges within the next month, it would be nice for parents to meditate on what they are getting for the $20–$50,000 they will pay each year. The United States is no better than any other country, and in many areas worse than many. On the world stage, America is an imperialist country, and domestically it mistreats its minorities and neglects its poor, while discriminating against non-whites. There is no better and no worse in literature and the arts. The reason universities in the past taught Shakespeare, Michelangelo, and... • California govt. mailing condoms to teenagers at home in unmarked envelopes lifesitenews.com ^ | 02/27/2012 | THADDEUS BAKLINSKI THADDEUS BAKLINSKI The California Department of Public Health has begun a program of providing free condoms by mail to children as young as twelve. The Condom Access Project (CAP) was rolled out the week of February 14th in Alameda, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Kern and parts of San Francisco counties under the direction of the California Family Health Council. These areas were chosen, according to the STD Control Branch of the Department of Public Health, because of the high rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections among teens in these counties. Supporters of the program admit that while abstinence is the... • ‘Lunch-In’ Protests Crackdown on Homemade Lunches weeklystandard.com ^ | Feb 23, 2012 | DANIEL HALPER The National Center for Public Policy Research hosted a “lunch-in” today at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.The target of the protest? “[F]ederal school nutrition guidelines that allegedly forced at least one student to forgo her mother’s home-packed lunch in favor of chicken nuggets,” a press release announcing today’s event read. The alleged lunch incident happened in North Carolina. “A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because the school told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious,” a local reporter wrote last week. “The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato... • Nevada students receive class credit for volunteering for the Obama campaign Write on Nevada ^ | February 22, 2012 | Victor Joecks Obama re-election campaign co-chair uses her position as a public school counselor to steer students into volunteering for the Obama campaign in order to earn class credit. • Queens teacher arrested for sex abuse was also investigated in 2000. AM New York ^ | 2.16.12 | Marc Beja A Queens elementary school teacher arrested on Thursday and accused of repeatedly sexually abusing two students had been investigated 10 years before for inappropriately touching students at another school, but was allowed to continue teaching with only a warning letter, officials said. Wilbert Cortez, a computer teacher at P.S. 174 in Forest Hills, was arrested Thursday morning and accused of molesting two boys, ages 8 and 9, over the course of the 2010-11 school year, the Queens District Attorney’s office said. Cortez was expected to be arraigned on Thursday night, and the DA’s office did not know if he had... • Teacher Suspended for 'Go Back to Mexico' Comment KDFW ^ | 02/16/2012 | Natalie Solis ARLINGTON, Texas - A two-time “Teacher of the Year” in Arlington is now fighting to keep her job after allegedly telling a Hispanic student to “Go back to Mexico.” Barnett Junior High School math teacher Shirley Bunn has 24 years of teaching experience. But her career could end with what she called a moment of frustration. Bunn admitted she lost her temper on Sept. 30 while distributing Title 1 forms to her eighth grade students. According to public documents, a student who had a history of being disruptive repeatedly asked his teacher for a form printed in Spanish by saying,... • Atheist Couple Sues School District to Remove 'Under God' From Pledge of Allegiance Christian Post ^ | 02/16/2012 | Jeff Schapiro Oral arguments were heard in a Massachusetts Superior Court on Monday over a lawsuit filed by an atheist couple who believe that their children are being discriminated against because the Pledge of Allegiance – which is said every day in Mass. public school classrooms under state law – contains the phrase "under God." "The daily recitation in public schools of a pledge declaring that the nation is 'under God' is discriminatory toward atheists and humanists," David Niose, president of the American Humanist Association and lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, stated. "No child should go to school each... • Teacher Buys Morning After Pill For Student At Planned Parenthood LifeNews.com ^ | 02/16/2012 | America's Conservative News (LifeNews.com) Last week we told you about the college in Pennsylvania where student can pop in and buy the morning after pill from a vending machine. But if you’re a student in Austin, TX and only in high school, you might have had another option. This story tells about a high school math teacher who went to a Planned Parenthood and bought Plan B for a student bot old enough to buy it herself. • Probe: NYC teacher had students write to inmate bostonherald.com ^ | 02/15/2012 | Associated Press Investigators say a New York City teacher had her students make Christmas cards for an incarcerated felon. The special commissioner of investigation for city schools says Queens public school teacher Melissa Dean asked her fifth-graders to make holiday cards for someone who was lonely. The commissioner’s report was issued Wednesday. It says Dean mailed the cards to a friend serving time at the upstate Groveland Correctional Facility for weapons charges and violating an order of protection. Some of the cards included students’ names and addresses. The package of cards was intercepted by prison officials, who called the school principal. • LA teacher's aide arrested on suspicion of lewd acts msnbc.com ^ | 2/14/12 | msnbc.com staff and news services A teacher's aide who also worked as a girls' volleyball coach at a South Los Angeles high school has been arrested on suspicion of committing a sex crime involving children, the Los Angeles Times reported. Alain Salas, a teacher's aide at John C. Fremont Senior High School in South L.A., was taken into custody Monday by the FBI, according to KTLA-TV. Details were not immediately available and is was unclear whether the alleged victims were students at the school. Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy confirmed the arrest of a school employee to reporters Tuesday mornin SNIP "We... • Preschooler’s Homemade Lunch Replaced with Cafeteria “Nuggets” Carolina Journal ^ | 2/14/12 | Sara Burrows State agent inspects sack lunches, forces preschoolers to purchase cafeteria food instead RAEFORD — A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious. The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day. The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services... • Triple Lutz Report–NYC Teacher Gets Filthy Rich During 10 Year Suspension www.KerryLutz.com ^ | 02/11/2012 | Kerry Lutz Alan Rosenfeld, a New York City typing teacher was suspended in 2001 for ogling female students and making inappropriate comments to them. The Board of Education thought that he presented enough of a threat, that he was barred from the classroom. However, they botched his disciplinary hearing and due to strict union rules, were unable to terminate the alleged deviant. As a result, Rosenfeld spent 10 years in the rubber room, a place where teachers who are awaiting hearings or cannot be discharged are kept, out of the public view and fully paid. During his suspension, he earned over $100,000... http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_19933672 • Disgraced 'Ogle' Teacher Retires (NYC - King of the 'Rubber Room' Teacher Quits) New York Post ^ | February 10, 2012 | TODD VENEZIA Disgraced 'ogle' teacher retires The city's king of the "rubber room" has stepped down. Disgraced educator Alan Rosenfeld, 66, retired on February 3, after a decade of milking tax payers for a $100,049-a-year salary even though he hasn't set foot in a classroom since 2001, school officials said today. The retirement came just days after the Post ran a series of stories exposing Rosenfeld, including how he was banished to a "rubber room" in 2001 for allegedly ogling eighth grade girls -- but then spent his time working on a personal real estate portfolio worth up to $10 million. • Mothers furious as 13-year-old girls given contraceptive implants at school without their knowledge Daily Mail (UK) ^ | 7th February 2012 Parents were furious today after discovering NHS managers have been giving their daughters contraceptive implants in school, without telling them. It is thought up to nine schools in Southampton allowed the scheme, which launched in 2009. • Schools chief announces entire Miramonte staff to be replaced (these perverts deserve to be shot) Los Angeles Times ^ | 2/6/2012 | Mark Berndt A mother and child walk past Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in front of Miramonte Elementary, where an accused teacher is alleged to have given gifts to a student A public meeting called by L.A. school officials to discuss the arrest of two teachers accused of abusing students at a South Los Angeles elementary school turned ugly as angry parents accused the district of a cover-up. • California's school funding measure under siege in tough times Sacramento Bee ^ | 2/4/12 | Kevin Yamamura When teachers unions and education groups backed Proposition 98 nearly a quarter-century ago, they told voters it was "a well-thought-out plan for California's schools to once again be among the very best in the nation." But as public schools pack more than 30 students into kindergarten classrooms, cut a week of instruction and shutter campus libraries, education advocates wonder to what extent Proposition 98 has served its purpose. The state ranks among the worst in students per teacher and spent 12 percent below the national average per pupil even before the recession. Compared to their high-water mark in 2007-08, K-12... Wrong http://www.theblaze.com/stories/is-this-iowa-high-school-teaching-students-communismis-better-than-capitalism-see-the-flyer/ • Did one Iowa high school actually teach that communism trumps capitalism? http://hotair.com/archives/2012/02/03/did-one-iowa-high-school-actually-teachthat-communism-trumps-capitalism/ ^ A teacher at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa, passed out a particularly curious flyer to students studying the Cold War. By the looks of the cartoon it contained, the message the high school intended to convey appeared pretty clear: • Choosing a college Hi Freepers, I'm currently at a community college looking into 4-year colleges/universities outside California and wanted your opinions/suggestions. Here are my criteria: -Conservative (or relatively right-leaning) school. -A state and/or school that allows some sort of open carry or concealed carry permit (on campus if possible). -A good computer science or computer forensics program. -Interested in profiling but not sure which departments teach it. -Core curriculum not overrun by communists/Marxists. I love Texas. Questions in criteria are welcome. Thanks. • Second teacher removed from LA school msnbc.com ^ | 2/3/12 | msnbc.com news services Officials have removed a teacher from a school in Los Angeles where a former instructor stands accused of committing lewd acts on 23 children over five years, news reports said Friday. The teacher was removed from contact with children at Miramonte Elementary School after accusations were made against him, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said, according to news reports. “A new allegation came to our attention yesterday, and we referred the allegation to the sheriff,” Deasy told the Los Angeles Times. “We removed the teacher from the classroom and the matter is being investigated, like when any... • BUENO COLUMN: Teachers unions don’t serve kids Portage Daily Register ^ | January 29, 2012 | Ellen Bueno I didn't pay much attention to teachers unions until Wisconsin's private unions decided to meddle in public education. But now I wish I'd been paying attention sooner. Some of you may remember that in 2009, several private unions pushed Wisconsin lawmakers to revise a statute that ordered public schools to give students "knowledge of state, national and world history." The AFL-CIO, Teamsters Union, the United Transportation Union and other private unions wanted lawmakers to add "including knowledge of the history of organized labor in America and the collective bargaining process" onto the end of the sentence. They had decided this... • Disgraced teacher is worth $10M, makes $100,000 a year, does nothing, & refuses to leave New York Post ^ | January 29,2012 | SUSAN EDELMAN Deemed a danger to kids, the typing teacher with a $10 million real estate portfolio hasn’t been allowed in a classroom for more than a decade, but still collects $100,049 a year in city salary — plus health benefits, a growing pension nest egg, vacation and sick pay. Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo can call for better teacher evaluations until they’re blue-faced, but Rosenfeld and six peers with similar gigs costing about $650,000 a year in total salaries are untouchable. Under a system shackled by protections for tenured teachers, they can’t be fired, the DOE says “It’s an F-U,” a... • College presidents alarmed over Obama's cost-control plan FoxNews.com ^ | 1/28/12 | AP WASHINGTON – Fuzzy math, Illinois State University's president called it. "Political theater of the worst sort," said the University of Washington's head. President Obama's new plan to force colleges and universities to contain tuition or face losing federal dollars is raising alarm among education leaders who worry about the threat of government overreach. Particularly sharp words came from the presidents of public universities; they're already frustrated by increasing state budget cuts. The reality, said Illinois State's Al Bowman, is that simple changes cannot easily overcome deficits at many public schools. He said he was happy to hear Obama, in a... • Teachers' Union Manual Shows How to Organize Illegal Strikes, Use Children During Bargaining Capitol Confidential ^ | 1/26/2012 | Tom Gantert For more than two years, the Michigan Education Association has had a manual that urges its members to use students as propaganda in contract negotiations and also lays out how to organize strikes, which are illegal in Michigan. A 28-page manual, “Building Full Capacity Locals — Crisis Planning, It’s Never Too Early To Start!” has one section that reads: “Strikes: Aren’t They Illegal?” and follows with a civil disobedience quote from Mahatma Gandhi. The manual appears to have been created in July of 2009. “What’s really troubling about this publication isn’t what’s inside, it’s right there on the cover. • Parents Outraged Over School Book's Graphic Sexual Content http://www.wlky.com/news/30264341/detail.html ^ | 1/20/2012 | Ann Bowdan/WLKY LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A class reading assignment infuriates the parents of a 14year-old Valley Traditional High School student. They said their daughter's questions about the book left them speechless. The book is called "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." "She was masturbating and (describing) how to masturbate and how she did it and also giving a boy a (expletive) and going into great detail of how to perform it," said Vincent. Vincent took the book to her daughter's step-father, who became speechless. "Her being the age that she's in right now, you just freeze up. You don't know... • LAUSD Students Roundly Reject Healthier School Lunch Menu CBS) ^ | January 19, 2012 2:30 PM LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The revamped school lunches at Los Angeles Unified School District have won awards, commending them for improving the menu at the second largest school district in the nation. Too bad the students don’t agree. Rejecting healthful alternatives like vegetarian curries and tamales, quinoa salads and pad Thai noodles, students are throwing them in the trash by the thousands, bringing junk food from home and buying instant noodles and other decidedly unhealthy fare from the “black markets” that have begun to thrive at campuses across the district, according to the Los Angeles Times. The wholesale rejection to... • 'Rubber Rooms' Kissing Cousin: New York City's Absent Teacher Reserve Program Townhall.com ^ | January 20, 2012 | Kyle Olson New York City government schools have had some pretty outrageous policies. Rubber rooms were a great example. They were special places created for teachers accused of crimes, incompetence and the like. Due to state tenure laws, it actually cost less to house the failed teachers in a location where they couldn’t inflict more damage on students, than to go through the lengthy and expensive legal process necessary to fire them. Thanks Big Labor! Now New York administrators are trying to deep-six a program created a few years ago in the collective bargaining agreement with the United Federation of Teachers: the... • Activist Group: ‘Train’ Educators How to Teach 6-12 Year-Olds About Gays and Lesbians CNSNews ^ | January 18, 2012 | Penny Starr Image from the LGBT "Welcoming Schools" capaign The Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual advocacy group, has produced a “professional development film” through its Welcoming Schools project for school staff and parents that features 6- to 12-year-olds talking about gays and lesbians. The film is called “What Do You Know? Six to Twelve Year Olds Talk about Gays and Lesbians," and it "features students from Massachusetts and Alabama discussing what they know about gay men and lesbians, what they hear at school, and what they’d like teachers to do,” states the Welcoming Schools Web site. • Begin Sex Ed in Kindergarten, Says New ‘National Standards’ Report CNS News ^ | January 17, 2012 | Elizabeth Harrington By the time they leave elementary school, children should be able to “define sexual orientation,” and by the eighth grade be able to “define emergency contraception and its use,” according to a report containing controversial new recommendations for sex education in U.S. public schools. “Ideally, comprehensive sexuality education should start in kindergarten and continue through 12th grade,” says the “National Sexuality Education Standards” report, drawn up by a range of advocates, academics and public education officials. The Future of Sex Education (FoSE), an initiative started by sex education advocates, developed the standards “to create a strategic plan for sexuality education... • Brand new ‘guidelines’ pushing radical, explicit sex ed agenda on schools nationwide Life Site News ^ | January 12, 2012 | CHRISTINE DHANAGOM January 12, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A group of progressive education organizations in league with the family planning and homosexual lobby have released a new set of sex education “guidelines” that they are pushing on schools nationwide. The guidelines, published Monday in the Journal of School Health, were authored by the American Association of Health Education, the American School Health Association, the National Education Association – Health Information Network, the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education, Advocates for Youth, Answer, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. • Teen Girl Wanted For Allegedly Shooting 17-Year-Old Male High School Student To Death cbs ^ | January 11, 2012 8:33 PM On the radio they say Los Angeles has 700,000 children returning to school. • Dual-language classes on the rise in Central Florida Orlando Sentinel ^ | 1/6/12 | Erica Rodriguez When it comes time for math and phonics at Spring Lake Elementary School, firstgraders in an experimental classroom stop speaking English and start learning in a language that's foreign to many of them. For about an hour a day, students at the Seminole County school who have never spoken Spanish will learn their numbers and letters, sing and play games completely in Spanish. The goal is ambitious: Teachers aim to have each student speaking, reading and writing both English and Spanish equally by the end of the year with the hope of giving English-speakers a leg up on a new... • M.I.T. Game-Changer: Free Online Education For All Forbes ^ | 12/21/2011 | James Marshall Crotty For Wall Street Occupiers or other decriers of the “social injustice” of college tuition, here’s a curveball bound to scramble your worldview: a totally free college education regardless of your academic performance or background. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) will announce on Monday that they intend to launch an online learning initiative called M.I.T.x,which will offer the online teaching of M.I.T. courses free of charge to anyone in the world. • 'If Fred Got Two Beatings Per Day…' Homework Asks Yahoo! ^ | January 7, 2012 | Olivia Katrandjian Third graders in in Gwinnett County, Ga., were given math homework Wednesday that asked questions about slavery and beatings. Christopher Braxton told ABC News affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta that he couldn't believe the assignment his 8year-old son brought home from of Beaver Ridge Elementary school in Norcross. "It kind of blew me away," Braxton said. "Do you see what I see? Do you really see what I see? He's not answering this question." The question read, "Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?" Another math problem read, "If Frederick... • Meet the academics who are trying to redefine pedophilia as ‘intergenerational intimacy’ LifeSiteNews/Public Discourse ^ | 1/4/12 | Anne Hendershott January 4, 2012 (PublicDiscourse.com) - The anger and disgust that most of us experienced when we learned of the allegations of sexual abuse of boys in the sports programs at Penn State and Syracuse University suggest that our cultural norms about the sexual abuse of minors are intact. Yet it was only a decade ago that a parallel movement had begun on some college campuses to redefine pedophilia as the more innocuous “intergenerational sexual intimacy.” The publication of Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex promised readers a “radical, refreshing, and long overdue reassessment of how we... • Did Santorum Strike Nerve? Accuracy in Academia ^ | January 3, 2012 | Malcolm A. Kline Whether he wins the Iowa Caucuses or not, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has apparently hit a raw nerve in higher education. “Let’s look at colleges and universities,” he said in Mason City, Iowa. “They’ve become indoctrination centers for the left.” “Should we be subsidizing that?” Evidently, merely calling for shutting off the federal spondulix is tantamount to repression. “Santorum shows his great commitment to the First Amendment by declaring that the federal government should punish institutions for their ideology,” John Wilson writes on the academe blog. “If colleges aren’t supporting Republican ideas, Santorum tells us, the government should de-fund... • Video: Virginia School Board Doubles Down – Defends Having Third-Graders Sing Occupy Indoctrination Nice Deb ^ | 1/2/12 | nicedeb Via CBS 19 News: The School Board in Charlottesville is clearly out of line, and not fooling anyone with their lame explanation for how kids came to sing a class warfare song at an assembly. Indoctrinating other people’s children with their political message is a tactic leftists use all the time. Conservatives shouldn’t stand for it, and need to continue to sound the alarm about this story. • EEOC: High school diploma requirement might violate ADA The Washington Times ^ Employers are facing more uncertainty in the wake of a letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission warning them that requiring a high school diploma from a job applicant might violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The development also has some wondering whether the agency’s advice will result in an educational backlash by creating less of an incentive for some high school students to graduate. The “informal discussion letter” from the EEOC said an employer’s requirement of a high school diploma, long a standard criterion for screening potential employees, must be “job-related for the position in question and consistent with... • Columbia University Offering Course In Occupy Wall Street, With Field Work Gothamist ^ | January 1, 2012 | John Del Signore Not to be outdone by NYU and their upcoming course on Occupy Wall Street, Columbia University will offer its own course on the nascent movement this spring. Offered by the Anthropology Department, the course [pdf], called "Occupy the Field," will offer "training in ethnographic research methods alongside a critical exploration of the conjunctural issues in the Occupy movement: Wall Street, finance capital, and inequality; political strategies, property and public space, and the question of anarchy; and genealogies of the contemporary moment in global social movements." Finger Twinkling 101 is a prerequisite. Professor Hannah Appel will be teaching the course, which... • In Washington area, African American students suspended and expelled two to five times as * whites Washington Post ^ | December 28, 2011 | Donna St. George Across the Washington area, black students are suspended and expelled two to five times as often as white students, creating disparities in discipline that experts say reflect a growing national problem. An analysis by The Washington Post shows the phenomenon both in the suburbs and in the city, from the far reaches of Southern Maryland to the subdivisions of Fairfax, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. In Washington area, racial gaps in school discipline Study exposes myths about school discipline Most students suspended, expelled at some point Police presence in schools spur Miranda questions View all Items in this Story School... Leftists Using Approved Student Group to Infiltrate Wisconsin High Schools Big Government ^ | 12/21/11 | Jeffrey Scott Shapiro Following a tip from a reader, Big Government has discovered that a radical immigration group, Voces De La Frontera (Voices of the Frontier/VDLF), has infiltrated the public school system in Racine, Wisconsin by working with an approved student group. School Officials in the Racine Unified School District tell Big Government that they had no idea that the approved group, Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES), had become the youth arm of Voces De La Frontera (Voices of the Frontier/VDLF), a well-financed leftist movement with a membership of several thousand, headquartered in Milwaukee with two satellite offices in Racine and Kenosha.... • California schools to get millions from White House grant Friday, December 16, 2011 3:38:24 PM · by Hojczyk · 18 replies Los Angeles Times ^ | December 16,2011 White House officials announced Friday that California will be among nine states to share in a $500-million grant for early-childhood-development programs, the latest chapter in the Obama administration's "Race to the Top" program in which states apply and compete for federal dollars. State officials said California will receive $52.6 million, which will go toward improving the accountability system for early-childhood programs. Such accountability, officials said, will help parents evaluate the quality of their options. The system would grade programs based on the learning environment, teacher effectiveness and parent engagement. • Bloomberg: If I Had It My Way I’d Dump Half Of NYC’s Teachers CBS NewYork ^ | December 1, 2011 | Marcia Kramer Mayor Stuns Many At MIT Speech, Says He'd Greatly Enlarge Class Size, Too. It’s a jaw-dropping prescription for fixing city schools. “Professor” Michael Bloomberg said ... he would accomplish more with less by slashing the teaching staff in half — and that’s just the beginning... He looked like he was from another planet when he dressed as a hippie for a political show, but the mayor’s blueprint for fixing city schools have some asking “what was he smoking?” ... That’s right. The mayor told people at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology conference it would be far better to run city... • As California mandate looms, some LGBT curriculum already in place CNN ^ | Saturday, December 10, 2011 | Debra Goldschmidt California schools must meet a January deadline to include LGBT history in their curricula. In 10th grade English at Los Angeles’ Grover Cleveland High School, Danielle Taklender's students read the book "Luna" by Julie Anne Peters. It's a story about a transgender teen. Taklender has been teaching the book for seven years without any fanfare or push back. It’s getting noticed now as her school district takes the lead in developing a plan to comply with the first state law mandating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history and social science curricula. The California law, which takes effect in January, stops... • N.Y.U. to Offer Classes on Occupy Wall Street Wall Street Journal ^ • Texas students refusal to say Mexican pledge, national anthem starts controversy KHOU ^ | Nov 22 | Brad Watson RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas - Every day students in Texas public schools pledge allegiance to the flags of the United States and Texas. But when a teacher in a Rio Grande Valley high school assigned students to stand and pledge allegiance to the Mexican flag and sing Mexico's national anthem, one student refused. The resulting controversy has one East Texas lawmaker wanting changes in the state's curriculum on how culture and patriotism are taught in schools. 15-year-old Brenda Brinsdon entered her sophomore year at McAllen ISD's Achieve Early College High School just wanting to do well in her classes. • The Homosexual Agenda In Our Public Schools Right Side News ^ | 11/26/2011 | Gary Yinger I have posted several articles on the very fast moving agenda in our schools that will cause terrible harm to our children. The homosexual agenda could destroy the moral fabric of our country as they target children, since that is where our future lies. Have you checked your local school's curriculum and textbooks? California's news law and our own government's initiative is on the move to indoctrinate our children into the homosexual agenda. Recent ad concerning the Canadian mandate which promotes the homosexual agenda in the Canadian school system, which the US is headed towards. • In New York, Mexicans Lag in Education New York Times ^ | November 24, 2011 | KIRK SEMPLE In the past two decades, the Mexican population in New York City has grown more than fivefold, with immigrants settling across the five boroughs. Many adults have demonstrated remarkable success at finding work, filling restaurant kitchens and construction sites, and opening hundreds of businesses. But their children, in one crucial respect, have fared far differently. About 41 percent of all Mexicans between ages 16 and 19 in the city have dropped out of school, according to census data. No other major immigrant group has a dropout rate higher than 20 percent, and the overall rate for the city is less... • 31 Gym Teachers Earn More Than Town Police Chief - Large majority make over $80K Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 11/23/2011 | Tom Gantert The City of Utica fire chief earns $73,440. Before leaving in March, the Utica police chief made $79,000. The Utica Community Schools has 36 gym teachers who earn more than the fire chief and 31 phys-ed teachers who earned more than the police chief. UCS closed four of its elementary schools last year to save money as it faced a $33 million deficit in 2010-11. The district’s website blamed politicians “for ongoing failure by the state legislature to bring about stable and ongoing financial reform with regard to Michigan’s public schools.” Yet, half of the district’s 52 gym teachers make... • School Cop Teamed Up with Special Ed Teacher to Run Adult Websites (on school computer) LAist ^ | 11/17/11 | Emma G. Gallegos School Cop Teamed Up with Special Ed Teacher to Run Adult WebsitesBy Emma G. Gallegos in News on November 17, 2011 1:40 PM A high school in the Central Valley is investigating a school cop who teamed up with a high school special education teacher to start up a stable of adult websites. The teacher, Heidi Kaeslin, could run into trouble with the Stockton district where she teaches if they find out that she was running the site from school computers. She has been placed on leave, while a computer forensics expert looks at her classroom computer, according to Recordnet.com.... • Public School Teachers Far From Underpaid Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 11/14/2011 | Kyle Jackson It’s a commonly accepted belief that public school teachers are underpaid. Last month in a visit to Ann Arbor, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan even called for schools to figure out how to double teacher salaries in order to attract and keep top-tier talent. But a report issued last week by the Heritage Center for Data Analysis questions the conventional wisdom and finds that, instead of being underpaid, people entering the teaching profession actually make one and a half times what they would have in other lines of work. While it is true teachers earn less than non-teachers with... • Teacher Takes Class To Occupy Denver Rally TheDenverChannel.com ^ | 10:55 am MST November 14, 2011 | Deb Stanley DENVER -- A teacher who took her students to see Occupy Denver said she brought her class to see what was happening. "We came to observe," said teacher Celia Bard when questioned by a blogger in a video posted on YouTube. • LA Elementary School Under Fire for Inviting Porn Star to Read to Children Fox News ^ | November 11, 2011 A Los Angeles area elementary school is facing some major criticism from parents after the district invited porn star Sasha Grey to read to a group of first graders, according to a report from TMZ. TMZ obtained photos of Grey reading to the children at Emerson Elementary School in Compton on November 2 as part of the Read Across America program. Grey also tweeted about the experience, gushing that the students were the “sweetest.” • Student Body Left Wall Street Journal ^ | 11/07/11 | Review & Outlook The President wants everyone in college on Uncle Sam's dime.As the default rate rises on federally backed student loans, President Obama has responded with a plan to make education lending even more expensive for taxpayers. That's hard to do, but he's determined. In his first student-lending reform, which was rushed through the Senate as part of ObamaCare, Mr. Obama added $1 trillion to the federal balance sheet over the next decade by eliminating private lenders. Stage two, which he offered recently at the Denver campus of the University of Colorado, added easier repayment terms and debt forgiveness. • Public School Teachers Aren't Underpaid WSJ ^ | 11-8-11 | ANDREW G. BIGGS And JASON RICHWINE Despite recent layoffs, teachers still have greater job security than workers in private businesses. While employment in education declined by 2.9% between September 2008 and July 2011, according to BLS data, overall private-sector employment declined by 4.4%. Moreover, from 2005 through 2010 the unemployment rate for public school teachers averaged 2.1%, versus 4.1% for private school teachers and 3.8% for occupations that some consider comparable, such as computer programmers and insurance underwriters. • Duncan Praises Push To Help Undocumented Students NPR ^ | November 7, 2011 | The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday he's encouraged that some states are allowing the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges. As an example, Duncan pointed to Rhode Island, where this fall the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education unanimously approved in-state tuition for illegal immigrants starting in fall 2012 • Wisconsin Teacher Reprimanded After Students Allowed to Protest Gov. Walker on Field Trip FOX ^ <p>A fourth-grade teacher in Wisconsin has been reprimanded after he allowed his students to participate in a political protest against Gov. Scott Walker on a field trip to the state Capitol building.</p> <p>Video of the incident was aired by FOX6 in Milwaukee earlier this week. In it, students could be seen clapping while protesters with a group called the "solidarity singers" belted out a modified version of "This Land Is Your Land." The last verse includes the line, "Scott Walker will never push us out, this house was made for you and me."</ • Hundreds of Oakland teachers skip work for protest The Sacramento Bee ^ | Nov. 2, 2011 | The Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2799271/posts STUDENTS On October 25 Obama unveiled a "pay as you earn" proposal to help reduce monthly student loan payments for some college graduates. Accelerating a program that starts in 2014, borrowers from next year will be able to reduce monthly student loan payments to 10 percent of their discretionary income, and debt balances will be forgiven after 20 years of payments. Current U.S. law allows borrowers to limit their loan payments to 15 percent of discretionary income and forgives all remaining debt after 25 years. The White House says this will help around 1.6 million students. Obama also used an executive order to allow students to consolidate federal college debt into a single monthly payment, and offer a 0.5 percentage point cut in the monthly interest rate on that debt. Up to six million students could benefit from this initiative. U.S. students graduating last year had an average debt of $24,000. More than 36 million Americans have federal student loan debt, but only 450,000 have so far taken advantage of the existing income-based repayment program. Freeper: businessprofessor Here are two very important facts not reported about the student loan program changes. First, Obama has shafted note holders again. Consolidation means that the federal government will prematurely repay student loans, transferring the outstanding liabilities to the US treasury. While it is true that these loans do not have repayment penalties, most of these loans would not have been prematurely repaid. Obama has just cancelled the income stream of legitimate note holders. No compensation has been offered to the note holders. Second, the 20 year limit on payments is a ruse. Private sector workers have a 20 year maximum payment period compared to government workers and non profit workers who have a 10 year maximum payment period. More importantly, the 10year repayment period for is a non taxable event for politically favored workers but the 20 year period is a taxable event private sector workers. For example, if a government worker has $50,000 of forgiven student loan debt, taxes will not be owed no matter how large the loan forgiveness. In contrast, all amounts forgiven are taxable for private sector workers. I predict many private sector workers will choose to continue paying the student loan rather than be faced with the tax consequences. Once again, the rats have made one policy for their people and another policy for everyone else. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2797850/posts?q=1&;page=101 You missed the part about forgiving remaining debt after 20 years. So reducing payments by 1/3rd (10% of "discretionary income" vs 15%, and you know Obama will reduce what is considered discretionary income), and reducing the time payments are actually made by 1/5th. Let's do the math: 15 times 25 = 375; 10 times 20 = 200. So Obama is basically relieving fully 47% (almost half, for those of you in Rio Linda) of the principal and interest paid. Given amortization, the relief of the principal could be significant. Obama's plan is clear. Dramatically increase the wealth transfer programs (Obamacare, mortgage relief, student loan relief, etc.) even though he cannot raise taxes. He knows if he bankrupts the country, we will be forced to raise taxes, but the masses will revolt if they don't get their personal bailouts and free stuff (witness OWS). Result: Socialist Utopia. http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/10/28/over_100_colleges_and_universities_char ge_50k_or_more_a_year RUSH: I don't mean to harp on the subject of college tuition, but CNNMoney.com is reporting this: The number of colleges and universities with tuition and fees totaling more than $50,000 for a single year rose to 123 for the 2011-2012 year -- up from 100 institutions in the previous year." So 23 new colleges where it cost 50 grand minimum for a single year. Now, they point out in the story that this is more than the average United States salary. Do you know that if you earn $50,000 a year or more, you are in the upper 10% of wage earners in America? I love telling people that statistic. • Lesbian student is crowned high school's homecoming KING! Daily Mail (UK) ^ | October 30, 2011 A lesbian student has been crowned homecoming king at a Californian high school. During a pep rally at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego on Friday, the announcement was made about senior Rebeca Arellano. Rebeca's girlfriend and fellow student, Haileigh Adams, was nominated to be homecoming queen. • Recommended New York sex ed site offers middleschoolers tips on eating feces, bestiality, fetishes Life Site News ^ | October 26, 2011 | KATHLEEN GILBERT WARNING: very explicit content. NEW YORK, October 24, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The recommended curriculum for a mandatory sex education course to be implemented in New York middle and high schools next year directs students to a website that details “safe sex†practices regarding bestiality, coprophagia, and other extreme sexual fetishes. The New York Post reported on Saturday that assignments in a workbook recommended by city education officials included giving middle schoolers “risk cards” to rate the safety of such activities as anal sex, oral sex, and “intercourse using a condom and an oil-based lubricant.†Teens are also told to learn... • Teachers' Union Fat Cats The American Spectator ^ | October 26, 2011 | RiShawn Biddle .....But it's not just the celebrities who are joining in on the fun. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have spent the past month ginning up their own public relations machines so they can declare their solidarity for the Occupy Wall Street protesters and for all which they stand. Earlier this month, AFT President RandiWeingarten (who took a few steps out of the union's plush offices on Broadway to join the protests) proclaimed that "we need to get serious as a nation about working together to create economic opportunities for all Americans." Twenty-four of the union's... • Connecticut High School Students Walk Out on Homosexual Play The New American ^ | October 25, 2011 | Dave Bohon Students from a public high school in Hartford, Connecticut, walked out on a school assembly after realizing that the play they were seeing had a homosexual theme and included a kiss between two boys. The play, entitled Zanna, Don’t, is a musical set in a universe where homosexuality is normal behavior, while heterosexuals must remain “in the closet” with their relationships. According to Baptist Press News, the play, which was produced by a local community theater and included high school and college actors, was performed for the student body at Hartford Public High School, “and kids weren’t given the option... • NYC to Teach Kids about “Doggie-Style” Sex? Fox news ^ | 10/23/11 | staff New York City 11-year-olds will soon be learning sex education from workbooks that include instruction on “mutual masturbation, French kissing, oral and anal sex, and “intercourse using a condom and an oil-based lubricant.” The shocking revelations were uncovered in “recommended” workbooks reviewed by The New York Post. Sex education will become mandatory in New York City middle and high schools next year. Students will be required to take one semester of sex education in sixth or seventh grades and one in ninth or tenth grades. • Fired Occupy LA Teacher Patricia McAllister Wants to Run Jews Out of the Country You Tube ^ | 10/19/11 | RobtKraft/Granny Jan Anti-semitism at Occupy LA and Occupy Wall Street • TX High School Students Made to Recite Mexican National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance The Blaze ^ | 10/17/2011 | n/a • California Schools Scrambling To Add Lessons On LGBT Americans [K-12: How To "Plug" Into Curriculum] LATimes ^ | October 16, 2011 | Teresa Watanabe, California Schools Scrambling To Add Lessons On LGBT Americans Many are flummoxed about how to carry out a new law requiring California public schools to teach all students, from kindergartners to 12th-graders, about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. David Columbus, a senior and president of Downtown Magnets High School's Gay-Straight Alliance club, said he was pushed around and called names since he was 3 because he liked Barbie dolls. But, he said, he has thrived in the school's supportive environment. Teresa Watanabe October 16, 2011 At Wonderland Avenue Elementary School in Laurel Canyon, there are lesson plans on diverse... • State teachers union pitches tent with Occupy activists San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 10/13/11 The California Teachers Association jumped on the Occupy Wall Street bandwagon Thursday, throwing the weight of 325,000 state teachers behind the movement for “tax fairness and against corporate greed.” “Educators are fed up with watching our students and schools go without — while banks are being bailed out and the middle class and poor are being shut out,” said CTA President Dean Vogel, in a statement. “It’s time to put Main Street before Wall Street, and for corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.” • Conservative Opponents of CA Homosexual History Curriculum Fail to Repeal Law Church Report ^ | October 13, 2011 Opponents of a California law requiring that the contributions of gays and lesbians be taught in public schools failed Wednesday in their attempt to qualify a ballot referendum to repeal the law. The groups wanted to force a vote on Senate Bill 48, the nation's first law requiring that public schools include gay rights milestones and gay and lesbian contributions in social studies lessons. It takes effect in January. Groups that had been circulating signature petitions said they would not meet Wednesday's deadline. Brad Dacus, a spokesman for the Pacific Justice Institute, said his organization and other opponents collected... • Group fighting LGBT teachings fails petition drive SFGate ^ | 10/12/11 | Wyatt Buchanan Backers of an effort to repeal a law that requires schools teach about the historical contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and people with disabilities, failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The group, Stop SB48, which is named after the law, faced a Wednesday deadline to turn in just under 505,000 signatures. In an e-mail, the group said, "We thank all of you that worked so hard to provide the hundreds of thousands of signatures received. In the end, 90 days was too short a time to accomplish such a large task." The nearly... • University of California teachers’ union aims to block online classes Hotair ^ | Tina Korbe | Tina Korbe • Fremont Girl Banned From Wearing Rosary At School {Ecumenical} KETV ^ | October 2, 2011 | KETV A sixth-grade girl said she was told that she can't wear a necklace that resembles a rosary because it violates the dress code at the Fremont Public Schools. Elizabeth Carey, 12, said the school adopted a policy last year banning the necklaces....She said the necklace is part of an outfit that she hopes expresses her faith. "I'm wearing a cross necklace, a cross T-shirt and a cross bracelet," she said. "I'm thinking of how Jesus died on the cross and how he gave up all his sins for us." Omaha Catholic Archdiocese Chancellor Rev. Joseph Taphorn said it's disheartening. • California - Student Punished for Saying .... ‘Bless You’ cbs47 ^ | 9-28-11 | cakid1 Its hard to believe but a student at William C. Wood High School in Vacaville, California was reportedly was punished for saying 'Bless You.' The teacher says the student disrupted his classroom “It’s not…got anything to do with religion,” Wood High health teacher Steve Cuckovich told KTXL News in Sacramento. “It’s got to do with an interruption of class time.” Cuckovich reportedly took 25 points off the student’s grade - in an effort to deter other students from saying “bless you.” “The blessing really doesn’t make sense anymore,” Cuckovich explained. “When you sneezed in the old days, they thought you... LAUSD oks rehiring hundreds of office staff http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_18984203 • Six Year Old's Dad Shocked By School Planner/Calendar...SICK STUFF! Toronto Sun ^ | 9/13/2011 | JOE WARMINGTON TORONTO - This Toronto dad is just not ready to explain to his first-grade son about transgender people, prostitutes, AIDS or female genital mutilation. So one can imagine his shock when he found these issues listed as special days of recognition in his son’s Toronto District School Board 2011-12 daily planner. “I was looking through this thing and was shocked by the kind of days they are marking as ‘days of significance,’” he said. The first one that jumped out at him, under a headline that said “equitable and inclusive,” was Nov. 19’s Transgender Day of Remembrance. Then came Dec.... • School Assigns Children Reading About 'Benefits' of Sharia Law, Polygamy Pundit Press ^ | 9/24/11 | Aurelius Campbell Middle School, located in Georgia, has decided to slightly change its curriculum, after a concerned parent complained of the material his child was assigned to read. In late-August, a class of seventh graders were given a project about class uniforms. Their teacher, who refuses to be named, handed out reading material that he or she thought was relevant: an excerpt from a letter entitled “My Name is Ahlima.” The letter is about the differences between cultures and dressing. If it stopped there, there may not have been need for concern. However, the letter then talks about polygamy, Sharia Law,... • Student Suspended for Saying Gay Is Wrong Fox Dallas Fort Worth ^ | Wednesday, 21 Sep 2011 | Lari Barager *excerpt* ... “We were talking about religions in Germany. I said, ‘I’m a Christian. I think being a homosexual is wrong,’” he said. “It wasn’t directed to anyone except my friend who was sitting behind me. I guess [the teacher] heard me. He started yelling. He told me he was going to write me an infraction and send me to the office.” • Judge: Striking Wash. teachers could be replaced AP/WorldMag ^ | Sep 19, 8:23 PM EDT TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- A judge said Monday he's considering giving Washington state's third-largest school district the option of replacing teachers on the picket line as a strike continued despite the judge's order to return to work. The unexpected comment from Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff came as Tacoma school district classes were canceled Monday and Tuesday due to the strike, the News Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/njc9RV ). "That came as quite a surprise," district spokesman Dan Voelpel said. "We didn't ask about that in court. He began speaking out loud about actions to impose next week." • Cheating by California teachers invalidates schools' test scores Los Angeles Times ^ | September 18, 2011 | By Howard Blume Twenty-two California schools had their test scores thrown out this year. Nearly half the campuses lost their Academic Performance Index scores because of cheating by teachers. Several others were penalized because of help teachers gave students that violated rules. Additionally, some school scores were rejected because of what appeared to be accidental actions. In most cases, schools or school districts turned themselves in. Because of budget cuts, the state Education Department no longer conducts random audits at schools or scans test booklets for irregularities. The number of schools with invalidated test scores remains relatively small but is edging upward. • LA Schools To Teach LGBT Curriculum In Anti-Bullying Effort losangeles.cbslocal.com ^ | 9-16-11 Students in the Los Angeles Unified school district may soon be taught “ageappropriate” curriculum promoting positive images of homosexuals and their contributions to society. The resolution approved on Tuesday directs officials to come up with an implementation plan within 90 days, the Associated Press reported. One mom present at the school board meeting recalled the reaction her son Elliot received at school when he openly declared himself to be homosexual at age 13 in front of hundreds of classmates. • Obama DOJ Takes Action… Moves in to Protect Teachers With Unacceptable English Skills The Gateway Pundit ^ | 9/15/11 | Jim Hoft It’s an Obama World… The Obama Department of Justice moved in this week to protect teachers with unacceptable English skills. Judicial Watch reported: Public school teachers with unacceptable English pronunciation and grammar are being protected by the Obama Administration, which has forced one state to eliminate a fluency monitoring program created to comply with a 2002 federal education law. Singling out teachers who can’t speak proper English in American schools—funded by taxpayers, no less—discriminates against Hispanics and others who are not native English speakers, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). As a result it violates the Civil Rights Act... • California Court to Teacher: Take down in 'God We Trust Banner' .. Pay Fine. cbs47 ^ | 9-14-11 | cakid1 The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a San Diego Teacher to take down a banner that says ' In God We Trust.' The teacher who has had the banners up in his classroom for two decades says the banner was free speech. Bradley Johnson is a math teacher in the Poway Unified School District. He says the banner celebrates the religious heritage of America. He says the banners were 'no more an assertion of a religious point of view than the Tibetan prayer flag, Dalai Lama poster and Malcolm X poster that other teachers had in their... • Teacher Told to Remove 'God' From Class http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Classroom-Banner-Suit-Favors-School129768918.html ^ | Wednesday, Sep 14, 2011 | Lindsay Hood and Sarah Grieco Poway Unified School District wins case against high school teacherA teacher in the Poway Unified School District has been ordered by the U.S. Court of Appeals to remove two large banners that referred to "God" and the "Creator" from his classroom walls. Brad Johnson, a teacher at Westview High School, had been directed by the district to remove two large banners which read “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “ONE NATION UNDER GOD,” “GOD BLESS AMERICA,” “GOD SHED HIS GRACE ON THEE” and “All men are created equal, they are endowed by their CREATOR.” The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced their... • Brookline group: Wave bye to Pledge of Allegiance in school the Boston Herald ^ | Thursday, September 8, 2011 | John Zaremba and Joe Dwinell Peaceniks in leafy, lefty Brookline are trying to ban the Pledge of Allegiance from town schools, insisting the iconic verse has anti-patriotic overtones... • Less Than 0.001 Percent of Tenured Teachers Fired Over Past Five Years Capitol Confidential ^ | 9/7/2011 | Jarrett Skorup Harbor Beach Community Schools paid one teacher tens of thousands of dollars to leave, despite the teacher getting caught kissing some students and head-locking one after being confronted for his behavior. Dearborn Public Schools paid four teachers a total of $197,353 to get rid of them after charges of sexual misconduct and possession of illegal substances on school grounds. Gladwin Community Schools has dished out about $40,000 thus far in a legal case against a kindergarten teacher arraigned on charges of furnishing alcohol for minors. These are a few of at least 156 tenure cases brought by Michigan public school... • Outraged parents oust gay sex books from New Jersey school reading list Life Site News ^ | September 2, 2011 | KATHLEEN GILBERT MONROE TWP, New Jersey, September 2, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two books, one containing an explicit depiction of statutory lesbian rape, and the other a homosexual orgy, have been ousted from a local high school by outraged New Jersey parents. The texts, “Norwegian Wood” and “Tweak: Growing up on Methamphetamines,” originally appeared on the summer reading list for both middle school and high school students at Monroe Township schools this year. “Norwegian Wood,” a novel by Haruki Murakami, includes a graphic depiction of a 31year-old woman raping a 13-year-old girl, while “Tweak,” a story about addiction, describes a homosexual orgy scene as well as the details of drug use. The books, school officials say, were included on the list by a group of teachers, librarians, and administrators, and approved by the board of education. Chuck Earling, superintendent of Monroe Township Schools in Williamstown, N.J., told Fox News that the committee “didn’t feel it was inappropriate based on the language that’s used, common language used on the street.” However, after outrage from local parents, the district yanked the books, and Earling apologized. “We were not trying to create controversy. We were just trying to get students to read,” he said. The Family Research Council’s Peter Sprigg told Fox that the affair was a lesson to parents to keep watch over what their kids are reading in schools. “Here we see the intersection of parental values being offended, the hyper-sexualization of our youth and the homosexual agenda being pushed,” Sprigg told Fox News Radio. “Exposing children to graphic sexual content – that is not as evil as censorship in the minds of some left-wing activists.” Books exploring the homosexual lifestyle have been making their way into public schools across America in recent years, particularly in states where same-sex “marriage” has been legalized. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Massachusetts father’s plea to opt-out his kindergartener from listening to homosexual children’s books, or at least to be notified of the objectionable material. A California law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in June mandates that textbooks in pubic schools statewide teach children about “the role and contributions of” homosexual American historical figures, and forbids materials that “contain any matter reflecting adversely” upon gays on the basis of sexual identification.. The law is automatically on hold after conservatives leaders launched a referendum effort to put the textbook question before California voters. • Obama tells kids one of the 'greatest challenges facing' their generation is 'climate change'... climatedepot.com ^ | Sept. 2, 2011 | Marc Morano President Barack Obama told Scholastic News Kid Reporters during a TV interview that one of the "greatest challenges facing" their generation is “climate change.” "Another big challenge that your generation is going to face is the environmental challenge,” Obama stated, after citing the economy as another big issue. The interview was conducted by Scholastic News kid reporters as part of the new program on the “Challenges Facing America's Youth.” Video available here. Obama explained: “There are some big challenges around climate change. The temperature of the planet is getting warmer because of the pollution that we are sending up in... • Study: Hispanics now outnumber blacks in college The Washington Post ^ | 08/25/2011 | Daniel de Vise For the first time, young Hispanics outnumber blacks on college campuses. A study released today by the Pew Hispanic Center finds that enrollment of Hispanic students aged 18 to 24 rose by 24 percent in a single year, reaching 1.8 million in October 2010. That’s 349,000 new Hispanic students. By contrast, black enrollment rose by 88,000 and Asian American enrollment rose by 43,000. White enrollment declined by 320,000. These crisscrossing numbers amplify the shift in the overall makeup of the college population. There are now 1.8 million Hispanics enrolled in American colleges, 1.7 million blacks and 800,000 Asians. White enrollment... • Ind. vouchers prompt thousands to change schools AP ^ | Aug. 28, 2011 | TOM COYNE SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Weeks after Indiana began the nation's broadest school voucher program, thousands of students have transferred from public to private schools, causing a spike in enrollment at some Catholic institutions that were only recently on the brink of closing for lack of pupils. It's a scenario public school advocates have long feared: Students fleeing local districts in large numbers, taking with them vital tax dollars that often end up at parochial schools. Opponents say the practice violates the separation of church and state. • Albemarle removes Sherlock Holmes book from reading list The Daily Progress ^ | 8/11/11 | AARON RICHARDSON The Albemarle County School Board voted Thursday night to remove Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet” from sixth-grade reading lists. A parent of a Henley Middle School student originally challenged the book in May on the grounds that it is derogatory toward Mormons. Thursday’s vote was the culmination of the work of a committee commissioned to study the book and two discussions by board members. Board member Diantha McKiel, of the Jack Jouett District, said it was important to note that the school system has a history of reconsidering books. “Sometimes we have declared books age inappropriate, LAUSD spends $30K per student--Low Graduation Rate Created at: August 23, 2011 Written by: CA Political News Description: If you believed the unions and the Democrats (sorry about being redundant) we do not spend enough for government education. Thought you would like to know who much, from all sources LAUSD spends on an education that creates up to 60% drop outs. "The research by Adam Schaeffer of the Cato Institute’s Center for Education Freedom seemed shocking: The Los Angeles Unified School District spent $29,780 per student in fiscal year 2007-08. That’s way above the $10,000 as advertised by the school district, and as used in most studies. The $29,780 per student figure means a class of 25 students would spend $744,500 a year...Basically, what Schaeffer found was that the LAUSD doesn’t count capital spending, such as from local and state bond measures passed by voters. For example, $1.18 billion was spent in 2007-08 from Measure R, which 64 percent of voters passed in March 2004. And the district spent $668 million from state Proposition 55, also on the March 2004 ballot. According to Ballotopedia, it barely passed with 50.9 percent of the votes. Both were bonds. Those and similar measures were passed during the boom times of the California economy. It’s a good question whether voters would pass them during the current deep recession. It’s also curious that these bonds, and similar ones, were passed at a time when state and LAUSD student enrollment has been declining." Oh, LAUSD has between 1/4 to 1/2 illegal aliens in the classroom. At one point LAUSD actually hired teachers from Mexico and used Mexican textbooks in LAUSD classrooms. Why is education a failure and California in a Depression? Just look at LAUSD--then ask your school district for the full, honest costs. • Teacher - and CNN citizen reporter - fired after after school digs up past as gay porn star New York Daily News ^ | 8/24/11 | New York Daily News One of CNN's most popular citizen reporters was fired from his substitute teaching job after school officials unearthed evidence that he used to be a gay porn star. They didn't have to dig deep. Shawn Loftis ditched his porn career in the spring of 2010 to focus on teaching, but he is still widely known by his X-rated alias, Collin O'Neal, the Miami New Times reported. His hard-core performances won him several awards, and a Wikipedia page lists his porn accolades and some of the videos he's appeared in. • New city school blends learning with African cultural flavor StlToday ^ | 8/21/2011 On the first day of school, third-graders in Angela Robinson's class sat cross-legged on the floor and recited the African creed taped to the chalkboard. They would accept their duties and responsibilities, respect themselves and others, they stated. "I will study hard," they continued. "I will learn because I will study hard. I love myself. And loving myself, I will be myself, and know myself." Pamoja Preparatory Academy @ Cole opened Monday as an African-centered school - a place where reading, math, and science are taught alongside African values, customs and culture. Among those values are self-control, • Anti-Americanism Disguised as Ethnic Studies in Tucson Schools Townhall.com ^ | August 27, 2011 | Rachel Alexander The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is in a contentious fight with the state of Arizona over its controversial Mexican-American Studies program. A state law went into effect in Arizona on January 1, 2011, banning the teaching of ethnic studies in K-12 schools. It was prompted by an investigation into TUSD’s ethnic studies curriculum by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne when he was State Superintendent of Schools. The program is known as “raza studies,” which means race studies, championed by organizations like the far left organization National Council of La Raza. The course does not simply teach Latino youth about their heritage, it goes well beyond that. The textbooks teach Latino youth that they are mistreated by America, training them to become radical antiAmerican activists. Textbooks include “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and “Occupied America.” Another text "gloats over the difficulties our country is having at enforcing its immigration laws." Benjamin Franklin is vilified as a racist. White people are referred to as “gringos” and “oppressors” of Latino people. “Privilege” is described as related to a person’s ethnicity. At a TUSD school board meeting on May 10, one upset mother read excerpts from the textbook “An Epic Poem,” including, My land is lost and stolen, My culture has been raped….we have to destroy capitalism… overthrow a government that has committed abuses….to the bloodsuckers, the parasites, the vampires who are the capitalists of the world: The schools are tools of the power structure that blind and sentence our youth to a life of confusion, and hypocrisy, one that preaches assimilation and practices institutional racism. Under the new state law, which was drafted by Horne, schools will lose 10% of their state education funding if they are not in compliance. The law bans teaching that advocates overthrowing the U.S. government, returning portions of the U.S. to Mexico, promoting resentment towards a race, and advocating for one race. In January, during the last days of his term as State Superintendent of Schools, Horne found Tucson’s schools in violation of all four provisions of the law. Arizona’s new Superintendent of Schools John Huppenthal ordered an audit of the program earlier this year. 11 teachers and the director of the Mexican-American Studies Department refused to work with the auditors. Instead, they sued the state alleging the law is unconstitutional. The audit was a failure, only analyzing 9 out of a possible 180 lesson units, or 5%, not enough to make any sort of objective analysis. The auditors gave the teachers advance notice of classroom observation, and allowed them to handpick students for the focus group. Nevertheless, Huppenthal found the program in violation of state law and gave the district 60 days to comply or lose funding. The program may also violate Proposition 107, the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, which passed last year banning preferential treatment or discrimination based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. The TUSD school board is split over the program. However, at a hearing on Friday, TUSD Governing Board President Mark Stegeman and member Michael Hicks relayed their concerns about the program. Hicks said the program is not in compliance with state law, and Stegeman said the behavior observed in the course is almost cult like. School board meetings discussing the program have been raucous, with students chaining themselves to board members’ chairs, which prevented one meeting from taking place, and the removal of several people from another meeting. Former history teacher John Ward, who is Hispanic, is speaking out against the program. He taught Mexican-American studies for TUSD several years ago until it became radicalized. He objected to teaching an American History class which gave students American History credit for learning the history of the Aztecs, without teaching any American History. He was told to sit in the back of the classroom while an ethnic studies proponent without a teaching degree actually taught the class. Due to his objections, he was removed from teaching the class. TUSD’s test scores are among the lowest in the state. Contrary to the claims of ethnic studies proponents, students who take ethnic studies classes perform worse academically than other students. A school board member asked the district’s statistician to compare those students’ academic success to others. The statistician found that students who take ethnic studies are less likely to pass the state’s AIMS (Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards) test than others. Clearly, the district would be better off transferring its efforts into improving academic scores. The students are being used by a handful of radical adult activists with an agenda, who are employing classic Alinsky tactics to force through their extremist agenda. They cannot win through legitimate elections and democratic processes, so they resort to intimidation. District superintendent John Pedicone wrote an op-ed for the Arizona Daily Star exposing that adults were behind the students’ disruption at a board meeting, “Students have been exploited and are being used as pawns to serve a political agenda that threatens this district and our community.” In addition to filing bullying lawsuits, proponents have also sent threatening letters to various government officials. It has been shown that students become angry and resentful after being taught this kind of propaganda. One high school student said she did not know she was oppressed until she was told so in one of these programs. The people of Arizona voted almost 60% in favor of Proposition 107 which banned ethnic preferences and discrimination. It would be an affront to the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr., who used civil disobedience to defeat discrimination, if a handful of radical activists successfully use not-so-civil disobedience to bring discrimination back. • Florida High School removes teacher for criticizing gay ‘marriage’ on Facebook Life Site News ^ | August 18, 2011 | John-HENRY WESTEN MOUNT DORA, FL, August 18, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Mount Dora High School has removed a veteran social-studies teacher Gerald (Jerry) Buell from his classroom for Facebook comments critical of homosexual ‘marriageÂ’. Christopher Patton, Communications Officer for Lake County Schools told LifeSiteNews that Buell was moved to administrative duties pending the results of an investigation into a suspected code of ethics violation. On his personal Facebook account, outside of school time, Buell posted a reaction to New YorkÂ’s passage of homosexual ‘marriageÂ’ saying he “almost threw up.” He also referred to homosexual unions as sinful and referred to it as... • Education Secretary pounds Perry on Texas schools Hot Air ^ | August 18, 2011 | Margaret Talev The early attacks on Gov. Rick Perry come as no surprise: He’s a formidable candidate and, as such, is bound to take a beating from the administration and the MSM. At least Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had the sense to criticize Perry for something outside the unassailable fortress of his jobs record. It would have been better for Arne, though, if he had thought through his remarks a bit more. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Texas’s school system “has really struggled” under Governor Rick Perry, a Republican candidate for president, and the state’s substandard schools do a disservice... • Chinese Students Flood U.S. Grad Schools The Wall Street Journal ^ | August 16, 2011 | MELISSA KORN Thanks to a thriving economy at home, an increasing number of Chinese students are attending U.S. graduate schools, according to a study to be released on Tuesday by a graduate-school industry group. Graduate schools saw a 21% increase in Chinese applicants from the last school year and a 23% increase in admissions offers, for students slated to start this fall, according to a study by the Council of Graduate Schools. It is the sixth year in a row of double-digit percentage increases for Chinese students. Applications and offers were up sharply for international students overall, jumping 11% compared with 2010,... • Whatever Schools Teach, Parents Have No Rights Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) ^ | Michael Ramey Since California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 48 into law on July 14, the curriculum for California public schools must include “the role and contributions of…lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans” in California and American history. Already, those on the left are preparing to defend the law in courts, while those on the right are driving petitions to overturn the law by a ballot initiative. Why go to all that trouble? Because the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over California and a handful of other states, has already made clear that there can be no opt-outs of... • ACT Study: Scores show students aren’t ready for college (1 in 4 unprepared for higher education) Washington Times ^ | 08/17/2011 | Ben Wolfgang For many students, getting a high school diploma doesn’t mark the end of a high school education. Three out of four graduates aren’t fully prepared for college and likely need to take at least one remedial class, according to the latest annual survey from the nonprofit testing organization ACT, which measured half of the nation’s high school seniors in English, math, reading and science proficiency. Only 25 percent cleared all of ACT’s college preparedness benchmarks, while 75 percent likely will spend part of their freshman year brushing up on high-school-level course work. The 2011 class is best prepared for college-level... • New York to implement mandatory sex ed in all public middle schools, bishops encourage opt-out Life Site News ^ | August 11, 2011 | KATHLEEN GILBERT NEW YORK, August 11, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The mayor of New York City plans to force all public middle and high school students to participate an explicit sex education regimen, a mandate the Archdiocese of New York is calling on Catholic parents to fight. The New York Times reports that New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg will require that each student take a semester of sexual education in either 6th or 7th grade, and again in 9th or 10th grade in both middle school and high school. The city government is promoting two curriculum programs, entitled HealthSmart and Reducing the... • School Board OKs paying $360 an hour for labor lawyer Las Vegas Sun ^ | Thursday, July 28, 2011 | 8:27 p.m. | By Paul Takahashi The Clark County School Board on Thursday approved a $360-per-hour pay rate to retain labor lawyer Mark Ricciardi if the School District heads to arbitration with its four employee unions. Board members did not project how many hours Ricciardi’s services might be required if there is arbitration. The district is negotiating $56 million in union concessions to balance its budget for this fiscal year, which began July 1. Concessions proposed by the district include freezing step increases and educational increments, having employees pay half of a Public Employees’ Retirement System rate increase and establishing mandatory furlough days. • State’s Average Spending Per Pupil Nearly $12K Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 7/27/2011 | Jack Spencer According to U.S. Census figures released this spring, when federal dollars are included Michigan ranked 22nd nationally in K-12 spending last year, at $11,987 per-pupil. That equates to $299,675 for a class of 25 students. One peculiar quirk in the state's current school funding debate is that it focuses attention on relatively small portions of overall K-12 funding. The numbers typically being argued over include: $170 per-pupil in one-time federal stimulus dollars, a $470 per-pupil cut originally proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder, and a $230 per-pupil retirement cost increase. Focusing on those numbers might be compared to worrying over an... FactCheck was funded by Walter H. Annenberg, a billionaire that was friends with Ronald Reagan, Nixon and Bill Clinton. William Ayers, the former Weather Underground terrorist was the founder of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), helped with the funding of $500 million from Walter Annenberg. In William Ayers book “teach against oppression” he urged educators to encourage revolution and social transformation. Toward that end, Ayers’ teacher-training programs, which were funded by CAC, were designed to serve as “sites of resistance” against an oppressive social system. The grant money was generally withheld from teachings of academics. The CAC generally required the affiliations to “external partners” such as ACORN. The CAC was also a major funder of the “small schools” movement, a William Ayers creation. As a side note, the guy that shot Giffords went to a “small school” funded school. In 1995, Ayers was one of five members to appoint Barack Obama as chairman of that board. Obama held that position until 1999. CAC gave over $100 million to community organizers and radical education activists. $600,000 went to a group founded by Ayers and run by Mike Klonsky, a hardline MarxistLeninist. I’ve listened to Klonsky on Youtube. Obama remained on the board of directors until the organization phased itself out of existence in 2001. At that time, CAC transferred its remaining assets to a new entity called the Chicago Public Education Fund. Obama served on this fund’s “Leadership Council” from 2001 through 2004, along with William Ayers’ father (Thomas) and brother (John). http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7644 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2104053/posts http://www.muckety.com/Annenberg-Foundation/5006844.muckety • California's college system in decline, study finds L.A. Times ^ | July 21, 2011 | Carla Rivera California's higher education system is in decline, with fewer students able to afford college, falling college participation rates and dwindling state support, according to a study released Wednesday. The report suggests that the state, once celebrated nationally for its three-tiered system of public colleges, has lost status as a leader in such areas as affordability, preparation of high school graduates, college-going rates and investment in higher education. The analysis was by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy at Cal State Sacramento. "This report demonstrates the consequences of resting on reputations and policies of yesteryear," the study concludes. "California... • New Mexico School Suspends Students for Sharing Bible Verses Worthy Christian News ^ | 7/22/2011 | Joseph DeCaro Yet another case of academic alien-ation in Roswell, New Mexico? A lawsuit by Liberty Counsel alleges that the Roswell Independent School District retaliated against a school Christian group by suspending its members after giving Krispy Kreme doughnuts with Bible verses to their teachers; one student was sent home and two others spent a Saturday morning alone in a classroom for four hours. • 'Gay history' law blocked for now One News Now ^ | 7/22/11 | Charlie Butts California's plan to teach children to accept and appreciate homosexuality is on hold. Last week Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 48, which requires public schools -- kindergarten through 12th-grade -- to teach about homosexual role models in history and sociology. It requires "a selective treatment of history by requiring that only events that reflect positively on people in the LGBT community may be discussed." Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute has received a stay blocking introduction of the curriculum this fall. Pacific Justice Institute has filed a referendum to go on a future ballot that would repeal... Debra LaFave, 25: Tampa, Fla., area teacher received no jail time despite having sex with her 14-year-old male student in a classroom and her Hillsborough County home. In another county, Marion, she was accused of having sex with the boy in an SUV. LaFave claimed at a March 2006 news conference she had a bipolar disorder. The boy's father said LaFave should have received prison time in her plea deal, noting, "It's a horrible, ugly thing that she's done." • (Walter E. Willisams) Public schools in worse shape than we feared Washington Examiner ^ | 7/18/11 | Walter E. WIlliams Last December, I reported on Harvard University professor Stephan Thernstrom's essay, "Minorities in College -- Good News, But...," on Minding the Campus, a website sponsored by the New York-based Manhattan Institute. Thernstrom was commenting on the results of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), saying that the scores "mean that black students aged 17 do not read with any greater facility than whites who are four years younger and still in junior high. ... Exactly the same glaring gaps appear in NAEP's tests of basic mathematics skills." Thernstrom asked, "If we put a randomly-selected group of 100... • North St. Paul : Teacher charged with trying to prostitute student pioneer press ^ | 7-15-11 | Elizabeth Mohr A substitute teacher for a special-education school in North St. Paul is accused of posting lewd photos of a student online and suggesting she make money in exchange for sexual favors. Tameshia Leeann Allen-Hodges, 22, of Oakdale has been charged with soliciting an individual to practice prostitution and engaging the sex trafficking of an individual. Her first court appearance will be Aug. 17. According to a criminal complaint, Allen-Hodges asked a 21-year-old female student with developmental disabilities if she wanted to make money by giving massages. She brought the student to her home, where she took photos of the student • Indiana latest US state to drop handwriting requirement BBC ^ | 7/13/11 Indiana is the latest US state which will not require its schoolchildren to learn joined-up, or cursive, writing. But students will have to learn basic typing skills, which education officials say are more useful in the modern employment world. The move is part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which aims to ensure consistency in US education and makes no mention of handwriting. But critics say writing well is a vital skill for life and builds character. US schoolchildren currently learn to write with joined-up writing from about the age of eight. But under the core standards - which... • Reprimanded teacher runs out of 'last chances' (22 years later) The Columbus Dispatch ^ | July 13, 2011 | Jennifer Smith Richards Columbus schools first reprimanded teacher Eric B. Brentlinger for being abusive to special-needs students in 1989. But the district gave him more chances year after year, even after he violated a "last-chance agreement" he had signed in 2006 promising to keep his temper in check and to stop pushing, manhandling and yelling at special-needs children. By 2007, Columbus City Schools officials had signed a second "last-chance" contract with him and, by 2008, sent him to work in the district book warehouse, away from children, on the condition that he promise to retire in 2010. The district paid his $80,866 salary... • California Test Results “Not a Model” Says Top Education Bureaucrat A Semi-News/Semi-Satire from AzConservative ^ | 9 July 2011 | John Semmens US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan advised against drawing the wrong conclusion from recent academic test results in California. From 2008 to 2010, California students’ math proficiency rose from 57% to 62%, while reading proficiency rose from 53% to 59%. At the same time, school funding declined by 6%. “A lot of people are going to look at these figures and think we can get by with spending less,” Duncan observed. “This would be the wrong conclusion. Improving test scores isn’t the only or even the most important measure of school success.” As Duncan sees it, “building self esteem is... • Stealth Attack On California's Schools [Teacher Job Security Guaranteed!!!!] LA Times ^ | July 08, 2011 EDITORIAL Stealth Attack On California's Schools AB 114 was passed to appease the California Teachers Assn., to the detriment of school districts, which are already in serious financial straits. July 8, 2011 Ham-fisted yet pandering, and fiscally irresponsible too, AB 114 perpetrates an abuse of state power that could wreak budgetary havoc in local school districts. But in that case, why hasn't the news been filled with details of this bad-government bill as it wended its way through the Legislature? Because it was hurriedly and secretively passed, quite literally in the dark of night, with no committee hearings and almost... • Why 178 Public Educators in Atlanta SHOULD BE in prison… HotAir.com ^ | 07.07.2011 | Kevin McCullough The majority of the nation doesn’t know that investigators have turned up a hatched-scheme in which Union bosses coordinated efforts with public education officials. Further that 44 of 56 school districts in the Atlanta Public Schools system strategically convinced Superintendents, Principals and teachers to cheat–primarily by going back and erasing answers on tests and replacing them with correct ones–in order to have a higher means score for the No Child Left Behind funding qualifications. The evidence is overwhelming. 2100 Interviews… 178 educators involved… 38 principals involved… 80 confessions to the schemes… 800,000 documents as evidence • History Books Get Gay Makeover Townhall.com ^ | July 7, 2011 | Michael Reagan According to a shocking news report, California legislators have enacted legislation that gives the state the dubious distinction of being the first state in the nation to require public schools to include the contributions of gays and lesbians in their social studies curriculum. We can be certain that one result of this ill-advised move will subject kids to a form of what CIA spooks call "blow back" -- an inevitable result of a specific action. When I was a youngster I was teased and bullied for being an adopted child. In view of my personal experiences, should we add the... • Dozens of Atlanta educators falsified tests, state report confirms CNN (Communist News Network) ^ | Today | CNN Wired Staff Dozens of Atlanta public school educators falsified standardized tests or failed to address such misconduct in their schools, Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday in unveiling the results of a state investigation that confirmed widespread cheating in the city schools dating as far back as 2001. "I think the overall conclusion was that testing and results and targets being reached became more important than actual learning for children," Deal said. "And when reaching targets became the goal, it was a goal that was pursued with no excuses." Falsifying test results made the schools appear to be performing better than they really... • Brown's Countdown, Day 172: California teachers win big in state budget deal Sacramento Bee ^ | 6/30/11 | Kevin Yamamura and Diana Lambert Teachers win layoff protection while school finance officials see their powers curtailed in the state budget package Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign today. The last-minute school legislation, Assembly Bill 114, emerged publicly less than an hour before lawmakers approved it in a late-evening Tuesday session. It reflects the negotiating muscle of teachers as Democratic lawmakers crafted their majorityvote budget with a governor of their own party. • Principal Criticized For Delivering Graduation Speech In Spanish sacramento.cbslocal.com ^ | 6-28-11 He congratulated the graduating class of 2011, but one but one principal’s commencement speech actually offended some in the crowd. The graduating class at Whittell High School has only 30 students. Just a few weeks ago during graduation their principal gave an encouraging speech congratulating his students and their parents. “Class of 2011, I want to congratulate you for all your accomplishments this year,” said Principal Crespin Esquivel. He then said the same thing in Spanish, making sure his commencement speech could also be understood by his Spanish speaking parents and students who make up the second largest group of... • Wisconsin's Walker Signs Historic School Choice Bill Story from Newsmax.com ^ WASHINGTON, D.C. – Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker today signed into law the largest expansion to the state’s school choice programs in history. The expansion will benefit thousands of children from the state’s low- and middleincome families and sends a strong signal to the nation that educational equality is possible with strong leadership from state legislators and executives. The American Federation for Children, which—along with School Choice Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Council of Religious & Independent Schools, Hispanics for School Choice, and Democrats for Education Reform—has invested significantly in outreach and advocacy efforts designed to expand school choice in the Badger State,... • Los Angeles gives up on homework Los Angeles Times ^ | June 27, 2011 | Howard Blume Vanessa Perez was a homework scofflaw. The Marshall High School senior didn't finish all of it — largely because she worked 24 hours a week at a Subway sandwich shop. Alvaro Ramirez, a junior at the Santee Education Complex, doesn't have his own room and his mother baby-sits young children at night. "They're always there and they're always loud," he said, explaining his challenges with homework. The nation's second-largest school system has decided to give students like these a break. A new policy decrees that homework can count for only 10% of a student's grade. Critics — mostly teachers —... • Six-figure pensions soar for California school administrators Sacramento Bee ^ | 06/26/11 | Phillip Reese and Laurel Rosenhall Thousands of newly retired school administrators will earn more during retirement than most Californians will make during their working careers. The number of educators receiving $100,000-plus annual pensions jumped 650 percent from 2005 to 2011, going from 700 to 5,400, according to a Bee review of data from the California State Teachers' Retirement System. Though they make up just 2 percent of CalSTRS pensions, six-figure payouts are a focus of pension reform discussions under way at the Capitol. Six-figure retirees eat 7 percent of CalSTRS benefits and can ultimately get millions more than they put into the system. Booming administrator... • HERE'S A SHOCKER: Republican States Have The Best Public Schools In The Country, By A Long Shot The American Interest ^ | Jun. 21, 2011 | Walter Russell Mead When it come to excellence in education, red states rule—at least according to a panel of experts assembled by Tina Brown’s Newsweek. Using a set of indicators ranging from graduation rate to college admissions and SAT scores, the panel reviewed data from high schools all over the country to find the best public schools in the country. The results make depressing reading for the teacher unions: The very best public high schools in the country are heavily concentrated in red states. Three of the nation’s ten best public high schools are in Texas—the no-income tax, right-to-work state that blue model... • It's Official: Public Schools are Obsolete Khan Academy ^ | Vanity (mostly) | Robroy As futurists observe the usage and functionality of the internet, more and more of us have predicted an end to the relevance of Public schools. Well, the Khan Academy site may be the first clear indicator that public schools really are a dead institution walking. Imagine a future world where, via a home computer, laptop, tablet or even smart phone you can access your own personal curriculum of k-12 level class work complete with lectures, follow up questions and help? Imagine it also covers subjects that public school seldom covers, like the intricacies of how banking works? Well, a friend... • S.F. losing kids as parents seek schools, homes San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/20/11 | Heather Knight For Kearsley Higgins, raising a baby in San Francisco was idyllic. She and her husband owned a small two-bedroom house in the Castro, she found plenty of activities for her daughter, Maya, and made friends through an 11-member mothers' group. Now as the mother of an almost 4-year-old, with a baby boy due in September, Higgins has left. A year ago, she and her husband, a digital artist, bought a four-bedroom home with a large backyard in San Rafael. Maya easily got into a popular preschool and will be enrolled in a good public elementary school when the time comes.... • NBC dumps 'God' from Pledge of Allegiance (Poll) The Kansas City Star ^ | June 19, 2011 | Lisa Gutierrez NBC golf commentators just apologized for a big oops that has people fired up all over the Internet. In a patriotic, rah-rah-America video that opened NBC's coverage Sunday of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, the reading of the Pledge of Allegiance by a group of children in a classroom setting omitted the phrase "under God." This was the abbreviated version: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, with liberty and justice for all." The kids can actually be heard reciting the pledge twice; the second... • Goshen College Declares War on National Anthem GOPUSA ^ | 06-16-11 | Paul A. Ibbetson Officials at Goshen College, a Mennonite college in Indiana, have banned the use of the Star-Spangled Banner during sporting events. The reason school officials gave for the ban was that America’s National Anthem was deemed too violent. Specifically, according to Todd Starnes of FOX News, the school’s online fact sheet stated, “Historically, playing the national anthem has not been among Goshen College’s practices because of our Christ-centered core value of compassionate peacemaking seeming to be in conflict with the anthem’s militaristic language.” Professor John Blosser, an art instructor at Goshen, attempted to clarify the school’s opposition to the national anthem... • Los Angeles bans chocolate milk from schools Syracuse.com ^ | June 15, 2011, 6:47 PM | The Associated Press Los Angeles -- The Los Angeles school board on Tuesday voted to eliminate chocolate and strawberry milk from schools as of July 1. LAUSD joins a growing number of school districts nationwide, including in the District of Columbia, Boulder Valley, Colo., and Berkeley, Calif., that serve only plain milk because of the added sugar contained in flavored versions. The proposal by Superintendent John Deasy came after popular British TV chef Jamie Oliver criticized the district in recent months for serving flavored milks, saying they contain the sugar equivalent of a candy bar. Miami Park Elementary School http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/fl/other/667#students 67% Black 31% Hispanic less than 1% white less than 1% multiracial 83% eligible for free lunch http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/az/other/1094#students Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix Advantage Charter School 81% Hispanic 8% White 5% Black 5% American Indian http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/ca/other/2447#students 95% Hispanic 2% Black 1% Filipino 1% White Less than 1% Asian 94% eligible for free lunches 99% Spanish spoken at home http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/il/other/1084#toc Field Elementary School, Chicago Illinois 48% Hispanic 40% Black 7% Asian 6% white How far is Chicago from Mexico? • (MA) School Surveys 7th-Graders on Oral Sex (without parental knowledge) Fox News ^ | June 15, 2011 | Todd Starnes A middle school in Massachusetts is under fire for requiring children to complete a graphic sex survey -- without parental knowledge or consent -- that included questions about sexual partners and oral sex. The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization, filed a complaint with the U.S. Dept. of Education against the Fitchburg School Committee. They are representing the two middle school-aged daughters of Arlene Tessitore. Tessitore said her daughters, both students at Memorial Middle School, were told they had to complete a Youth Risk Behavior Study. “Kids were actually told to sit down and take them,” said John Whitehead, president... • Man do we have some dumb teachers teaching students onlinewsj ^ | 6-15-2011 | edcoil Only 35% of fourth-graders knew the purpose of the Declaration of Independence. The news was even more dire in high school, where 12% of 12th-graders were proficient. • [Baltimore] City school system to reimburse [Filipino] teachers for visa fees Baltimore Sun ^ | June 13, 2011 | Erica L. Green Baltimore school officials say the district will reimburse international teachers who paid out-of-pocket fees to obtain work visas, a practice that led the U.S. Department of Labor to order Prince George's County schools to pay nearly $6 million in penalties and back wages. Tisha Edwards, chief of staff for the city school system, said the district has international teachers — the majority Filipino — who shouldered their own costs for immigration filings and fees associated with being recruited to the district. However, the district could not say how much money it might have to pay back. "If there are cases,... • Texas teachers may get student criminal histories ["is a landmark piece of legislation"] Winona Daily News ^ | June 13, 2011 | AP Texas is close to enacting a law that would provide teachers with detailed information about the criminal histories of their students, opening juvenile files that have always been confidential and are unavailable in most states. The legislation, spurred by the fatal stabbing of a high school teacher in Tyler in 2009, is adding to a national debate over whether teacher safety should outweigh the rights of young offenders, who traditionally have moved through the juvenile justice system with their privacy protected. The new disclosure rules were passed by legislators with little public attention last month. A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick... • • How teaching as a profession died (an ugly death) Toronto Sun ^ | 2011-06-12 | John Snobelen At what moment did the profession of teaching die? Was it when professional development days became happy adjuncts to every long weekend? Could it have been during the long quasi-strikes when teachers drew their pay while refusing to mark tests, help with homework or participate in extra curricular activities? Maybe the moment came when teachers began to take time off to compensate for time spent in parent/teacher meetings. Perhaps the bridge from a respected profession to goondom was crossed when teachers happily stuffed pro-union notes into the backpacks of seven year olds or lectured their classes on just how mean... • Kids Win: Colorado School Board Sets Students and Families Free with Voucher Program Townhall.com ^ | June 12, 2011 | Kyle Olsen It's not every day you will see a governmental body, in this case a school board, create competition for itself. But that’s precisely what the Douglas County, Colorado school board did. It created a unique, if not unprecedented, voucher program, allowing tax dollars to follow Douglas County students to the school of their choice. Every single school system in America should adopt this model. Sadly, parents who need school choice the most tend to live in troubled urban school districts that fight to keep children trapped within geographic boundaries. But in Douglas County, leaders understand students have a right to... • Pro-Abortion NEA to Spend $60 Million Re-Electing Obama LifeNews.com ^ | 6/10/11 | Steven Ertelt • Semper No: Pennsylvania Marine Barred From Wearing Uniform at High School Graduation Foxnews ^ | 06/09/11 | Staff "Once a Marine, always a Marine" apparently doesn't apply at a Pennsylvania high school where a 17-year-old graduate has been told she cannot wear her uniform when she receives her diploma. Lindsay Starr told KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh she wanted to wear her dress blues during Friday's graduation ceremony at North Allegheny High School in Pittsburgh, but that school officials denied her request, citing the requirement of wearing only the traditional cap and gown. "I’m just trying to show pride in what I belong to now," she told the station. "I belong to the United States Marine Corps as a 17-year-old.... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/05/MNBP1JB8FE.DTL Three out of 4 U.S. students lack a basic understanding of democracy, of how the U.S. political system works and what it means to be a citizen of this country, according to national test scores LAUSD shortens school day for teacher protest Los Angeles Times ^ | May 4, 2011 | By Jason Song WorldNetDaily ^ | April 26, 2011 | Bob Unruh An overwhelming majority of Americans say elementary school is no place to promote the homosexual lifestyle, and even among liberals there is the strong belief that such lessons should be left outside the door of the classroom, Flavored Milk Banned in LA School District Fox News ^ | 04/28/11 | Investor's Business Daily ^ | April 20, 2011 | IBD staff Justice: The widow of a slain police officer wants to know why the California Federation of Teachers has taken up the cause of the man convicted of murdering her husband in cold blood The big list: Female teachers with students World Net Daily ^ | March 29, 2011 This one is unbelievable: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=39783 http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_18210612 American public schools picked up an additional 81,426 teachers and lost 157,114 students from 2008 to 2009. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/plain-white-ts-evil-diverse-group-of-students-suspendedfor-claims-of-white-supremacy-because-they-wore-white-t-shirts-for-senior-picture-day/ Plain White T’s Evil? ‘Diverse’ Group of Students Suspended for Claims Of White Supremacy Because They Wore White T-Shirts for Senior Picture Day LA school district's health benefits help push cafeteria fund into the red (SEIU) http://www.latimes.com/health/healthcare/la-me-lausd-cafeteria-20110530,0,5417702.story http://www.businessinsider.com/best-worst-states-for-teachers-2011-5#california-has-thethird-highest-salaries-8 California has the third highest salaries The average teacher earns $69,434 Students per teacher: 21 (49th) NAEP Math average: 270.44 (46th) NAEP Reading average: 252.3 (49th) Daily Attendance: 97.5% (6th) http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=fea25517-e69c-48e4-867f93b83cd012c9 Today and tomorrow, Redwood Heights Elementary School in Oakland will be teaching children from kindergarten through fifth grade that there are more than two genders, The Infamous Ron Gochez http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRu0wo3DYh0 http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/02/11/number-of-100000-retirees-skyrocket-inteacher-pension-system/75286/ Number of retired California teachers making over $100,000 per year has ballooned to 5,308. The number of retired California teachers making over $75,000 per year but less than $100,000 is 19,503. There are 24,811 retired California teachers making over $75,000 per year. • More than 90 [Wisconsin Public Schools] Miss Federal Academic Goals JS Online ^ | June 7, 2011 | Karen Herzog A preliminary list of public schools that missed federally mandated academic goals for the 2010-’11 school year includes more than 90 schools in Milwaukee, a spike from last year as proficiency standards have risen. Milwaukee Public Schools had 94 of the 228 schools in Wisconsin that missed the so-called adequate yearly progress, or AYP, requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to information released Tuesday by the state Department of Public Instruction. Last year, 78 schools in MPS missed the academic goals. The federal standards for reading rose from 74% of students scoring proficient or above last year,... • No more national anthem at pacifist Indiana college WTHR 13 ^ | 6/7/11 | Staff Goshen - A small northern Indiana college has decided to stop playing "The StarSpangled Banner" at sporting events after starting to do so for the first time last year. Goshen College's board of directors says it will find an alternative that honors the country and the Mennonite Church-affiliated school's pacifist traditions. The 1,000-student college has been playing an instrumental version of the national anthem, followed by a peace prayer, before games and other events. Some were upset with the school's decision last year because the song's lyrics contain references to using war and military might to defend the country. • Goshen College Board of Directors ask for alternative to playing the national anthem Goshen College via Drudgereport ^ | Richard R. Aguirre GOSHEN, Ind. — The Goshen College Board of Directors announced today that it has asked President James E. Brenneman to find an alternative to playing the StarSpangled Banner that fits with sports tradition, that honors country and that resonates with Goshen College's core values and respects the views of diverse constituencies. The Board took the action during its regular meeting, June 3-4, and today released a Decision Statement, which is available at www.goshen.edu/anthem. The Board expressed a strong commitment to advancing with President Brenneman the vision for Goshen College to be an influential leader in liberal arts education with a... • Fat City (life of a sociology professor) Weekly Standard ^ | May 30, 2011 | DAVID RUBINSTEIN After 34 years of teaching sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, I recently retired at age 64 at 80 percent of my pay for life. This calculation was based on a salary spiked by summer teaching, and since I no longer pay into the retirement fund, I now receive significantly more than when I “worked.” But that’s not all: There’s a generous health insurance plan, a guaranteed 3 percent annual cost of living increase, and a few other perquisites. Having overinvested in my retirement annuity, I received a fat refund and—when it rains, it pours—another for unused sick... California charter schools dig in, expect political fight--Unions REALLY Mad Created at: June 05, 2011 Written by: CA Political News Description: When a charter school is formed, the teachers are allowed to determine if they want to pay bribes to work at the charter school. In California, 85% of the teachers vote NO on paying bribes to unions. any wonder the unions are afraid of charter schools? "Among the bills that charter schools are watching closely is AB 401 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, which would place a cap on the number of allowable charters in California and won passage to the Senate earlier this month – a similar bill by the author got this far last year before failing in committee. Other pending bills in the lower house would create new rights and benefits for classified employees that work for charter schools and require charter conversions to be approved by 50 percent of classified staff in addition to half the teachers." Unions do not care about education; they care about bribes, money and owning government. Charter schools allow parents and teachers to create quality schools. Government schools are owned and controlled by unions, for union political goals. • Absence of common sense Waterbury Republican-American ^ | June 6, 2011 | Editorial It now is fair to say the state of Connecticut has left the gravitational pull of planet Earth. Just when you thought state government's policies couldn't get any more absurd, they move to a new level of, well, absurdity. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed legislation to guarantee illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities. Beneficiaries must live in Connecticut and must have attended high school in the state for four years. They also must be able to prove they have applied to be legal residents or will do so as soon as they are eligible. • What is a college education really worth? (The question is now being asked more and more) Washington Post ^ | 06/05/2011 | Naomi Schaefer Riley Did Peter Thiel pop the bubble? That was the question on the minds of parents, taxpayers and higher education leaders late last month when the co-founder of PayPalannounced that he was offering $100,000 to young people who would stay out of college for two years and work instead on scientific and technological innovations. Thiel, who has called college “the default activity,” told USA Today that “the pernicious side effect of the education bubble is assuming education [guarantees] absolute good, even with steep student fees.” He has lured 24 of the smartest kids in America and Canada to his Silicon Valley... • Achievement Gap in San Jose Schools ‘Frightening’ KCBS ^ | June 4, 2011 | Tim Ryan SAN JOSE (KCBS) — The numbers are startling for San Jose students; almost one-half of all grade school students are behind in proficiency. The school system’s effort to bridge the achievement gap by the year 2020 is underway. Santa Clara County Schools Superintendent Dr. Charles Weis said slight progress is being made, but there’s a long way to go. “74 percent of white non-Hispanic San Jose students score as proficient, while only 29 percent of Hispanics score at that same high level,” said Weis. Mayor Chuck Reed said it shouldn’t be that way http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/06/clinton-middle-school-teachers-protesttheir-forced-removal-from-campus.html? utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+ %28L.A.+Now%29 Clinton Middle School, south of downtown Los Angeles, has suffered from low academic performance since it opened five years ago. About 6% of its students are proficient in English, about 12% in math. • Middle school yearbook groups Adolph Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, George W. Bush http://www.fox16.com/news/local/story/Middle-school-yearbook-groups-AdolphHitler-Osama/UTtBGIZiO0u1Qdpzxe3PHA.cspx ^ Open up the Russellville Middle School yearbook. You'll see the students' pictures, the administration, and a pretty controversial list that's supposed to be covered with a piece of black tape. The list is titled "Top 5 worst people of all time." The top three, in order, are Adolph Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, and Charles Manson. Numbers four and five are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. • Teacherpocalypse Continues: Now With More Teachers, Fewer Students Reason ^ | June 1, 2011 | Katherine Mangu-Ward http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/01/teacherpocalypse-continues-now American public schools picked up an additional 81,426 teachers and lost 157,114 students from 2008 to 2009. Twenty seven states had fewer students in 2009 than 2008 but 16 of them hired more teachers. From 2004 to 2009, student enrollment increased 0.7 percent while teachers increased 6.5 percent. Spending on education increased 27.5 percent. • More states help illegal immigrant students pay for higher education Stateline.org ^ | May 31, 2011 | By John Gramlich, Stateline Staff Writer With the Illinois General Assembly scrambling to finish its legislative session, Governor Pat Quinn received a bill over the holiday weekend that would help children of illegal immigrants pay for college, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The legislation, which Quinn supports, will make Illinois the third state in recent weeks to expand college assistance for students who were brought into the United States illegally as minors. Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy has his own version of the so-called “DREAM Act” sitting on his desk, while Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed his state's measure into law earlier this month. (California Governor Jerry Brown... • Plain White T’s Evil? ‘Diverse’ Group of Students Suspended for Claims Of White Supremacy the blaze ^ http://www.theblaze.com/stories/plain-white-ts-evil-diverse-group-of-studentssuspended-for-claims-of-white-supremacy-because-they-wore-white-t-shirts-forsenior-picture-day/ Plain White T’s Evil? ‘Diverse’ Group of Students Suspended for Claims Of White Supremacy Because They Wore White T-Shirts for Senior Picture Day • LA school district's health benefits help push cafeteria fund into the red (SEIU) http://www.latimes.com/health/healthcare/la-me-lausd-cafeteria20110530,0,5417702.story Los Angeles Times ^ | May 30, 2011 | Howard Blume The cafeteria fund for the Los Angeles Unified School District has run a multimillion-dollar deficit since 2007, when board members approved a plan to provide health benefits for part-time cafeteria workers,... ....In the 2006-07 school year, the district's cafeteria fund was close to breaking even and had a reserve approaching $60 million... Then in August 2007, the Board of Education overrode the advice of its senior staff and approved the extended benefits. The move was led by a newly installed majority elected with the support of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which... • Why College is Not For Everyone Townhall.com ^ | May 30, 2011 | Katie Kieffer Peter Thiel is rocking the boat of higher education. The libertarian entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and co-founder of PayPal is sending liberal college administrators into a tizzy with his latest push to encourage young innovators to ditch college for two years and pursue entrepreneurship. Last week, Thiel awarded 20 young people with “20 Under 20” Thiel Fellowships: $100,000 and two years of mentorship to develop entrepreneurial ventures in science and technology. Thiel’s dismisses conventional wisdom, which says that college is the necessary next-step for success after high school. He understands that conventional wisdom is conventional ignorance now that the American university... • Senate Passes In-State Tuition Bill For Children Of "Undocumented Immigrants" Hartford Courant ^ The state Senate gave final legislative approval Tuesday night to a bill that will allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at Connecticut's public colleges and universities. After a lengthy filibuster by Republican opponents, the state Senate gave final legislative approval Tuesday night to a bill that will allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at Connecticut's public colleges and universities. The vote was 21-14 • Redwood Heights gender lesson engenders dissent San Francisco Chronicle ^ | May 24, 2011 | Jill Tucker A one-hour elementary school lesson on gender diversity featuring all-girl geckos and transgender clownfish caused a stir in Oakland on Monday, with conservative legal defense organizations questioning the legitimacy of the topic and providing legal counsel to parents who opposed the instruction. On Monday and today, Redwood Heights Elementary School students at every grade level were being introduced to the topic of gender diversity, with lesson plans tailored to each age group. http://www.businessinsider.com/best-worst-states-for-teachers-2011-5#california-has-thethird-highest-salaries-8 California has the third highest salaries The average teacher earns $69,434 Students per teacher: 21 (49th) NAEP Math average: 270.44 (46th) NAEP Reading average: 252.3 (49th) Daily Attendance: 97.5% (6th) Graduation rate: 6.35% (31st) • "Boy, girl or both?" - Oakland elementary school teaches pupils there are more than two genders California Catholic ^ | May 23, 2011 http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=fea25517-e69c-48e4-867f93b83cd012c9 Today and tomorrow, Redwood Heights Elementary School in Oakland will be teaching children from kindergarten through fifth grade that there are more than two genders, Pacific Justice Institute reports. In a press release, Pacific Justice Institute provided the following details: The two days calendared for this are entitled "Gender Spectrum Diversity Training." In documents released by the school, students will be taught that "gender is not inherently nor solely connected to one's physical anatomy." Further, gender is a "complex interrelationship between (physical traits) and one's internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither as well as one's outward... • Teach: I'm devout & kicked out: Gets Bible-thumped (NY teacher says she was fired for her faith) NY Post ^ | May 22, 2011 | KATHIANNE BONIELLO A veteran city educator and devout Christian who prayed in her empty Brooklyn classroom claims her principal not only mocked her for her beliefs, but eventually fired her for them, too. PS 224 assistant special-education teacher Anita WootenFrancis, 52, claims she never hid her faith but took care not to influence kids. She worshiped in her classroom before or after students left, read the Bible on her lunch break, led other teachers in a prayer group, and played gospel music during noninstruction hours. For 16 years she had no problem, until Principal George Andrews arrived at the Canarsie school in... • Tennesee Senate OK's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill http://www.ktla.com ^ | May 21,2011 | KTLA NASHVILLE, Tenn. (KTLA) -- Tennesee's Senate has passed a bill Friday that would forbid public school teachers from discussing homosexuality in schools. The bill was approved by 5 votes to 4 and would allow for legislators to introduce a ban on letting teachers make homosexuality part of a prepared lesson plan in Kthrough-8 schools. It must now pass through the state House, which plans on taking it up next year. The bill's longtime sponsor, State Sen. Stacey Campfield told CNN his bill is "neutral" and that discussions on sexuality should decided by families, not school. Passage would make Tennessee the... • East Bay schools offer gay studies for high school students Contra Costa Times ^ | 5/21/11 Proposed state legislation, if approved, would add gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders to the list of social and ethnic groups public schools must include in social studies. At two East Bay private schools the debate has gone beyond whether to include gay history in the curriculum. They have taken the next step, offering a high school class dedicated to gay studies. Last school year, The Athenian School in Danville and Maybeck High School in Berkeley both began classes examining the history, contributions and other cultures' views of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered. They said it has been popular among... Brown: College Seats Goes FIRST to Illegal Aliens With YOUR Tax $$$ Created at: May 18, 2011 Written by: CA Political News Description: Why can't Johnny get a scholarship to go to State College or University in California? Because Jerry Brown wants illegal aliens, people who are criminals, here illegally, stealing ID's and using phony Social Security Cards (if they are from San Fran probably dealing drugs and protected by the City) to have tax paid for grants, loans and scholarships. So, if there is not enough money for honest kids, tough. Illegal aliens have rights, per Jerry and his Democrats. Your kid has no rights, so stop complaining. "Authored by Assemblyman Ricardo Lara, D-Artesia, AB 844 would allow “nonimmigrant aliens” access to the same in-state college tuition, grants and scholarships as legal residents of the state. Doing so would allow them to pay considerably less than legal students from other U.S. states, such as Oregon and Nevada, going to the same California state-run universities and colleges. AB 844 would be mandatory for the California State University and community college systems. But it also ads this clause, italics in the original: “The University of California would be requested to comply with this provision.” So U.C. compliance apparently would be voluntary — for now. “Unlawful immigrants,” “undocumented immigrants,” “nonimmigrant aliens” or” illegal aliens” — however one chooses to describe people who reside in California illegally, the message is the same: Now even students who cannot provide proof of legal immigration or legal residence will be able to pay the same Cal State University and Community College tuition costs, and receive the same Cal Grants and scholarships as the children of California’s legal residents" Can you spell corruption? The Federal law says no illegal alien is allowed to work in this nation--so why give them scholarships for higher education? The law says you must not protect or support illegal aliens--but the State of California will use honest money to support dishonest people. • Teachers at low-performing school will be replaced [Los Angeles!] My San Antonio ^ | May 10, 2011 | Staff The Los Angeles Unified School District board has agreed to replace at least half the teachers at a low-performing campus. The board approved the plan unanimously Tuesday despite a rally by students who walked out of Huntington Park High School and marched about seven miles to the board meeting in downtown. The students said the major shake-up would disrupt their education. http://www.perdaily.com/ LAUSD Blog Michael Klonsky’s Blog (small schools workshop) http://michaelklonsky.blogspot.com/ http://smallschoolsworkshop.wordpress.com/ L.A. Times Value Added Score http://projects.latimes.com/value-added/ Radicalteacherblog http://radicalteacherblog.wordpress.com/ http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=65 2007-55,203,000 children in public schools, 5,910,000 in private schools http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2010/section1/indicator03.asp composition of private and public school enrollments White: 75% of private schools vs 56% of public population Black: 10% of private schools vs 17% of public population Hispanics: 10% of private schools vs 21% of public population LAUSD healthcare costs $10 billion http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_17130850 James Cameron, Bill Gates, Sean Hannity, Tom Hanks, Steve Jobs, Rush Limbaugh, Tiger Woods and Mark Zuckerberg all made a good living without earning BAs. http://www.cpehn.org/democharts.php?ethnicityid%5B%5D=99ðnicityid%5B %5D=1ðnicityid%5B%5D=6ðnicityid%5B%5D=3ðnicityid%5B %5D=4ðnicityid%5B%5D=7&county=statewide&btn_search.x=98&btn_search.y=10 Percent of Adults with No High School Diploma (California, 2000) Percent and number of California adults with no high school diploma, by race/ethnicity, 2000 • • • • • 20% of African American adults have no high school diploma. 23% of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander adults have no high school diploma. 24% of Native American and Alaska Native adults have no high school diploma. 19% of Asian adults have no high school diploma. 52% of Latino adults have no high school diploma, more than any other racial/ethnic group, and almost 5 times more than their White counterparts. Source: U.S. Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/02/11/number-of-100000-retirees-skyrocket-inteacher-pension-system/75286/ Number of retired California teachers making over $100,000 per year has ballooned to 5,308. The number of retired California teachers making over $75,000 per year but less than $100,000 is 19,503. There are 24,811 retired California teachers making over $75,000 per year. School Board 2010 Resolutions http://209.80.43.43/fmi/iwp/cgi?-db=RESOLUTIONS&-loadframes Board of Education http://laschoolboard.org/ Marguerite LaMotte District 1 Monica Garcia District 2 Tamar Galatzan, District 3 Steve Zimmer, District 4 Yollie Flores, District 5 Nury Martinez, District 6 Richard Vladovic, District 7 http://www.dailynews.com/education/ci_17735745 Teachers union elects Warren Fletcher as its president during upset http://www.calwatchdog.com/2011/03/16/financial-aid-for-illegal-students-okd/ Financial Aid for Illegal Students OK’d MARCH 16, 2010 By DAVE ROBERTS The Assembly Higher Education Committee approved two bills on Tuesday allowing college students who are in the state illegally to receive financial aid. Dubbed the California Dream Act, AB130 allows illegal immigrants to receive privately funded college scholarships, and AB131 allows them to receive taxpayer-funded financial aid such as Cal Grants. U.S. Reminds Schools of Obligations to Immigrant Students Edweek ^ | May 9, 2011 | Mark Walsh The Obama administration is reminding school administrators nationwide of their obligation under federal law to enroll children regardless of citizenship or immigration status. "Recently, we have become aware of student enrollment practices that may chill or discourage the participation, or lead to the exclusion, of students based on their or their parents' or guardians' actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status," says the "dear colleague" letter released on May 6. The letter cites Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, among other factors, by public schools. It... • • California teachers rally against budget cuts ("public isn't paying for subs") San Francisco Chronicle ^ | May 10, 2011 | Jill Tucker,Wyatt Buchanan Union contract allows teachers to protest with full pay. • Teachers, other groups rally for tax extensions, hikes SacBee: Capitol Alert ^ | 5/9/11 | Jon Ortiz About 1,000 teachers, parents, school support workers and religious leaders came to the Capitol today and urged lawmakers today to pass a tax extension to avoid deeper cuts to education budgets around the state. About 150 protesting educators left their sit-in near the governor's office and moved to the Capitol rotunda around 5 p.m., shouting "They say cut back. We say fight back. Tax, tax, tax the rich! We can solve the deficit." A rally that started at Cathedral Square one block from the Capitol late in the morning, took on the air of a spiritual revival as blue-shirted members... • CHP begins arresting protestors at Capitol (CTA members pushing for tax hikes on the 'rich') sac bee ^ | 5/9/11 | Dan Smith The California Highway Patrol has begun arresting protesters at the Capitol, after warning about 65 to leave the building after its 6 p.m. closing. The daylong protest, organized by the California Teachers Association, drew about 1,000 protesters for various activities. About 150 moved into the rotunda in late afternoon, and some of them refused to leave at closing time. .. Mike Parker, a community college teacher who expected to be arrested, said the protest is to provide a "moral witness...What's happening in this society is totally out of kilter," he said. Child Care workers protest May 9, 2011 Susan Bonia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtQ2nAHuYPw&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pa3CV8e0uY&NR=1 • Scenes From the New York Education Wars [Charter school has great success with low income blacks] Wall St. Journal ^ | MAY 10, 2011 | JOEL KLEIN One charter in New York City, Harlem Success Academy 1 (founded by Ms. Moskowitz after she left politics), has students who are demographically almost identical to those in nearby schools, yet it gets entirely different results. Eightyeight percent of Harlem Success students are proficient in reading and 95% are proficient in math. Six nearby schools have an average of 31% and 39% proficiency in those subjects, respectively. More than 90% of Harlem Success fourth-graders scored at the highest level on New York State's most recent science tests, while only 43% of fourth-graders citywide did so. Harlem Success's black students outperformed... San Diego Judge: You Can Fire Teachers If You Can't Pay Them Created at: May 08, 2011 Written by: CA Political News Description: A judge has rules, with a little bit of common sense, that the San Diego government schools can fire some teachers. Why? Because there is no money to pay them. Makes sense. "After hearing the teachers union, the principals union and the district make their case in hearings last month, a judge has concluded that San Diego Unified didn't make an arbitrary decision when it opted to warn hundreds of teachers that their jobs could be cut. • Stegeman feels heat of history (Mex-American studies in Tucson REMAIN core subject not elective) Arizona Daily Star ^ | May 8, 2011 | Josh Brodesky This might be the spring of Mark Stegeman's discontent - and ours. His proposal to turn some Mexican American Studies classes into electives is dead, the latest casualty in our culture war over ethnic studies (and so much more). And now, having stepped into the center of an inferno, Stegeman is getting burned on all sides. He said he doesn't want to bend to the state and Tom Horne, or to the students who stormed the boardroom and chained themselves to chairs. Rather than capitulate, Stegeman would like to revive his proposal - which has managed to be reasonable and... • Feds: All kids, legal or not, deserve K-12 education http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7554076.html ^ MIAMI — The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to districts around the country Friday, reminding them that all students - legal or not - are entitled to a public education. The letter comes amid reports that schools may be checking the immigration status of students trying to enroll, and reminds districts they are federally prohibited from barring elementary or secondary students on the basis of citizenship status. "Moreover, districts may not request information with the purpose or result of denying access to public schools on the basis of race, color or national origin," said the letter, which was... • Education: High-schoolers' civics knowledge waning San Francisco Chronicle / sfgate.com ^ | Thursday, May 5, 2011 | Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/05/MNBP1JB8FE.DTL Three out of 4 U.S. students lack a basic understanding of democracy, of how the U.S. political system works and what it means to be a citizen of this country, according to national test scores released Wednesday. That equals a failing grade in civics. Fewer than half the country's eighth-graders were able to identify the purpose of the Bill of Rights on the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Most high school seniors couldn't identify a power granted to Congress by the Constitution or define the term "melting pot." Relatively few fourth-graders understood the concept of majority rule, as expected... • LAUSD shortens school day for teacher protest Los Angeles Times ^ | May 4, 2011 | By Jason Song The Los Angeles school district will hold a shortened day of classes on May 13 to accommodate a planned teachers union protest without interrupting standardized testing on most campuses. Dismissal time will vary from school to school but could be up to several hours earlier than normal. Schools will be required to make up the lost time from the shortened day later in the year, according to Los Angeles Unified School District officials. The teachers' demonstration is aimed at encouraging state legislators to place tax extensions on the fall ballot to provide continued funding to school districts. L.A. Unified faces... • Americans want 'gay' lessons banished WorldNetDaily ^ | April 26, 2011 | Bob Unruh An overwhelming majority of Americans say elementary school is no place to promote the homosexual lifestyle, and even among liberals there is the strong belief that such lessons should be left outside the door of the classroom, according to a new poll. The results are from a WND/WENZEL Poll conducted for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies. "Whether they object on moral grounds or simply out of concern that many U.S. schools are failing in their core missions of teaching basics doesn't really matter – the vast majority of American adults want this type of... • Flavored Milk Banned in LA School District Fox News ^ | 04/28/11 | SoCal SoCon The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District says he wants to stop offering chocolate- and strawberry-flavored milk to students as part of an attempt to curb childhood obesity. Superintendent John Deasy appeared with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver on Tuesday's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and said he will recommend the ban to the board of education by July. • 994 Special Topic: Renewing Socialism (UW Madison Sociology course-barf) Havens Center ^ | UW Madison Havens Center This is actually a course at UW Madison for sociology graduate students. One of the topics calls for a violent overthrow of the capitalist system. The head of the UW Havens center is part of the Wisconsin Wave, a left wing organization behind the union protests. • Students Protest Ethnic Studies Curriculum Change Fox News ^ | 4/26/2011 TUCSON -- Rowdy students take over a big Tucson school board meeting in protest. It's a pretty wild scene -- and it's all over a Mexican-American studies class, a class that teaches history from a Mexican-American perspective. Here's what's going on. The governing board of the Tucson Unified School District was supposed to consider a plan that would make the class an elective, rather than a required class, like it is now. A state law passed in December basically discouraged the classes, saying they segregate students. And this group of students wanted no part of it. They took over the... • College Course: US Flag Is Racist, How-To Defeat America In Iraq And Afghanistan http://biggovernment.com ^ | 04/27/2011 | Dan Riehl While claiming the American flag represents racism and discussing today’s Progressive Movement’s efforts to defeat America both at home and abroad, including on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to help their international “comrades,” Communist Tony Pecinovsky pulls the mask off today’s Progressive Movement in two new exclusive Big Government videos of a University of Missouri course offering, already much in the news. • Mumia Abu-Jamal: California Teachers' Pet Investor's Business Daily ^ | April 20, 2011 | IBD staff Justice: The widow of a slain police officer wants to know why the California Federation of Teachers has taken up the cause of the man convicted of murdering her husband in cold blood. Hey, they teach your children. Former Black Panthers member Mumia Abu-Jamal has been a poster child for the loony left ever since he murdered Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in cold blood during a routine traffic stop on Dec. 19, 1981. Officer Faulkner, 12 days from his 26th birthday, spotted a car driving the wrong way down a one-way street with its lights off. • The big list: Female teachers with students World Net Daily ^ | March 29, 2011 | N/A http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=39783 Here is a list of the teacher 'sexpidemic' cases WND has documented where female teachers have been accused, or convicted, of assaulting students: Abbie Jane Swogger, 34: Teacher's aide at Highlands Senior High School in Harrison, Pa., was arrested Feb. 22, 2008, for renting a hotel room where police found beer, marijuana, an open condom wrapper and at least four teenage girls and boys, including several of her 15-year-old son's friends. Though categorically denying rumors she was having sex with students from the school, Swogger was quoted as saying, "I was stupid, very stupid. I already know I was and... • • All 5,466 of Detroit Public School Teachers to Receive Layoff Notices (Democrat Fires 'em!) ColorLines.com ^ | 4/15/11 | Julianne Hing This is what the recession looks like in a country that’s decided to disinvest in public education. Reuters reports that Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager appointed to address the Detroit’s bleeding public school system, has decided to send notices to all 5,466 unionized public school teachers. And 250 administrators will get layoff notices as well. • Competitive disadvantage (High-achieving Asian-American students are being shut out of top schools) Boston Globe ^ | April 17, 2011 | Jon Marcus ... After all the attention given to the stereotype that Asian-American parents put enormous pressure on their children to succeed – provoked over the winter by Amy Chua’s controversial Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother – came the indisputable reality this spring that, even if Asian-American students work hard, the doors of top schools were still being slammed shut in many faces. And parents aren’t happy about it. “The entry barriers are higher for us than for everybody else,” says Chi Chi Wu, one of the organizers of the Brookline Asian American Family Network. “There’s a form of redlining or... • Teachers' union plan built on emotion SacBee: The Buzz ^ | 4/14/11 | Dan Smith The California Teachers Association this week declared a "State of Emergency" over the state budget and potential deep cuts to schools. It posted a 15-page "plan of action" on its website to help teachers, parents – and apparently children – lobby for tax extensions. Some of the union's ideas went beyond the usual letter-writing and rallying: • Attempt to close a major artery into town/cities. • Turn fire/earthquake drill into crisis response drill to the budget cuts (involve students and the community). • "Penny drive" where kids empty piggy banks to support teachers and deposit in the state Capitol. •... • CA Senate bill mandates gay history in schools Associated Press ^ | April 14, 2011 | LISA LEFF SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The state Senate has approved legislation that would require California's public schools to include gay history in social studies lessons. Supporters say the move is needed to counter anti-gay stereotypes and beliefs that make gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children vulnerable to bullying and suicide. • Teachers union wants Legislature to vote on taxes San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 4/13/11 | Wyatt Buchanan, Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau The leader of California's largest teachers union said Tuesday that Gov. Jerry Brown should bypass voters and seek the approval of the Legislature for new taxes to close the state's deficit. David Sanchez, president of the California Teachers Association, said the union could have a harder time supporting an election later in the year, which is what would have to happen if the governor were to keep his campaign pledge. "If the governor were to propose an election say in September or November, it no longer becomes a question of extending the current taxes," Sanchez said. "It then becomes a... • Teachers, Assembly leader seeking taxes without ballot SacBee: Capitol Alert ^ | 4/12/11 | Kevin Yamamura The head of the California Teachers Association said Tuesday he wants state leaders to drop Gov. Jerry Brown's idea of asking voters to extend higher taxes and instead approve the taxes themselves in the Capitol. "I believe that as much as our governor has been extremely transparent and honest in doing what he told folks he'd do - which is let the people decide - it's too late for that," said CTA President David Sanchez in a phone interview. "Once you put it on the ballot after June, it's no longer an extension, it becomes new taxes. And once they're... • Students say UC Davis violates their free speech by spying on protests Sacramento Bee ^ | 4/12/11 | Laurel Rosenhall UC Davis students angry about rising tuition have staged many protests in the last year and a half – including sit-ins at campus buildings, a naked rally on the quad and a march that almost walked onto Interstate 80. Now students are staging a new confrontation against campus management, accusing administrators of spying on their activist movement. Student activists and the American Civil Liberties Union will hold a press conference at UC Davis today to call attention to their allegation that university officials have violated students' rights to free speech by monitoring their demonstrations. • California Teachers "Reaffirm" Support for Cop-Killer Mumia Abu-Jamal Townhall.com ^ | April 9, 2011 | Kyle Olsen I believe there is a difference between rank-and-file teachers and the leadership of radical teachers’ unions. The trouble is, the rank-and-file sits idly by as the radicals embarrass them, time and time again. Perhaps we’ve reached the point where the rank-and-file can rightfully be accused of being complicit of such behavior. Why aren’t teachers angrily denouncing a recent resolution passed by the California Federation of Teachers in which the union "reaffirms support for death row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal"? The American Federation of Teachers, led by Randi Weingarten, has to date issued no statement in opposition to this offensive resolution.... • The University of California's Antisemitism Problem Deepens American Thinker ^ | 04/05/2011 | Leila Beckwith America's most renowned public university system is sinking deeper into a scandal over its treatment of antisemitism and even terror groups. The Olive Tree Initiative (OTI) at the University of California Irvine (UCI) is a fig leaf, a token gesture, used by the UC administration to cover up the shame of the existence of antisemitism at UCI and the administration's lack of resolve in identifying, condemning, and combatting it. But now the cover is blown. A letter, dated 10/08/2009, obtained recently under the Freedom of Information Act, reveals the moral confusion of the OTI ideology and its staff. The... • Federal investigation: MD owes foreign teachers millions Washington Post ^ | April 4, 2011 | Robert Samuels Labor Department officials ruled Monday that Prince George’s County schools shortchanged more than 1,000 teachers recruited from foreign countries and ordered the district to pay $5.9 million in back wages and penalties. School officials recruited the foreign instructors for classes such as math and science that were hard to fill but then required that the teachers cover thousands of dollars in expenses related to getting temporary work visas — expenses that, Labor Department officials said, should have been covered by the system. That violated laws requiring that U.S. and foreign teachers be compensated equally. ..Prince George’s began recruiting foreign teachers... • UC Irvine Students’ Secret Meeting with Hamas Frontpagemagazine ^ | Apr 1st, 2011 | Nichole Hungerford and Richard Baehr The University of California – Irvine (UCI) has some serious new problems on its hands. After a series of controversial incidents, including appearances by terroristsupporting speakers and a raucous disruption of a talk by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, new information has come to light revealing that students participating in a student program known as the Olive Tree Initiative met with a prominent leader of the terrorist organization Hamas. More scandalously, the students were told — it is unclear by whom — to keep the meeting a secret. A letter that can be viewed at www.ha-Emet.com records officials from the Jewish... • Retired Teachers in California Earn More Than Working Teachers in 28 States hot air ^ | 4/1/11 | Mike Antonucci I came across the most recent summary report for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and I thought its pared-down tables and graphs nicely encapsulated the pension situation in the state. First note that the average annual salary in 2010 for active working educators enrolled in the system was $64,156. The next table states that the average retirement benefit paid out in 2010 was $4,256 per month. That’s $51,072 annually. In other words, the average retired teacher in California made more than the average working teacher in 28 states, according to the salary rankings published by NEA. The final... • Wisconsin: Woman charged with email threats (elementary school teacher) Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ^ | 3/31/11 | Bill Glauber Madison - A 26-year-old woman was charged Thursday with two felony counts and two misdemeanor counts for allegedly making email threats against Wisconsin lawmakers during the height of the battle over Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair bill.Katherine R. Windels of Cross Plains was named in a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Criminal Court.According to the criminal complaint, Windels allegedly sent an email threat to State Sen. Robert Cowles (R-Green Bay) March 9. Later that evening, she allegedly sent another email to 15 Republican legislators, including Senate Majority Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau).The subject line of the second email was: "Atten.: Death Threat!!!! Bomb!!!" In... • Douglas County Schools (Colorado) Approves Voucher Program 7 News (Denver) ^ | March 15, 2011 | Jaclyn Allen CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- In a move that some saw as controversial, the Douglas County School District voted unanimously Tuesday night to pay tuition for students attending private schools as part of an open enrollment program. In a packed board meeting, people spoke passionately on both sides of the issue. "Your legacy will be for destroying public education in Douglas county," said Delana Maynes, with the group Taxpayers For Education. "You should have the authority to choose the school best suited to your kids and the funds to put them there," said Brenda Bulwark, a parent living in Douglas County.... LAUSD Board Selects Operators For Several Campuses March 15, 2011 9:43 PM http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/03/15/lausd-board-selects-operators-for-severalcampuses/ In the end, the board chose a variety of operators, ranging from charter schools to pilot programs and local school district groups. In some cases, no operator was chosen. But not everyone is happy about this decision. A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, says this could mean more teacher layoffs, more nonunion jobs and he says charter schools have a high turnover rate. The changes are expected to take effect this Fall. • 82% of US government run schools are failing Rational Public Radio ^ | 3/15/11 | Scott Connery There are many reasons why America's students are falling behind those in other countries. A recent comparison showed that America ranked 25th in Math, 17th in Science, and 14th in reading. This is out of only 34 countries. Obviously, this poses a number of extreme problems. If our graduates our inferior to the greatly more populous China (and they are), then inevitably our economy will suffer. The world's economy is dependent on highly skilled jobs, and a nation that perpetually turns out c students is bound to fall behind no matter the lead it started with. The problems grow larger... • Detroit Plan Makes Big Charter School Bet . WSJ ^ | March 14, 2011 | MATTHEW DOLAN And STEPHANIE BANCHERO A plan unveiled over the weekend to convert nearly a third of Detroit's public schools into privately run charter schools has thrust the Motor City into the national debate over education reform. The proposal is part of a bid to improve academic performance, save the district millions of dollars and prevent massive school closings. But it could also lead to a political fight if scores of unionized Detroit public school teachers lose their jobs. "We shed all physical plant operations, maintenance, security, central overhead costs. Overall staffing are expected to be lower as well," District spokesman Steve Wasko said in... • L.A. Community College District fires building program chief Los Angeles Times ^ | March 10,2011 | Michael Finnegan and Gale Holland Larry Eisenberg has led the $5.7-billion bond-financed project since 2003. A Times investigation found that poor planning, shoddy workmanship and other factors cost tens of millions of dollars. The board launched the rebuilding effort in 2001 to replace or renovate aged and neglected buildings at all nine campuses. In a series of bond measures, Los Angeles voters agreed to pay higher property taxes for at least 50 years to finance the $5.7-billion program and repay the debt. With interest, the total cost to taxpayers is likely to reach $11 billion. The six-part Times series, which concluded Sunday, reported that the... • SHOCK: 82% of US schools 'failing'... http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPmjfDMN5nHOpeSIZYL wkVfKAHGQ?docId=c7dc0757afd54b5ca2836c00de44535f ^ An estimated 82 percent of U.S. schools could be labeled as "failing" under the nation's No Child Left Behind Act this year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday Department of Education estimates the number of schools not meeting targets will skyrocket from 37 to 82 percent in 2011 because states are toughening their standards to meet the requirements of the law. The schools will face sanctions ranging from offering tutoring to closing their doors "No Child Left Behind is broken and we need to fix it now," Duncan said in a statement. • Class acts give lie to race card : The incredible phenomenon of Asian success in schools New York Post ^ | 02/16/2011 | Michael Goodwin • Bristol Palin Is Uninvited Human Events ^ | 1/28/10 | John Hayward Washington University in St. Louis is planning a “Student Sexual Responsibility Week” next month. They decided to invite Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol to speak about abstinence at the event. Bristol is the Teen Abstinence Ambassador for The Candie’s Foundation, a group dedicated to preventing teen pregnancy. (snip) Campus leftists immediately tugged on their jackboots and flew into a towering pillar of rage. Today they were able to intimidate the university and Palin into calling off her appearance – the latest evidence that campus liberals could teach Hosni Mubarak a thing or two about suppressing dissent. • U.S. students score poorly on Nation's Report Card http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? f=/c/a/2011/01/25/BAH11HDK7G.DTL&tsp=1 SFGate.com ^ | 1/25/11 | Jill Tucker SAN FRANCISCO -- Just one in 100 schoolchildren across the United States excels at advanced levels of science while less than a third of elementary and high school students reach grade-level proficiency in the subject, according to the Nation's Report Card released today. The report found that California students fared worse than the national average, with fourth graders, for example, lagging behind 43 states in science and in a dead heat for last with three others, Hawaii, Arizona and Mississippi. • Obama’s War on For-Profit Schools Wrought With Shady Dealings big government ^ | 1/14/11 | Capitol Confidential Over the last several months, as attention has been focused elsewhere, the Obama Administration and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have been waging a quiet war against for-profit schools and universities – educational institutions that offer job training and degrees in in-demand fields to students looking for an alternative to four-year non-profit schools, or a more accessible price tag. The Administration has fired a number of rounds at the industry, but recently unveiled it’s secret weapon: a “gainful employment” restriction on federal loan money available to students at forprofit schools. While for-profit schools have had their difficulties, Ron Gochez, a Los Angeles School teacher: http://gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/pages/mclaren/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iybaDyMr1rs A Los Angeles High School Teacher preaching this BS: “A revolutionary Mexican Organization”…” This is not just about Mexico, this is about a global struggle against imperialism and capitalism. But we know that where we now stand is stolen occupied Mexico. And the message that we bring if you want to bring a little bit more of a revolutionary context to this, why is it that these people? These frail racist white people want to keep us out of this country. It’s not simply because of the color of our skin, it’s not simply because they just want to exploit us, let me tell you why. Because on this planet right now, 6 billion people at the forefront of the revolutionary movement is La Raza.”… …”We have a long history and example of our comondante Fidel Castro Ruiz, Caesar Hugo Chaves, Eduardo Morales, we got Brazil, Equator, you name it, we are nine, nine ??? governments in Latin America right now, and they know something that a one young Argentine cockroach said, it was called a domino theory, and he knew that every single country would go revolutionary. One after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other.” “So what do they fear? They know that every single country, they know that we no longer will fall for these lies called borders, they know that a Salvadorian, that a Guatemalan and a Nicaraguan and a Mexicano, there is no damn difference, we are all one people. So with that in mind, we see our selves, all of us here, as the Northern front of a Latin American revolutionary movement. There are more than 40 million of our people north of the Rio Grande. That means to them there is 40 million revolutionaries north of the border inside the belly of the beast. So when you think about why do they want to kick us of all people out, that’s why”. “They know that we now know the truth. They know that we are La Raza, we’re professionals, we are educators, we are revolutionary students, what does that mean? We are just a regular culture anymore, we are a culture of revolutionary spirit. And that’s the fear.” “So with that being said, I want to leave you with this, as a revolutionary and with revolutionary context, let us be clear about one thing, our enemy is not the minutemen, quote me, our enemy is not the minutemen, because the minutemen are not the ones who have killed over four thousand, six hundred people at those borders, our enemy is the same enemy as Hugo Chaves, that Hugo Chaves has, our enemy is the same enemy that keeps Africa poor, our enemy is the same enemy that keeps Asia poor, Our enemy is capitalism, imperialism.” “And I’ll finish with this, I’ll finish with this to respect the time. If we are serious about making CHANGE, if you are serious about making CHANGE, let me tell you, the struggle will go on for many more years after we leave UCLA. Reading a book or writing a book, or teaching a class, that is not, that is not part of the movement. What you do 24 hours a day as a professional revolutionary, that is what is going to lead our people and our people to liberation. Viva La Raza.” Part 1 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2626827/posts Part 2 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2626825/posts Part 3 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2626828/posts part 1 http://www.aim.org/aim-column/nambla-gate-the-strange-case-of-kevin-jennings-part-one/ George Soros http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2626827/posts part 3 http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/18704 Jennings was announced as the Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools, in the Department of Education on May 19. His official biography mentions his role in creating an organization, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which is supposed to provide factual information about the history of the “gay rights” movement to teachers and students. But the references to Hay in GLSEN literature fail to include anything about his CPUSA, pro-NAMBLA or Radical Faerie activities. Why is no one picking up on the Arizona’s shooters high school? Discover The Networks is a great resource for looking up people and organizations http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/summary.asp?object=Persons&category= This is Michael Klonsky http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2436 • • • Former member of the radical Students for a Democratic Society Founded an organization called the “Communist Party (Marxist Leninist)” Was highly admired by Mao Zedong • • • Co-founded (with William Ayers) a project known as the "Small Schools Workshop," where teachers portrayed American capitalism as an economic system infested with racism, imperialism, and all manner of injustice Served on President Bill Clinton's Advisory Panel on School Violence. Ran a blog on the Barack Obama presidential campaign’s official website in 2008 Michael Klonsky was born in 1943. His father, Robert Klonsky, was an American communist who was convicted in the mid-1950s for advocating the forcible overthrow of the U.S. government — a violation of anti-communist legislation known as the Smith Act. In the 1960s Michael Klonsky, while attending San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge), joined the radical Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). In 1968 he became SDS's national chairman. That same year, he helped spark the riots that erupted in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. Klonsky was also a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In 1968 Klonsky penned a document titled “Toward a Revolutionary Youth Movement,” wherein he quoted -- with admiration -- Chinese dictator Mao Zedong. This document called for the development of “an organized class-conscious youth movement” to engage in “revolutionary struggle” to “expose war, racism, the exploitation of labor, and the oppression of youth.” By way of his “class analysis of capitalist institutions,” Klonsky concluded that “racism is an inherent part of capitalism and a primary tool used to exploit all working people.” Urging “a more militant campus movement” that would “expose the racist and class nature of [college] admissions,” Klonsky demanded the preferential “admission of black students and brown students to help wage the fight against racism on the campus.” When fellow SDSers such as William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn broke away from the group and formed the new Weather Underground, Klonsky did not join them. Rather, he founded the “October League,” a Maoist organization that later (in June 1977) changed its name to the “Communist Party (Marxist Leninist)” (CPML). Snip Klonsky subsequently earned a doctorate and became a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he was reunited with his old SDS comrade William Ayers, who also taught in UIC's education department. In 1991 Klonsky and Ayers co-founded a project known as the "Small Schools Workshop" (SSW), premised on the notion that if high schools were to limit their enrollment to no more than 400 students (and optimally to fewer than 200), the learning atmosphere on campus would be improved. Klonsky has served as SSW's director since 1993. In National Review Online, Andrew McCarthy reveals SSW's hidden agendas: "The concept may be called small schools, but Klonsky and Ayers uniquely grasp the force-multiplier effect. In a small class, the teacher preaching the 'social justice' gospel that American capitalism is a racist, materialist, imperialist cauldron of injustice can have greater impact on the students he seeks to mold into his conception of the 'good citizen' — and on the teachers he is teaching to be preachers." Snip There is more, go to the site Immediately after the Tucson terrorist committed his heinous act, the news media came out blaming conservatives, the tea party, Palin. Let us look at his schooling, he went to, Mountain View High School, and he went to Pima Community College. The media will give us the name of the college teacher that kicked him out of class, but they will not give us the name of his high school teachers. The director of his high school was Michael Klonsky. This guy was a member of Students for a Democratic Society, the same group that William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn belonged to. This school’s goal was to have the same teacher, teach throughout the high school experience. Think about this for a moment, a teacher has the undivided attention of a kid during his most formative 4 years. Way more than an average parent can give. Kind of like the book It Takes a Village. Now the kid did drugs, according to his girl friend, smoking marijuana and taking hallucinogens. In my small twisted mind, it is conceivable that the kid took his teachings literally. I don’t think it is a far reach to think that the liberals are trying to distract us from the teachers. We do have some severely twisted teachers teaching our children and they even have the backing of the school boards. Take Ron Gochez for an instance, he preaches the overthrow of the evil capitalistic America and worships Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. The Los Angeles school board knows of him, they are aware of his rants on Youtube, and they back him. This is just a high school teacher. This guy went to Arizona to fight the law that made teaching hate in schools illegal. Bill Ayers, communist provided Arizona shooter's curriculum? High school part of learning community funded jointly by Obama and domestic terrorist Read more: Bill Ayers, communist provided Arizona shooter's curriculum? http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=249429#ixzz1B0waLBPg Klonsky Small Schools Workshop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NgM5axMvMM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdh8X7s4w68&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9BgFnjHpks&feature=related Klonsky and Dohrn from 1969 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzTEIPXP8K0&feature=related • Tucson Assassin Was A Zeitgeistist, A What? ChicoER Gate ^ | 1/13/10 | Chuck Wolk In my last post I told you that when Jared Loughner's former friend, Zach Osler, spoke to ABC's Ashleigh Banfield, he told her that Jared did not subscribe to the left or the right in politics. The only problem with that is Zach then told her that Jarred was profoundly influenced by Zeitgeist documentary and that it really altered his mind-set on how he viewed the world. So then what exactly is this Zeitgeist all about? Basically, the documentary, "Zeitgeist", is the propaganda arm of an organization called "The Venus Project". Here is a little more information from a cached page of Klonsky and how he promotes class and racial activism http://www.gettingpaidtowatch.com/2008/08/24/marxist-indoctrination-was-funded-byayersobama-to-mike-klonskys-small-schools-workshop/ Also, it should be pointed out that his fellow students and the teachers may have remained together throughout their high school years. So, who were his teachers? It is being reported that he considered himself to be a Zeitgeist, did any of his teachers have anything to do with that? Here is another well worded blog http://thespeechatimeforchoosing.blogspot.com/2011/01/is-this-how-loughner-wasradicalized.html Marxist Indoctrination Was Funded by Ayers/Obama for Mike Klonsky’s Small Schools Workshop http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-berkeley-chancellor-20110114,0,7457352.story • BERKELEY: Cal's Robert Birgeneau talks about Tucson shooting San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 1/12/11 | Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has come out swinging over the shooting spree that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six people, linking it to Arizona's "discrimination against undocumented persons" and a "climate in which demonization of others goes unchallenged and hateful speech is tolerated." In a campus-wide e-mail message, Birgeneau said: "It is not a coincidence that this calamity has occurred in a state which has legislated discrimination against undocumented persons." He added that "this same mean-spirited xenophobia played a major role in the defeat of the Dream Act by our legislators in Washington, leaving many exceptionally talented and... • The Amazing Truth About PISA Scores: USA Beats Western Europe, Ties with Asia Newgeography.com ^ | 12/28/2010 | Tino Sanandaji In the case of America, 99% of the population originates from other countries, be they England, Italy, Sweden, India, Africa, Hong-Kong or Mexico. If we want to isolate the effect of the United States public school system, we should compare the immigrant groups with their home country. For those majority of Americans whose ancestors originate from Europe, we obviously want to compare them with Europe. For some groups, such as Indians, this is inappropriate. The reason is that mainly the most gifted Indians get to migrate to America to work or study. However, as I have argued previously, • Rubber room's 'dirty' old man New York Post ^ | December 26, 2010 | SUSAN EDELMAN He just won't leave. At age 75, Roland Pierre is the granddaddy of the rubber room -- 13 years in the purgatory of teachers yanked from the classroom for alleged wrongdoing. But the Department of Education can't fire Pierre, and he's stuck around long past the minimum retirement age. Pierre was permanently removed from the classroom in 1997 after he was accused of sexually molesting a sixthgrade girl at PS 138 in Brooklyn. But since then, Pierre has continued to receive full pay and fringe benefits, including health, pension and vacation, officials said. He pulls down $97,101 a year. He's... • Army exam exposes a grim educational picture - About a quarter of recent high school... Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune ^ | December 21, 2010 | CHRISTINE ARMARIO and DORIE TURNER MIAMI — Nearly one-fourth of recent high school graduates who try to join the Army fail its entrance exam, painting a grim picture of an education system that produces graduates who can't answer basic math, science and reading questions, according to a study released Tuesday. The report by The Education Trust bolsters a growing worry among military and education leaders that the pool of young people qualified for military service will become too small... --snip-- The report found that 23 percent of recent high school graduates applying for the Army don't get the minimum score needed on the enlistment test • The College Diploma Fraud Tuesday, December 21, 2010 3:18:05 AM · by Rashputin · 19 replies American Thinker ^ | December 21, 2010 | Robert Weissberg The College Diploma Fraud By Robert Weissberg For more than a half-century, government has tried to close racial gaps in educational attainment. Sad to say, those gaps have proven intractable. Nevertheless, the impulse remains as heartfelt as ever (perhaps due to its financially lucrative character), but the emphasis is now shifting from actual learning to equality of graduation rates. President Obama has spoken of adding 5 million graduates to the workforce by 2020, and credentialmania is now all the rage. This shift is a disaster in the making; imparting knowledge is commendable, but just handing out diplomas is harmful deception.... December 13, 2010 New bill requires gay history in textbooks to fight bullying Openly gay state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill today that would require public school materials to include the historical contributions of gay people as a way to fight bullying. Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/12/sen-leno-hopes-gay-historybil.html#ixzz1861GtHOx • Los Angeles Schools to Seek Sponsors New York Times ^ | December 15, 2010 | Jennifer Medina http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/education/16naming.html? _r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a23 LOS ANGELES...Facing another potential round of huge budget cuts, the Los Angeles school board unanimously approved a plan on Tuesday night to allow the district to seek corporate sponsorships as a way to get money to the schools. The district is not the first to look for private dollars...but the Los Angeles school district is by far the largest to do so...The District has cut $1.5 billion from its operating budget, now down to $5.4 billion. As recently as last month, 1,000 more employees lost their jobs in layoffs. ... “This is really our way to be responsive to that... • California: La Habra (Orange County) Teachers Resume Strike myFOXla.com ^ | 12/13/2010 | Phil Shuman Teachers picketed in the neighborhoods of La Habra school board members. "The school board members elected to represent the La Habra community have the responsibility and the authority to direct Superintendent Belenardo to reach a reasonable and responsible agreement based on the experts' recommended settlement," LHEA's Danette Brown said in the statement. "Tell them to end the strike and settle with the teachers immediately." The La Habra School District board voted Nov. 18 to cut teacher salaries by 2 percent and force them to take two furlough days. The teachers will also have to pay more for their health insurance • School District Forces Kindergartners to Embrace Homosexuality Nanny State Liberation Front ^ | December 2, 2010 | NSLF Children as young as five years old are being forced by one Calif. school district to watch propaganda movies touting the virtues of homosexuality. Vallejo Unified School District officials say the so-called "anti-bullying" curriculum is mandatory for grades K-5 and parents can not opt-out their impressionable youngsters. “We do not feel that this is an area that students can opt-out and we feel that this is an area that we do not have to give prior notification,” Superintendent Floyd Gonella told KNTV-11 after a recent school board hearing. Young students whose parents might not have breached the topic of homosexuality... • Teacher Pension Bombs American Spectator ^ | 11.12.10 | RiShawn Biddle California taxpayers have almost become immune to stories about the high cost of generous defined-benefit pensions, employer-subsidized healthcare plans, job protections and degree- and seniority-based pay scales struck by the state, school districts, and affiliates of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers. Not even the fact that 3,090 of its retired teachers are earning more than $100,000 a year in annuity payments causes a stir. But they are getting riled up -- and learning about such concepts as internal rate of return and special situation fund -- thanks to the notoriously underfunded California State Teachers Retirement System.... • Students asked to cover 'Straight Pride' shirts chicagobreakingnews.com ^ | Nov. 12, 2010 It wasn't exactly what they'd planned, but St. Charles North High School administrators said an anti-bullying initiative may have accomplished its goal after a group of students wore "Straight Pride" T-shirts through the hallways this week. "While it may have been a little bit controversial at times, the kids at North are talking about this," said Jim Blaney, director of school and community relations for St. Charles Unit District 303. "They are learning about people who might have a different opinion than theirs." Several students complained to high school administrators Monday -- the first day of an anti-bullying "Ally Week"... • School makes boy take American flag off bike http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxlamericanflagbike11122010,0,3045879.htmlstory 13-year-old Cody Alicea rides with an American flag on the back of his bike. He says he does this to be patriotic and to honor veterans, like his own grandfather, Robert. He's had the flag on his bike for two months but Monday, was asked to take it down. A school official at Denair Middle School told Cody some students had been complaining about the flag and it was no longer allowed on school property. "In this country we're supposed to be free," said Cody. "And I should be able to wave my flag wherever I want to.” • Latinos now majority in state schools OC Register ^ | 11/10/10 | Fermin Leal Latinos now make up the majority of students in California public schools, according to new figures released by the state Department of Education. More than 50 percent of all 6.2 million students enrolled in the state's k-12 schools in 2009-10 were Latinos. It's the first time ever the group made up the majority of state public school enrollment In Orange County, about 47 percent of 502,275 students were Latino, while 32 percent were white, 14 percent were Asian and 2 percent were black. Statewide, 27 percent of students were identified as white, 9 percent were black and 6.9 percent were... • Mom Upset Over Son's Assignment to Recite Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish FoxNews.com ^ | November 4, 2010 Melissa Taggart says she was delighted that her son was learning a foreign language in the eighth grade -- until she learned he was expected to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish. And that he'd receive a zero if he didn't. Taggart, of Edmond, Okla., said the Pledge should be recited in English -- and English only. “English is our language…and I just feel it’s wrong that he would have to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America in Spanish. It’s just wrong,” a frustrated Taggart told KFOR. • Woman Takes Crowbar to Stanford Professor's Controversial Art Exhibit San Jose Mercury News ^ A woman using a crowbar entered a Colorado art museum Wednesday and destroyed a controversial exhibit by a Stanford University art professor that some say shows Jesus Christ engaged in a sex act. The exhibit -- called "The Misadventures of Romantic Cannibals" by Stanford's Enrique Chagoya -- has been the subject of a week's worth of protests by those who claim it is blasphemy. The suspect was identified by police as 56-year-old Kathleen Folden of Kalispell, Mont. She is currently in custody on a charge of criminal mischief. Police said that around 4 p.m. the woman entered the Loveland Museum/Gallery... • Oklahoma Postpones Teach-Through-Rap Program That Refers to Founding Fathers as 'Old Dead White Men' http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/06/oklahoma-school-district-postpones-teachrap-program-refers-founding-fathers/ ^ The Oklahoma City public school district is taking a second look at a plan to teach at-risk students using rap and hip-hop after receiving complaints over one lesson referring to the founding fathers as "old dead white men." The program, known as Flocabulary, is an educational tool that uses rap and hip-hop music to help students learn and memorize basic principles of vocabulary, reading, writing, social studies, math and science. The district was authorized to spend $97,000 in federal funds on the program and has already spent $10,000, NewsOK.com reported. • Power grab on campus WORLD ^ | 9/23/10 | Cal Thomas Raise your hand if you believe government has too little involvement in our lives. Put down your hands, members of the Obama administration. During a previous political uprising in the 1980s, academic institutions managed to fend off conservative attacks on some of the subjects taught on their campuses—from “peace studies” to kinky sexual practices, to bad history—with cries of “academic freedom.” Where are those cries now that the federal government is on the verge of regulating the content of subject matter on college campuses and changing the way these institutions are accredited? According to the Centennial Institute, a proposed new... • Teacher’s 41% Salary Increase Costs Taxpayers $1.3 Million in Extra Pension Payments (EACH!) Champion News .net ^ | 9/17/10 | Bill Zettler Teacher’s 41% Salary Increase Costs Taxpayers $1.3 Million in Extra Pension PaymentsWould you pay $15,000 over four years to get $1.3 million over the next 29? By Bill Zettler Posted: September 17, 2010 In my last article "Pension Insanity" I documented how some teachers can get pensions more than twice their salaries. Unfortunately for us taxpayers, that's not the end of the insanity. At many school districts, the last four years of a teacher's career is a goldmine of money. Most get 26% increases over the last four years (6%/yr compounded) and many get huge raises beyond that. Since pensions... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2593007/posts Recommended Reading: Saul Alinsky, The American Organizer (NEA recommends) NEA ^ | unk | Web site NEA recommends the following Saul Alinsky books to those members of our Association who are involved in grassroots organizing, especially Association Representatives (ARs) — also known as building reps or shop stewards — and leaders at local affiliates. Saul Alinsky is widely recognized as the father of, and pre-imminent expert in, grassroots organizing, which is why we recommend that ARs and local leaders become familiar with his theories & materials. Alinsky’s writings have been called the “mother’s milk of the left,” however in an ironic homage, the conservative right has borrowed a page or two from the Alinsky playbook. Tea Party leader and self-described “conservative radical” Michael Patrick Leahy, for example, has authored a book based on Alinsky’s teachings: “Rules for Conservative Radicals.” We hope that ARs and local leaders of all political stripes will discern from Alinsky’s books grassroots organizing strategies that will best help us bring our members together around the common goal of improving public education. • The New Jersey Teachers' Cartel Townhall.com ^ | September 17, 2010 | Helen Whalen Cohen To some, unions might all seem the same. But one stands out as particularly egregious. The National Education Association and state affiliates have an iron grip on education. And the problem is worse than we imagined. If you thought that public education was an industry people entered not to make money, but to help children, you’re in for a surprise. The damage done by public schools is chronicled extensively in The Cartel, an independent film being screened nation-wide on a limited basis. Directed by television producer Bob Bowdon, it exposes the real aims of teacher’s unions-money and power. Focusing primarily... • College Officials Shut Down Student Conservative Group After Seeing Anti-Obama Literature http://www.orlandopoliticalpress.com/2010/09/07/college-officials-shut-downstudent-conservative-group-after-seeing-anti-obama-literature/ ^ (Lake Worth, FL) On Tuesday September 7, 2010 at around 11:00am one Palm Beach State College (PBSC) student and two Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) members, state chairman Daniel P. Diaz and state vice chairman Eddie Shaffer, were shut down and had campus police called on them after tabling and recruiting during club rush at the College. The PBSC student, Christina Beattie, had received prior permission from college administrator Olivia Ford-Morris to promote her organization on campus via telephone and email communication. On the day of club rush, officials approached the group and after seeing information about the organization and... • Money Is Not What Schools Need Townhall.com ^ | September 15, 2010 | John Stossel U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently claimed: "Districts around the country have literally been cutting for five, six, seven years in a row. And, many of them, you know, are through, you know, fat, through flesh and into bone ... ." Really? They cut spending five to seven consecutive years? Give me a break! Andrew Coulson, director of the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom, writes that out of 14,000 school districts in the United States, just seven have cut their budgets seven years in a row. How about five years in a row? Just 87. That's a fraction of... Los Angeles School Named After Al Gore Built on Toxic Site FoxNews.com ^ | September 7, 2010 In an honor that could be misinterpreted as a slap in the face, a Los Angeles school district has named a new academy after Al Gore -- the only problem is the school was built on toxic soil. The Los Angeles Times reports that crews worked up to the Labor Day weekend to try to clean up the Carson-Gore Academy of Environmental Sciences in the run-up to its Sept. 13 opening. The $75.5 million facility was named after Gore, who has made bringing awareness to climate change a personal cause since leaving office, and environmental author Rachel Carson. The former... • Northglenn Co. student claims school guard would not let him fly flags (Doesn't serve "diversity") Fox31 ^ | 9-3-10 | Ginger Delgado Stoppel said he saved up his money and bought the two flags last Sunday for his pick-up truck. They cost about $30 each and he had no idea they would cause a problem, "This is America. We have the right to put up what we want," he said. Or so he thought, until the school's security officer told him to take the flags down, telling him the school focuses on diversity and the flags made some kids feel uncomfortable. Jeremy said, "It's really frustrating because I don't see the reasoning. I mean, they're not unsafe. I have them secured. It's... • Hundreds of N.J. students who can't do simple math are credited with passing calculus, report says NJ.com ^ | 9/1/10 | Staff • Hundreds of N.J. students who can't do simple math were credited with passing calculus, according to a report on APP.com. According to a Department of Education report, "there were other students, unable ultimately to evidence even simple math skills, who were unimaginably recorded by their schools as succeeding in Algebra II or even Calculus." A report delivered at today's state Board of Education meeting will recommend four new policies to aid students who weren't proficient enough in reading, writing or math to meet state graduation standards. Education secretary urged his employees to go to Sharpton's rally washington Examiner ^ | 8/30/2010 | Lisa Gartner President Obama's top education official urged government employees to attend a rally that the Rev. Al Sharpton organized to counter a larger conservative event on the Mall. "ED staff are invited to join Secretary Arne Duncan, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and other leaders on Saturday, Aug. 28, for the 'Reclaim the Dream' rally and march," began an internal e-mail sent to more than 4,000 employees of the Department of Education on Wednesday. Sharpton created the event after Glenn Beck announced a massive Tea Party "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial, where King spoke in 1963. The Washington Examiner learned... • Ideological War Spells Doom for America’s Schoolkids Pajamas Media ^ | Aug 30, 2010 | Zombie Innumerable liberal critics condemn the anti-science and partisan revisionist lunacy coming out of the Texas school board meetings. And you know what? The criticisms hit home. It’s next to impossible for a sensible person to defend the TSBE’s often ridiculous proposals. On the other side of the fence, you’ll find countless conservative pundits and angry parents increasingly outraged by the ever-escalating political correctness and equally egregious (but mirror-image) historical revisionism which dominates public schooling away from the Texas sphere of influence. And you know what? They’re right too. Left-wing activists have basically taken control of the educational system and have... • Kindergartens see more Hispanic, Asian students educationnews.org ^ | 08.27.10 | Haya El Nasser and Paul Overberg The kindergarten class of 2010-11 is less white, less black, more Asian and much more Hispanic than in 2000, reflecting the nation's rapid racial and ethnic transformation. The profile of the 4 million children starting kindergarten reveals the startling changes the USA has undergone the past decade and offers a glimpse of its future. In this year's class, for example, about one out of four 5-year-olds will be Hispanic. Most of today's kindergartners will graduate from high school in 2024. More Hispanic children are likely in the next generation because the number of Hispanic girls entering childbearing years is up... • David Horowitz on Youtube, 8 parts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3LE84SxTUI&feature=player_embedded Radical Professors on JournaList http://www.cultureandmediainstitute.org/articles/2010/20100810135735.aspx Todd Gitlin, Columbia University, professor of journalism and sociology and chair of the Ph.D. program in communications. http://toddgitlin.net/ Gitlin is on the editorial boards of Dissent and the Progressive Book Club, and a contributing writer to Mother Jones. He was the third president of Students for a Democratic Society, in 1963-64, and coordinator of the SDS Peace Research and Education Project in 1964-65, during which time he helped organize the first national demonstration against the Vietnam War and the first American demonstrations against corporate aid to the apartheid regime in South Africa. Gitlin: “Limbaugh is a liar and a demagogue, a brander of enemies, a mobilizer, and a rabble rouser.” Gitlin: “The corner that right-wing radio has on the medium is a warping factor in our politics.” Michael Kazin, Georgetown University. Kazin criticizing Howard Zinn (the same guy that glamorized Che): “makes no serious attempt to address the biggest question a leftist can ask about U.S. history: why have most Americans accepted the legitimacy of the capitalist republic in which they live?” Mark Kleiman, UCLA, professor of public policy. Kleiman called people publishing names of JournoList members “right-wing trolls, raised in pigsties” and “low-lifes.” Kleiman refers to the Tea Party as “teabaggers”. Kleiman: “More than one person has remarked on the similarities between the Tea Party/Limbaugh/Beck ideology and that of the Birchers.” Kleiman: “And the Republican leadership is making what may prove to be a mistake in embrasing the movement. So the key question is whether the public comes to identify the Teabaggers as a lunatic-fringe group, to the point where Republican office-seekers are afraid to be associated with them.” Jonathan Zasloff, UCLA Compared U.S. Rep. Machelle Bachmann, R-Minn. To dictator Augusto Pinochet. He referred to her as “reality-challenged” and cited her as a Republican from “Insane Asylum.” Dangerous Professors by David Horowitz http://old.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/qa200603130909.asp http://townhall.com/columnists/RebeccaHagelin/2010/08/24/collegebound_turning_your_child_over_to_the_campus_liberals/page/full 92% of George Washington University donations were to Democrats. 82% of Virginia Tech donations were to Democrats. Three great resources for insight on course offerings, dorm environment, and the intangibles of the college experience from a more conservative perspective are CampusReform.Org and CollegeGuide.org and the website of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. (Isi.org) http://capoliticalnews.com/blog_post/show/6040 The research by Adam Schaeffer of the Cato Institutes Center for Education Freedom seemed shocking: The Los Angeles Unified School District spent $29,780 per student in fiscal year 2007-08. That’s way above the $10,000 as advertised by the school district, and as used in most studies. ALSO see Carl Brodt’s comment • LA unveils $578M school, costliest in the nation AP ^ | 8/22/2010 | Christina Hoag LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Next month's opening of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools will be auspicious for a reason other than its both storied and infamous history as the former Ambassador Hotel, where the Democratic presidential contender was assassinated in 1968. With an eye-popping price tag of $578 million, it will mark the inauguration of the nation's most expensive public school ever. The K-12 complex to house 4,200 students has raised eyebrows across the country as the crème de la crème of "Taj Mahal" schools, $100 million-plus campuses boasting both architectural panache and deluxe amenities. "There's no more of... • Teachers unions' fuzzy math Waterbury Republican-American ^ | August 18, 2010 | Editorial This is no news flash, but Democrats are shameless. After President Obama signed the $26 billion bailout for public-school teachers and other unionized government employees last week, corrupt Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd claimed parents no longer had to worry about their children being assigned to classrooms without teachers. Like school administrators would ever let that happen. Rep. Christopher Murphy, D-5th District (CT.), said the bill, which apportions $10 billion for the teachers unions by slashing funds that help feed low-income families, will mean schools won't have to pack classrooms with "40 kids to a pop." Well, at least Rep. Murphy's... STAR test results http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2010/SearchPanel.asp? lstTestYear=2010&lstTestType=C&lstCounty=19&lstDistrict=64733000&lstSchool=&lstGroup=1&lstSubGroup=1 Billions for Teacher Unions, Nothing for Students biggovernment.com ^ | August 19, 2010 | Kyle Olson Here’s a story problem to get kids ready for the new school year: If Congress borrows $10 billion to bail out the public schools, and if toilet paper costs fifty cents a roll, how many rolls of toilet paper will each of the nation’s 132,000 K-12 public schools receive? The answer: Zero. Zip. Zilch. The average American can be forgiven for thinking that the $10 billion “edujobs” bill signed into law last week by President Obama would directly benefit the nation’s school children. That’s certainly how the National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel spun it: “As a result of... Shocking School Drug And Gang Survey Fox NY ^ | 8/19/10 | Luke Funk http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/education/shocking-school-drug-and-gang-survey20100819-lgf MYFOXNY.COM - A new survey claims that 27 percent of public school students aged 12 to 17 attend schools that are both gang and drug-infected. That means 5.7 million students attend schools which are both gang and drug dominated. Nearly 50 percent of all public school students report drug use or sales on school grounds. The Columbia University survey claims that one in three middle schoolers say that drugs are used, kept or sold at their school. That number is up 39 percent in the past year. Coach Says He Was Fired Because of Conservative Song (Update) newschannel5 ^ | http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=12989255 FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Music City is full of songwriters, hoping to land that big break. But a now former Middle school football coach in Williamson County said writing a politicallycharged country song got him fired, after it rubbed a few parents the wrong way. 26 year old Bryan Glover is not shy about his political opinions. He is proud tea party Republican and felt compelled to voice his disappointment in the current administration through his music. But he never thought sharing his new song would leave him unemployed. The song is called, "When You're Holding A Hammer, Everything Looks Like a nail.” http://www.holdingahammer.com/ http://projects.latimes.com/schools/school/northridge/calahan-street-elementary/ Check on schools http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/544402/201008191856/Some-WhoCant-Teach-Still-Do.aspx Some Who Can't Teach Still Do Posted 06:56 PM ET Education: Public school teachers are unhappy with the growing campaign to grade their performance. They shouldn't be. It's almost impossible to fire a union teacher, even those who are profoundly incompetent. From Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, the debate about teacher effectiveness has taken off. In the nation's capital, Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has employed an evaluation system that led to the firing of 165 teachers with poor assessments, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan publicly declared that parents have a right to know if the teachers are competent. On the opposite coast, the Los Angeles Times set off a firecracker by publishing an evaluation of teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Organized labor has responded in typical fashion, with the Washington Teachers' Union pledging to challenge the D.C. dismissals, and United Teachers Los Angeles threatening a "massive boycott" of the Times. With the firings, Washington's Rhee has taken evaluations to the next level. But if experiences in California are any gauge, making the firings stick won't be easy. There, teachers are protected like an endangered species. In February, LA Weekly exposed the ugly side of civil service in a story headlined: "Why firing the desk sleepers, burnouts, hotheads and other failed teachers is all but impossible." Its five-month investigation found that LAUSD officials spent $3.5 million in the last 10 years "trying to fire just seven of the district's 33,000 teachers for poor classroom performance — and only four were fired." Each of the legal battles to fire the four took roughly five years. LA Weekly also discovered that 32 underperforming teachers were recommended for firing, then "secretly paid $50,000, on average, to leave without a fight. "Moreover, 66 unnamed teachers are being continually recycled through a costly mentoring and retraining program but failing to improve, and another 400 anonymous teachers have been ordered to attend the retraining." As alarming as these numbers are, they're only a small part of the problem. LA Weekly reckons as many as 1,000 LAUSD teachers responsible for 30,000 children cannot teach and can't be fired. The L.A. Times has also journeyed deep into the dark recesses of the termination process. Last year it jarred readers with a narrative about how hard it is to fire a public school teacher for any reason. In one example, a teacher who "kept a stash of pornography, marijuana and vials with cocaine residue at school" was marked for firing, "but a commission balked, suggesting that firing was too harsh." The Times also found that a "male middle school teacher spotted lying on top of a female colleague in the metal shop" wasn't fired because "the district did not prove that the two were having sex." Another teacher kept her job despite being cited for poor judgment, failing to report child abuse, insulting students, not planning lessons adequately and failing to supervise her class. Still other teachers simply hung around the house while receiving full pay as they fought their firings. When a nonunion worker doesn't perform, he or she is usually dismissed without too much trouble. The unions have worked the system to ensure teachers have jobs for life. Proposing changes to the system, the Times said, "can amount to stepping on a political third rail." "The onus initially is on principals to document their case," the paper said. "Their evidence must pass muster with district officials and lawyers, who decide which cases should be taken to the school board. "Once the board approves a dismissal, teachers may appeal to Commissions on Professional Competence, review panels that have final administrative authority on who gets fired or laid off in California schools." Even the board's decision doesn't end the process. Fired teachers can take their grievances to the courts. Dignity and honor seem to be character traits of a bygone era, made obsolete by workers — aided and abetted by unions and lawyers — who refuse to leave their jobs when found guilty of gross incompetence and even lacking in common decency. Teachers should take the opportunity to break with this trend by embracing information that reflects their job performance and accepting the consequences. It's the world most of us live in. They shouldn't be exempt. Scores Stagnate at High Schools Wall Street Journal ^ | April 18, 2010 | STEPHANIE BANCHERO http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703824304575435831555726858.html New data show that fewer than 25% of 2010 graduates who took the ACT college-entrance exam possessed the academic skills necessary to pass entry-level courses, despite modest gains in college-readiness among U.S high-school students in the last few years. ... While elementary schools have shown progress on national achievement exams, high-school results have stayed perniciously low. Some experts say the lack of rigor in high-school courses is partly to blame. "High schools are the downfall of American school reform," said Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington. "We haven't figured out how... ACT scores dip, but more students college-ready Associated Press ^ | August 18, 2010 | ERIC GORSKI Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam inched downward this year, yet slightly more students who took the test proved to be prepared for college, according to a report released Wednesday. The findings sound contradictory. But the exam's authors point to a growing and more diverse group of test-takers — many are likely scoring lower overall, but more are also meeting benchmarks used to measure college readiness. Last spring's high-school seniors averaged a composite score of 21.0 on the test's scale of 1 to 36, down slightly from 21.1 last year and the lowest score of the last five... By ERIC GORSKI, AP Education Writer Eric Gorski, Ap Education Writer – Wed Aug 18, 6:59 am ET Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam inched downward this year, yet slightly more students who took the test proved to be prepared for college, according to a report released Wednesday. The findings sound contradictory. But the exam's authors point to a growing and more diverse group of test-takers — many are likely scoring lower overall, but more are also meeting benchmarks used to measure college readiness. Last spring's high-school seniors averaged a composite score of 21.0 on the test's scale of 1 to 36, down slightly from 21.1 last year and the lowest score of the last five years. At the same time, 24 percent of ACT-tested students met or surpassed all four of the test's benchmarks measuring their preparedness for college English, reading, math and science. That is up from 23 percent last year and 21 percent in 2006. Although that still shows three in four test-takers will likely need remedial help in at least one subject to succeed in college, ACT officials are encouraged to see improvement as ever-larger numbers of students take the exam. "It's slow progress," said Cynthia Schmeiser, president and chief operating officer of ACT's education division. "We are headed in the right direction." Schmeiser highlighted slight gains in math and science readiness, traditional weak spots for U.S. students. The number of students prepared for college-level biology, for example, has risen from 21 percent to 24 percent in five years. On the not-so-encouraging front, ACT-takers prepared for college English have dropped from 69 percent to 66 percent in that span. Still, English remains a strong suit for ACT testtakers compared to other subjects. To measure whether students are ready for college, the ACT sets minimum scores in a subject area test to indicate a 50 percent chance of getting a B or higher or about a 75 chance of getting a C or higher in a first-year college credit course. The courses include English composition, algebra, biology and introductory social science courses like Psychology 101. The ACT report found a combined total of 43 percent of test-takers met either none (28 percent) or only one (15 percent) of the four college readiness benchmarks. A record 1.57 million students, or 47 percent of this year's high school graduates, took the ACT. That's a 30 percent increase from five years ago. The SAT remains the most common college entrance exam, though the rival ACT has nearly caught up in popularity. Most colleges accept either, and a growing minority no longer requires either one. SAT results are due out Sept. 13. The ACT is growing as more states require it for all high school seniors, meaning testtakers are not just the college-bound. Schmeiser noted that the ACT's test-taking population "now includes virtually all students in eight states, many of whom might not have considered taking a college and career readiness assessment years ago." The ACT says another three states — Arkansas, Texas and Utah — either have been or soon will make state-financed ACTs available to all districts. One result: a more diverse pool. Ethnic and racial minorities this year made up 29 percent of all ACT test-takers, up from 23 percent in 2006. Most significant was a near doubling of Hispanic graduates tested, to almost 158,000 students. The average composite scores for Hispanics dipped slightly to 18.6 this year after holding steady at 18.7 the previous three years. Because some states mandate ACTS but others don't, state-to-state score comparisons can be misleading. States requiring all students to take the ACT typically see average scores go down, at least initially College presidents to advocate 'gay' agenda One News Now ^ | August 17, 2010 | Bill Bumpas News that several "gay" and lesbian-identified college and university presidents met recently to organize a push for the homosexual agenda is drawing the ire of pro-family organizations. Nine presidents of higher-education entities recently gathered in Chicago and decided to form a new organization called LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education. The group agreed that a top priority should be "to push higher education to include issues of sexual orientation when talking about diversity." Matt BarberMatt Barber, director of cultural affairs with Liberty Counsel, calls the meeting "bizarre," but he is not surprised by the strategy. "This group of higher-ups within academia... 100818 Grim graduation rates for black males highlight racial gap MSNBC ^ | 8/17/2010 | Sandra Lilley Are young black men ready for the increasingly brutal, knowledge-based job market in the U.S.? The answer is a resounding "no," according to a new report, Yes We Can: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males 2010. Calling it a "national crisis," the report found that only 47 percent of black males graduated from high school in the 2007-2008 school year. The report's authors also stated that the results of the eighth grade reading assessment test scores, which measure how many black males read at or above the proficiency level, "should set off alarm bells." The... 100815 Grading the teachers http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teachers-value-20100815,0,2695044.story? page=1&utm_medium=feed&track=rss&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20latimes%2Fnews %2Flocal%20%28L.A.%20Times%20-%20California%20%7C%20Local%20News %29&utm_source=feedburner The Times used a statistical approach known as value-added analysis, which rates teachers based on their students' progress on standardized tests from year to year. Each student's performance is compared with his or her own in past years, which largely controls for outside influences often blamed for academic failure: poverty, prior learning and other factors. Some teachers consistently had their children fall behind in the standardized testing while other teachers consistently had their children gain. Nobody uses these statistics to judge the teachers, nobody has access to these data bases. The teachers themselves don’t know how they rate. American teachers should revolt http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1117286 A little over a year ago, I (not me) wrote a column suggesting that due to the blatant hostility the National Education Association was expressing towards Christians, it was time for Christian teachers to withdraw their membership from the NEA. As it turns out, the focus of my call to abandon this radically left lobby group was a bit too narrow. As evidenced by its own website, the NEA is not merely anti-Christian, they are antiAmerican as well. How else can you explain the plan that appeared on the NEA's "Diversity Calendar" instructing teachers to make October 1st a special recognition of the Communist revolution in China? The NEA recommended teachers celebrate how the world's most notorious butcher, Chairman Mao Zedong, proclaimed the "Chinese people have stood up," as he established the regime that would slaughter more innocent human beings than any other in world history. [Editor's note: The NEA has since removed the October 1 event from their website, following a rapid spread of the news about it.] Snip THE NEW WORLD DISORDER They're doing it: U.N. makes its move into your school Program already operating in hundreds of U.S. locations http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=189413 Worse than Ward Churchill Julio Pino of Kent State University http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeAdams/2010/08/05/worse_than_ward_churchill and http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2565042/posts Radical Professors at UCLA http://www.uclaprofs.com/articles/dirtythirty.html in particular, check out Peter McLaren. http://www.uclaprofs.com/profs/mclaren.html and then McLaren’s personal web page, unbelievable. Turn the volume down for his intro. http://gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/pages/mclaren/ http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=187505 Free Press is a well-known advocate of government intervention in the Internet. The founder of Free Press, Robert W. McChesney, is an avowed Marxist who favors the dismantling of capitalism. McChesney is a professor at the University of Illinois and former editor of the Marxist journal Monthly Review. In February 2009, McChesney concluded that capitalism should be dismantled. "In the end, there is no real answer but to remove brick-bybrick the capitalist system itself, rebuilding the entire society on socialist principles," wrote McChesney in a column. The board of Free Press, meanwhile, has included a slew of radicals, such as Obama's former "green jobs" czar Van Jones, who resigned after his founding of a communist organization was exposed. PA renews cyber school http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2558093/posts http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/1911california-school-spending-soared-on-administrators California School Spending Soared ... On Administrators By Ed Carson Tags: Education - Spending - California California schools, like the rest of state and local government, have pleaded poverty as the recession and housing bust abruptly ended the tax-revenue boom. But a study of 52 California school districts by Pepperdine University showed that K-12 spending rose 21.9% from fiscal 2003-2004 to 2008-2009, outpacing state income growth and inflation. On a per-student basis, spending jumped 25.8%, because attendance declined 3.1%. Even as budget woes hit California, per-student spending was flat at $9,875 in the latest year. Not that all that money actually went to the students: Classroom expenditures as a share of total school spending fell to 57.8% from 59%. Less than half of school spending were for teacher salaries and benefits. That means the billions of dollars in extra funding helped hire tens of thousands of new administrators to push papers, not grade them. Certificated supervisors and administrators enjoyed a 28% pay hike per student over the five-year span. Pay for classified supervisors and administrators shot up 44% over that time. Merely holding total 2007-2008 school spending growth — excluding teacher pay and capital outlays — to per capita income growth would have freed up $1.8 billion to pay for more than 22,000 teachers. L.A. Unified, the mammoth, much-maligned school district, has the highest per-student spending at $13,732 of the 52 districts covered. But it spends just 41% of those funds on teachers, one of the lowest shares. Oakland Unified, No. 2 in the study for per-pupil spending at $12,946, allots just 35% on teachers. Compare that to the Temecula Valley district, in the desert country east of L.A., which spends 62% of its $7,665 per-pupil budget on teachers. So, despite spending nearly $5,300 more per student, Oakland actually spends less on teachers ($4,531 per pupil) than Temecula ($4,752). Study after study haves failed to show a correlation between school spending and test scores. The way L.A. and Oakland spend their budgets may offer one reason why. In any case, the Pepperdine study shows the huge savings possible from paring back on administrators, supervisors and other non-classroom spending, especially for the largest, most expensive and worst-performing districts. Ghetto charter school places fifth in California on standardized tests – it can be done http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2557104/posts NEA celebrates ‘drag queen’ teachers http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=1088280 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2553015/posts The National Education Association (NEA) continues to alienate more and more of its conservative constituents as the organization showed its liberal leanings at its 2010 national convention. At this year's meeting in New Orleans, the largest professional organization and labor union in the U.S. recognized a new caucus: the NEA Drag Queen Caucus. (See list of recognized NEA caucuses [PDF]) "They already have had the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, [and] Transgender Caucus and apparently felt that the drag queens needed their own caucus," explains Finn Laursen, executive director of Christian Educators Association International (CEAI). http://capoliticalnews.com/blog_post/show/5583 School district rehired workers it paid to leave, again San Diego Unified offered a years salary in the form of a Golden Handshake to over 1,000 school employees. They rehired one third of them back as temps. Rescuing our Kids from Karl Marx (its long, I didn’t read it) http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/opinion/steve-farrell/3891-rescuing-our-kidsa-country-from-karl-marx Nickelodeon Game Site lets kids play at trying to look up skirt of ‘naughty’ cartoon teachers. AddictingGames.com, linked to Nickelodeon has games like “Naughty Babysitter,” Boody Rider,” and “You da Sperm!” http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2534481/posts * http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/09/la-teachers-students-arizona-protest-road-trip/ Fox News, my notes: Some LA Teachers took some students to Arizona to protest laws. At the gathering place was a wall-to-wall mural with Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, a boldly displayed motto “Patria o Muerte, Venceremos” (Fatherland or Death, We Shall Overcome), that motto was popularized by Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution and has been used by Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia. Ron Gochez was there. http://uniondelbarrio.org/laverdad/ In the uniondelbarrio hall, teachers Jose Lara and Ron Gochez of the LA Unified School District’s Santee Education Complex were joined by Clare Martinet of Garfield High School. School spokeshoe Robert Alaniz declined to comment. LA Teachers and students travel to Arizona to protest laws, Ron Gochez joined them http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/09/la-teachers-students-arizona-protest-road-trip/ LAUSD to indoctrinate our children for open borders June 5, 2010 http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/06/05/l-a-unified-school-district-to-commenceindoctri-cation-against-arizona-immigration-law/ Calif bill would block Texas textbook changes May 16, 2010 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/16/calif-bill-would-block-texas-textbookchanges/ Under Yee’s bill, SB1451, the California Board of Education would be required to look out for any of the Texas content as part of its standard practice of reviewing public school textbooks. The board must then report any findings to both the legislature and the secretary of education. The bill describes the Texas curriculum changes as a sharp departure from widely accepted historical teachings and a threat to the apolitical nature of public school governance and academic content standards in California. LAUSD students to be taught that Arizona immigration law is un-American Fox Report Free Republic Fox News, June 2, 2010, LAUSD students to be taught that Arizona immigration law is unAmerican. The school district resolution also opposed another new Arizona law that bans schools form teaching classes that promote the overthrow of the government or advocate ethnic solidarity. “We need to do everything in our power to help our students be global citizens…” Board Vice President Yolie Flores “It is a sad day in America when the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution are trampled upon under the color of law and authority”, Martinez http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/02/la-school-district-teaches-az-law-is-un-american/? test=latestnews Redlands Daily Facts http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/sanbernardinocounty/ci_15200959 Labor spends big in state’s elections California public employee unions have spent $212 million in past decade influencing public policy with California Teachers Association (CTA) topping the list. CTA contributed $6.5 million to the Dems in the last decade. The California Labor Federation consists of 2.1 million members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the California Federation of Teachers, the California Nurses Association, and the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. A recent state-backed study by researchers at Stanford University announced that public pension funds, for state employees and teachers are upside down by half a trillion dollars – or six times the size of the entire state budget. Whitman said “The biggest problem we have today is the unfunded pension liability”, “That number is $182 billion. Each family is effectively on the hook for $15,000 to pay this unfunded pension liability.” Ron Gochez, a LAUSD high school teacher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iybaDyMr1rs Rally at UCLA in Defense of La Raza www.uniondelbarrio.org “A revolutionary Mexican Organization”…” This is not just about Mexico, this is about a global struggle against imperialism and capitalism. But we know that where we now stand is stolen occupied Mexico. And the message that we bring if you want to bring a little bit more of a revolutionary context to this, why is it that these people? These frail racist white people want to keep us out of this country. It’s not simply because of the color of our skin, it’s not simply because they just want to exploit us, let me tell you why. Because on this planet right now, 6 billion people at the forefront of the revolutionary movement is La Raza.”… …”We have a long history and example of our comondante Fidel Castro Ruiz, Caesar Hugo Chaves, Eduardo Morales, we got Brazil, Equator, you name it, we are nine, nine ??? governments in Latin America right now, and they know something that a one young Argentine cockroach said, it was called a domino theory, and he knew that every single country would go revolutionary. One after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other.” “So what do they fear? They know that every single country, they know that we no longer will fall for these lies called borders, they know that a Salvadorian, that a Guatemalan and a Nicaraguan and a Mexicano, there is no damn difference, we are all one people. So with that in mind, we see our selves, all of us here, as the Northern front of a Latin American revolutionary movement. There are more than 40 million of our people north of the Rio Grande. That means to them there is 40 million revolutionaries north of the border inside the belly of the beast. So when you think about why do they want to kick us of all people out, that’s why”. “They know that we now know the truth. They know that we are La Raza, we’re professionals, we are educators, we are revolutionary students, what does that mean? We are just a regular culture anymore, we are a culture of revolutionary spirit. And that’s the fear.” “So with that being said, I want to leave you with this, as a revolutionary and with revolutionary context, let us be clear about one thing, our enemy is not the minutemen, quote me, our enemy is not the minutemen, because the minutemen are not the ones who have killed over four thousand, six hundred people at those borders, our enemy is the same enemy as Hugo Chaves, that Hugo Chaves has, our enemy is the same enemy that keeps Africa poor, our enemy is the same enemy that keeps Asia poor, Our enemy is capitalism, imperialism.” “And I’ll finish with this, I’ll finish with this to respect the time. If we are serious about making CHANGE, if you are serious about making CHANGE, let me tell you, the struggle will go on for many more years after we leave UCLA. Reading a book or writing a book, or teaching a class, that is not, that is not part of the movement. What you do 24 hours a day as a professional revolutionary, that is what is going to lead our people and our people to liberation. Viva La Raza.” This was the reply from LAUSD: This response is being sent to you as a result of your recent comments to the Los Angeles Unified school District. Thank you for your comments regarding the personal activities of one our teachers. Let me assure you that we have reviewed the videotape extensively for any violations of District policy and we have come to the following conclusions: · The videotape was made at a public meeting that took place three years ago. · The teacher was apparently exercising his right to freedom of speech provided to him as a guarantee under the Constitution of the United States of America. · The activity took place at a non LAUSD site (UCLA). · Given that the video is three years old we have no way of determining whether the student referred to in the video was an actual student or former student of the teacher. · The teacher in question was participating on his personal time and the views he expressed during the gathering were his own and do not represent the opinions and views of the District. · There appears to be no direct violation of District policy. Additionally, the teacher’s rights for political activity are protected under our bargaining agreement with the United Teachers of Los Angeles (please see below): ARTICLE VII NON-DISCRIMINATION 1.0 Pursuant to applicable Federal and State laws, the District and UTLA agree not to discriminate against any employee based upon race, color, religion, creed, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or political or UTLA affiliation, and to have due regard for employees' privacy and constitutional rights as citizens. Consequently it has been determined by our legal department that any punitive actions taken against this teacher for conducting his personal activities on his own time and under the given circumstances would be a violation of his Constitutional rights and our bargaining agreement. As to the issue of the lessons taught in the classroom by this teacher, Mr. Gochez, like many LAUSD teachers, is required to submit a lesson plan to his principal in advance and his course work is consistently monitored to ensure that he adheres his proposed lesson plan. We thank you for your concern and comments on this matter and assure you that we will continue to monitor this situation closely to ensure that District policies are maintained and adhered to by all District staff. Please do not reply to this email as this email box is not set up to accept replies. thank you. 100527 NEA’s Bob Chanin, teachers are for union power, not kids 100527 National Education Association, teachers are for power 100526 Minnesota teachers to protest Tea Party 100524 California’s progressives battle Texas textbooks 100522 Texas Texas http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/split-board-gives-final-ok-to-social-studies702611.html?viewAsSinglePage=true Some of the social studies curriculum changes The State Board of Education considered hundreds of changes in the social studies, history and economics curriculum over the past five months. Here is a sampling of what it did: Required high school students to examine ‘how economic freedom improved the human condition ... compared to communist command communities.' Required students to evaluate efforts by global organizations such as the United Nations to undermine U.S. sovereignty. Strengthened requirements on teaching the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's founders. Changed references to the U.S. government as a ‘constitutional republic' rather than ‘democratic.' Required students to study the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar, including the abandonment of the gold standard. Added language heralding ‘American exceptionalism' and the U.S. free enterprise system, suggesting it thrives best without excessive government intervention. Added Thomas Jefferson back into a list of influential political thinkers in the high school world history standards. Rejected language to modernize the classification of historic periods to B.C.E. and C.E. from the traditional B.C. and A.D. Added language that would require students to discuss the solvency of ‘long-term entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare.' Removed a suggestion that students learn about hip-hop as an example of a significant social movement. Deleted a requirement that sociology students ‘explain how institutional racism is evident in American society.' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7750458/Biblical-valuesand-Confederates-promoted-in-Texas-textbook-revisions.html Telegraph, Tom Leonard, May 21,2010 Texas…the board approved a proposal to make students consider the political views of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, alongside those of Abraham Lincoln. Board members said it should be made clear the American Civil War was fought principally over states' rights rather than slavery - though the group did drop a plan to refer to the slave trade as the "Atlantic triangular trade". Other changes water down criticism of Senator Joe McCarthy's anti-communist witchhunt in the 1950s and portray the UN's funding for international humanitarian relief and environmental initiatives as threats to individual freedom and US sovereignty. Students will be required to study conservative organisations and movements such as the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association. Ronald Reagan has been added to a list of "great Americans", while country music, but not hip hop, can be described as an important cultural movement. The board's five Democrats put up little resistance to the changes before a main vote on Thursday night but drew the line at a Republican call for President Barack Obama to be included in the curriculum using his controversial second name of Hussein. Last year, conservatives on the same board changed the science curriculum to downplay the teaching of evolution and the Big Bang theory of the creation of the Universe. May 17, 2010 Free Republic, important facts about text books, allegations vs. facts in the Texas text books. Post 28. May 13, 2010 Paul Clifford, Portland middle school teacher, teaches hatred towards America. May 13, 2010 Teacher removed for standing up for America. May 13, 2010 Highland Park High School, officials are canceling a girls' basketball team trip to Arizona to protest that state's new anti-immigration law. May 13, 2010 Salina teacher calls this flag “offensive” Daily News LAUSD Administration Swells 20 Percent in 6 Years 2/20/09 http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10579906 LAUSD Headquarters is a 29 story office building downtown with an on-site dry-cleaning service. It houses 3,400 employees with another 3,200 more throughout the city. They did have 300 more administrators. There are nearly 900 schools and more than 650,000 students. The LAUSD bureaucracy ballooned nearly 20 percent from 2001 to 2007 while 500 teaching positions were cut and enrollment dropped 6 percent. Approximately 4,000 administrators average $95,000. About 2,400 administrators earn more than $100,000. The average salary for a teacher is $63,000. At the time of this writing the dropout rate was 33.6 percent. District administrators represented by unions grew from 2,100 to 2,600 in the last 7 years. Cortines admits that many administrators were pushed aside and kept their pay while the LAUSD hired others to do their jobs, doubling the costs. Marxist Professors SFGate http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? f=/n/a/2009/11/28/state/n211400S51.DTL&tsp=1 November 28, 2009 A professor at the University of California, San Diego says he has developed a cell phone too that aims to help Illegal immigrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Art professor and activist Ricardo Dominguez tells the North County Times on its Web site Saturday that the application he calls the Transborder Immigrant Tool uses globalpositioning technology to chart the best route for dangerous desert crossings. Authorities say hundreds die trying to cross the border each year, many lost or abandoned by guides. Dominguez says the tool's aim is to help save those lives. Border Patrol spokesman Mark Endicott says smugglers have used GPS devices before, and the tools won't affect the agency's enforcement. Dominguez says he hopes to make the application available for free on the Internet. ------------------------------------------------------------- WorldNetDaily November 29, 2009 Bob Unruh http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=117313 A program proposed at the University of Minnesota would result in required examinations of teacher candidates on “white privilege” as well as “remedial re-education” for those who hold the “wrong” views. At issue is the “myth of meritocracy” (progress based on ability and talent), “the history of demands for assimilation to white, middle-class, Christian meanings and values”, and the “history of white racism” The Delaware University’s office of residential life was caught requiring students to participate in a program that taught “all whites are racist”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt92L5z9_84 Mr. Latham, a high school teacher in Lawrence Kansas was told by the principal that he is too patriotic and was fired. On his web page he told students to love the American way of life and was told to remove that line. He also had this: I love history and government, so when you step into my class be ready to learn! More than you ever thought you would…and enjoy it too! I want you to love your country, live the experiences of those who came before—to truly love the American way of life—not just get caught up in grades. “Tim, you just don’t fit in here”. UTLA represents over 45,000 teachers in the LAUSD. Villaraigosa http://americanpatrol.com/CALIFORNIA/VILLARAIGOSA/VillaraigosaTribStory.html Dropped out of high school Organizer for UTLA President of local of the American Federation of Government Employees and the ACLU of southern California. Was chairman of MEChA chapter at UCLA Opponent of 187 (Cruz Bustamante was MEChA member) (Art Torres said “Remember, 187 is the last gasp of white America in California”.) Criticizing Latino leaders for their support to deny driver’s licenses to illegal aliens Villaraigosa said “They don’t belong in office, friends” “They don’t belong here”. prop 6 California Teachers Association spent $72,805, California SEIU spent $47,805, California Federation of Teachers spent $25,000 to defeat prop 6. It would have made it easier to punish gang-bangers and keep them out of public housing. http://socialismconference.org/speakers.php Sarah Knopp was a speaker at the “Socialism 2009” conference. Sarah Knopp is a high school teacher and rank-and-file activist in the United Teachers Los Angeles. She is also a member of the Green Party and The International Socialist Organization. She is involved in recent organizing against Californias education cuts and attacks on teachers and students in California. She is a frequent contributor to Socialist Worker and the International Socialist Review, including her recent article, Charter schools and the attack on public education. Big Hollywood has a current story about the History Channel introducing our children to socialism. http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/12/07/next-week-on-thehistory-channel-hollywood-stars-introduce-your-kids-to-marxism/ There is an imbedded Youtube video of Sarah Knopp in 2006. On a show called “The Tipping Point” she has a few remarks: When asked by a skank if capitalism is just one big ponzi scheme. “Well, yes and no. There has been 27 trillion dollars worth of wealth that has just been wiped out off of the world wide stock market since this crisis began. That money is just gone, it just poofed into the air, so the stock market has always just been a giant casino house for the rich, so in one sense it is just a giant ponzi scheme, in another sense it is totally real because it is a system that is destroying the planet, a system that is destroying peoples lives and it is going to be here until we do something else about it.” Asked by the skank, what is wrong with socialism? the fundamental thing about socialism is there should be economic democracy and workers should be able to make decisions about what happens in their workplaces and we should have economic control over our resources. Doctors and nurses should run hospitals, teachers should run schools along with parents, workers should run their factories. So I think most people would agree that that is not a bad idea at all. “Yeah, it is those kind of things, and also to me, We certainly can’t do any worse than the people who are running the stuff right now.” The skank asks if she is talking about putting a cap on CEO’s bonuses. “The one hundred million dollars that these AIG executives got as bonuses after they trashed our whole economy, if you would have taken that money and spread it out, that could have paid to save two thousand teachers jobs. I’m just talking about the bonuses that the CEO’s got, I’m not talking about the billions and billions of dollars that were handed out to AIG. So it doesn’t seem right that the people that are ruining the economy are the ones that are getting bailed out without any accountability. And the rest of us are suffering.” An old hippy asked her if corporations own the country. “Right now we have the rule of the minority. I saw a great Naomi Kline video called “The Take” and she showed in Argentina when they had an economic crises in 2001, the workers took over their suit factory in Buenos Aries and one of the workers said hey, we just took over the finances and started running it. It doesn’t seem so difficult, I don’t know why the capitalist had such a hard time when the boss couldn’t do this before, had to hire special accountants but I think the workers could do a better job.” Skank asks if capitalism and compassion are inherently opposite. “There are a lot of people that since we all live in capitalism we see a lot of compassion around you in the world today, if you look a hurricane Katrina and just the outpouring of compassion from people, but unfortunately the government and the economic people that control these things, since they control the resources, we don’t get to use the vast amount of resources that our government to really solve our problems, environment, environmental catastrophes, destruction like hurricane Katrina. So you see a lot of compassion from people but certainly not from the people that hold the purse strings.” Skank asks how to transcend capitalism. “You can look at the model of what change would look like at any strike. When this crises hit in the United States, one of the first things that happened was that some workers in Chicago in a factory called “Republic Windows and Doors”, their factory was going to be shut down and they were going to loose all their back pay and all of their pensions that were owed to them by the corporation, and so what they decided to do was occupy their factory until the company was forced to pay them what was due. That is just one tiny model of what democracy really should look like, what we all work together to produce the recourses of this society. Why can’t we make decisions together, collectively. To get there it is going to take a lot of struggle, it is going to take things like what the “Republic Windows and Doors” did, but there is no short cut, I don’t think, to getting there.” Skank asks if Obama is bailing out the system that is going to come back and bury us. “He certainly is doing some things that are what Bush did before him, my understanding is that in the stimulus package, about three hundred billion dollars really are going to stimulate health, education, provide jobs, that’s different than what Bush was doing. But by far greater sum of money was given out to corporations like AIG and banks that caused this crises, so for example the new plan to have, to buy up toxic assets from these banks, 85 percent of the money is going to come from the government and 15 percent is going to come from the private sector. Now if, when they buy the toxic assets, if they ever make money again, the profit is going to get privatized, and yet the risk is totally socialized. So I see Obama as being sort of socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest of us.” Old hippy asks if capitalist just cross borders to get as close to slave labor as possible. “I see globalization as an opportunity. If you think about a giant corporation like General Motors, the fact that they have plants all over the world now just means you have people, if there is a strike in Michigan, if there is a strike in Mexico, a smaller group of workers can actually shut down production across the spectrum.” Big Hollywood has a current story about the History Channel introducing our children to socialism. http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/12/07/next-week-on-thehistory-channel-hollywood-stars-introduce-your-kids-to-marxism/ There is an imbedded Youtube video of Sarah Knopp in 2006. Do you parents pay any attention to what these despicable teachers are teaching our kids? This woman hates capitalism, loves socialism, hates charter schools, loves illegal aliens and believes in a One World government. How many teachers are there like this in our school system? http://socialismconference.org/speakers.php Sarah Knopp was a speaker at the “Socialism 2009” conference. Sarah Knopp is a high school teacher and rank-and-file activist in the United Teachers Los Angeles. She is also a member of the Green Party and The International Socialist Organization. She is a frequent contributor to Socialist Worker and the International Socialist Review, including her recent article, Charter schools and the attack on public education. From the California Budget http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/BudgetSummary/SummaryCharts.pdf The 2009-10 income was (the 3 top sources): $46.6b from income tax $26b from sales tax $9.4b from corporation tax $88b Total Now where did that money go? $34.5b to K-12 $25b to Health and Human Services $10.5b to higher education $69b Total school Spending Leaves $19b for everything else. Now if you go to Greatschools.org http://www.greatschools.org/cgibin/ca/other/2059#students You will see that the state average for English Learners is 24%, and of English Learners 85% speak Spanish at home. Also note that 51% of the kids get a free lunch, they serve breakfast too. They can not afford $5 a week. So naturally our illustrious leaders want to protect the children of illegals at the expense of the elderly.