Educating young people is
crucial to the long term sustainability and survival of any culture, society or
nation. Without some process or system
for passing on information, skills and norms any group will fragment and
dissolve. Our children provide hope for
the future and represent an opportunity for progress and growth. This is why our ongoing debates around public
education are so important, and also so controversial and at times divisive. There are few issues that strike so close to
the heart of who we are, and what we stand for as individuals, and as citizens
of a larger community.
Education is one of those
issues that brings the conflict between individual rights and the needs of the
collective whole into focus. On one hand
education provides the knowledge and skills that can propel an individual to
great success, and substantial personal gain.
At the same time we, as an entire society, stand to profit or lose based
on the overall quality of education that all of our citizens receive. We have a vested interest as a society to
provide high quality education for every person in order to strengthen our
entire community. Yet, the self-interest
that is inherent in human nature can cause individuals to put their own needs
and wants ahead of the needs of the community.
These are the reasons why
public education is such an important resource, and the commitments that we
make to our public schools are a measuring stick of the sustainability of our
nation. Without a system of public
education that is accountable to, and accessible by, all people we will see
education become a commodity that is available only to those with enough wealth
and power to access it. Education
becomes just another means of dividing our population along different
demographic lines. It loses its strength
as a resource, and becomes a weapon not a tool, something to be controlled and
meted out to those deemed "deserving" by some relatively arbitrary
measure.
Our current conversations
around public education in Wisconsin
show many of these disturbing trends.
While they supposedly focus on issues of accessibility for all, and on
creating a higher quality system with increased accountability, when we look
deeper at the dialog around public schools and education we see other themes
emerge. The words are there, but the
deep underlying ideas are not. The
public officials who are supposed to be representing the people, are failing to
fulfill their responsibilities. Instead
of focusing on education and students, we see our elected leaders choosing to
emphasize assessments, false accountability, and attacking educators (and
vilifying their unions). Which raises
the question, who is really looking out for Wisconsin's students? Who should we be listening to, and who should
we trust when it comes to issues involving education? Should we be following the lead of
politicians, business leaders and supposed philanthropists, or should we listen to professional
educators, community activists, students and families?
Some of the loudest voices
in the current education debates are the least trustworthy and are seeking to
make changes for economic, political and/or personal reasons instead of looking
out for the good of the public. Their
perspective on education is shaped by a world view where the "bottom
line" occupies the highest status.
This world view looks at education as an "intellectual
luxury." According to this line of
thinking only those who can afford to pay for education themselves should
receive anything beyond the "basics" and taxpayers shouldn't be
"subsidizing intellectual curiosity."
While when this was articulated by Reagan his comments pertained to higher
education, we can see how those who followed him have let the philosophy
"trickle-down" to K-12 education as well.
On February 28, 1967, Gov. Ronald Reagan spoke of
"certain intellectual luxuries that perhaps we could do without."
Here's why liberal education has never recovered.
chronicle.com
There is a genuine
disrespect for education and a fundamental misrepresentation of just what
educators and students do on college campuses and in schools across our
state. Governor Walker holds Reagan in
high esteem, and his educational policies show this devotion. This results in policies that undermine over
100 years of progressive thinking in the Badger State. The current Republican "leadership"
is using rhetoric and false arguments to attempt to dismantle a truly world
class institution of higher learning.
When Walker
demeans UW faculty while cutting budgets to the bone, job offers from competing
institutions might look mighty inviting.
host.madison.com|By Cap Times
editorial
This Tuesday, news broke confirming the suspicions of many
throughout Wisconsin.
The University of
Wisconsin System’s budget
will be slashed by...
badgerherald.com
The bittersweet reality for a native Wisconsinite living in Minnesota (which I have
for more than 30 years now) is to rejoice with all the progress DFL Governor...
wisdomvoices.com
Higher education isn't the
only target of these educational profiteers.
In fact, while certainly higher profile the continuing assault on Wisconsin's K-12 public
education system will impact many more students and communities if implemented
as proposed. This legislation is crafted
by those outside the professional educational community and disregards the
voices of the communities impacted. The
electorate voted for candidates who are turning around and selling their
communities schools to the highest bidder.
Proposed legislation punishes
isthmus.com
The Superintendent of Public Instruction says proposals
would raise expectations on students but allow for lower-skilled teachers.
host.madison.com|By Todd D. Milewski
| The Capital Times
These elected officials
are quick to criticize the public schools, but should we really trust the words
of those who have given us the current system of "accountability" and
"reform" that have been so damaging to our students, communities,
schools and educators? While claiming to
be looking out for taxpayers, the current conservative majority has cut funding
for public schools and the results have been dramatic.
wispolitics.com
The continuing effort to
measure and assess the success of our students has resulted in a virtual storm
of tests that have buffeted students and educators while failing to provide any
meaningful data or change.
If the tests aren't funded during the budget process this
year, the state would have less than a year to roll out a new test by the
following spring to
host.madison.com|By Molly Beck |
Wisconsin State Journal
Instead of supporting
schools that can work for all students, we see efforts to expand a false choice
program that actually reverses any progress being made towards equity for all
students.
Charter schools are failing children of color and students
with disabilities.
alternet.org
It's nothing more than a slick ad campaign, disguised as
public service.
www.alternet.org
Educators are given
policies and procedures, but are not given the resources and support needed to
implement them. The combination of rhetoric
from the top and the lack of real support mean that the potentially positive
initiatives will either fail, or not achieve substantial success. This weakens staff morale, undermines
community confidence in the schools and allows high profile "leaders"
to continue their push to privatize our schools. Education is a labor intensive process, and
any socially just reforms will require extensive staffing, professional
development and communication with the public.
Well meaning policies will not succeed without these resources, and
those at the top levels of decision making are eliminating or reducing what is
available to local schools.
Misbehave, get punished. That pretty much sums up the
approach to “disciplining” students that educators through the decades have
taken in schools and classrooms. The most extreme form of this law-and-order
strategy is zero...
www.rethinkingschools.org
Is Response to Intervention (RTI) being used to deprive
needy students of special education services?
livingindialogue.com
Even the language that is
used by our "leaders" causes harm and has infiltrated the dialog
around public schools. Calling schools
"failing" only continues to undermine the trust that the public has
in our educators and school systems.
Schools would have seven years to boost scores, but
opponents say plan favors for-profit education
america.aljazeera.com
madisonmagazine.com
Assistant principal: " Is anyone in Silicon
Valley paying for their own office supplies? I can assure you they
are not."
washingtonpost.com
In the end we need to
remember that public schools are just that, public. The recent
"public" hearings and legislative "debate" in Madison
demonstrate that our elected officials have forgotten this. While members of the public waited to testify
we saw legislators, lobbyists and other well connected individuals speak. Our, completely Republican controlled,
governmental bodies are, at best, paying lip-service to the democratic and
progressive traditions of our state.
Yet, it is clear that they have no intention of really listening to
those who are truly in the know when it comes to our public schools and those
who rely on them.
January 27, 2015 - At a public hearing SB1, Heather DuBois
Bourenane calls out the legislators for a cynical attempt to dismantle the
pubic education system ...
youtube.com
The Wisconsin conservatives’ public school privatization
bill has already passed the Assembly....
jsonline.com|By Jennifer Epps-Addison
In order to gain the
status that professional educators, activists, students and families should
occupy in our public system of education we need to begin to work to make our
voices heard. Persistence is vital to our
efforts. Public statements demonstrate
the concern that we have for our schools.
Working within the system is important for the credibility of the
educational resistance movement. At the
same time we must also act in ways that will directly impact the current
conditions for our students. Changing
the system through the legislative and policy making process will take
time. Other actions can help to speed
the process along.
At a national conference this month, advocates and parents
strategized on getting more people involved in the growing practice of
"test refusal."
edweek.org
Teacher Julianna Kreuger Dauble's statement of professional
conscience, declaring that she will no longer administer standardized tests to
her students.
livingindialogue.com
Along the way we need to
make it clear just who is really looking out for all students. We should be trusting those who have made a
personal commitment to students and schools.
Education isn't, and shouldn't be, a business. Education is a resource, an unlimited one,
that should be accessible and available to all.
As citizens we are all responsible for making sure that it occupies its place as a
cornerstone of our democratic society.
The
Good, The Bad and
The
Ugly. . .
The Good . . . While the present labor climate may appear bleak, it is important to
remember a few things about workers, organizing, economics and history. Workers have always sought to improve their
wages, benefits and working conditions.
Over time it becomes clear that organizing and collective action are the
best ways to advance the cause of labor.
These organizing efforts intensify in periods of inequity and are very
powerful forces that achieve great things, even against tremendous
opposition. Putting all this together
gives us hope for the future of organized labor, here and across the
nation.
The release of today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics annual
union membership report, according to a statement by AFL-CIO President Richard
Trumka, shows...
bluenationreview.com
A very practical reason to
unionize.
On average, union members make $207 more dollars a week than
non-union workers. That’s $10,000 more each year, according to the latest
report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
www.afscme.org
The Bad . . . Unfortunately, neither facts nor logic are enough to change some
politician's stances on important issues.
What is worrisome is that these "leaders" are able to put
their views forward in ways that don't allow for real discussion and debate to
occur. Too many of our citizens get all
their information from biased sources and are not exposed to views that are
different from their existing biases.
Don't confuse them with the science.
motherjones.com
After growing up in a small conservative town, I’m used to
hearing casual complaints about free-riders and government overreach. They are
important...
badgerherald.com
Dr. Robert Bruno, professor of labor and employment
relations at the University
of Illinois, said studies
have shown the promises of job growth under so-called...
chicago.cbslocal.com
The Ugly . . . The lack of unbiased information becomes a tool for politicians who
are willing to use fear and anger to gain political power. Wisconsin
has become a poster state for this division and we have seen the strategy play
out in our last few gubernatorial and supreme court races. Now, Governor Walker is preparing to move his
"divide and conquer" strategy to the national stage.
By the somewhat tamer standards of the Midwest,
Scott Walker’s speech to the Iowa Freedom Summit last Saturday was a
smorgasbord of red meat. In just 20...
slate.com
This past weekend in Iowa,
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker rolled out one his favorite talking points: The
story of how Wisconsin's 2010 "outstanding teacher...
Uppity Wisconsin
The Wisconsin governor
concedes nothing to his critics, and Republican voters are embracing his
message.
theatlantic.com|By Peter Beinart
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