What Does Proposition 32 Do?

CTA won't tell you.  They spend plenty on radio ads telling us how bad it is, they have this lengthy article in the recent mouthpiece rag, but in their ads and in this article they never get around to telling us what Prop 32 does or why it's bad.

Trust them.  They know what's best for you. 

Besides, you're probably too stupid to think for yourself, right?  You can't handle the truth.

This is how the union that many of you pay hundreds of dollars a year to thinks of you.

(In fairness, there is some information about the proposition in the sidebar, but it's highly slanted information.)

Red Meat

I have the May 2012 issue of California Educator, mouthpiece rag of the California Teachers Association, and it's full of--I know what you thought I was going to say!--it's full of all the leftie tripe you'd expect from a labor union.

What amazes me, though, is the total lack of intellectual effort that goes into it.  It's nothing but vapid thoughts augmented by angry words, without a shred of logic, of reason, if intelligence added.  So instead of taking the magazine apart piece by piece, I'm going to direct your attention to only one item, a 2-page poster you can "post...in your classroom, worksite, or wherever you think it important to share our opposition to the Corporate Power Grab."  To find this poster, click here to get to the digital version of the magazine and then scroll through the pages until you get to pp 21-22.

Go look at the poster.  Look at in in detail, then come back.  I'll wait.  :-)

Great, welcome back.  I only have one question for you--what is this poster about?  "It's about the Corporate Power Grab Initiative", you might say.  But what is that? Its actual name, mentioned in the smallest font on the poster, is the "Stop Special Interest Money Now Act".  What does this act do?  Why does CTA oppose it?  What makes it so heinous that I should hang up this poster in my classroom--where I don't have very many students of voting age?

This poster doesn't tell us anything.  I look on the pages immediately before and immediately after the poster, hoping in vain that there will be some explanation there about what exactly this act says and why it's so bad.  But there's nothing.

I'll bet I could ask every teacher at my school about this poster, and not one of them would be able to tell me about the act in question, but most of them will vote against it because the CTA tells them to.

That poster is the intellectual equivalent of a temper tantrum.  It's nothing more than red meat, designed to inspire a thoughtless feeding frenzy.

And it's directed at college-educated people, who will no doubt devour it--at least the CTA thinks and hopes they'll devour it.  If that isn't a sad commentary on both teachers and their union, I don't know what is.

Update, 5/28/12:  Is it even legal to post such things in a classroom?  

Can't They Make Up Their Minds?

One thing I often hear from "education progressives" is that teachers should lecture less, involve their students more. To use the cheesy rhyme, teachers should be a "guide on the side, not a sage on the stage".

So I turn to page 15 of the February issue of California Educator, and what do I find listed as a "pitfall" of online learning--complete with a "thumbs down" graphic? "Makes the teacher less a lecturer and more a 'guide' helping students navigate online courses."

So the CTA thinks good teachers should lecture more? Who knew?!

But wait, it gets better. Turn to pages 16-17 and read about great teachers who conduct online classes! "Virtual schools still need real teachers and structure". Looks to me like CTA's trying to have it both ways on this issue--it's a bad practice, but with great teachers :-)

I Will Not Be Volunteering For This Training

Two months ago I told you about a bill working its way through the halls of the Capitol, a bill that would allow--well, just reread that post here. It's now the law in California:

Authorizes a school district to provide school employees with voluntary training in rendering emergency medical assistance to pupils with epilepsy suffering from seizures, including rectal administration of Diastat; and allows a parent of a pupil with epilepsy to request the school to have an employee receive the training if the pupil suffers a seizure when a nurse is not available.

Again, my fear is that this will eventually become mandatory training. I most certainly will not volunteer for this.

You've Got To Love The Hypocrisy Here

Gotta love it when CTA complains about "tax fairness", or the lack thereof:

California has the second-highest foreclosure rate and the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation behind Nevada. There are 2.2 million unemployed people in California — 12.1 percent of the population — many of whom have exhausted their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits months ago. Due to the housing crisis and unemployment, California has the highest rate of small business failures, ranks 40th in the nation in child homelessness, and has 2.2 million children living in poverty. According to a report from the Center for American Progress, California is among the three top states seeing an increase in hunger due to the recession. Our state has the eighth-largest economy in the world, but ranks 43rd in per-pupil education spending. Our schools have undergone unprecedented cuts and layoffs in recent years.

Just for giggles, which political party has run California for most of my life? And which political party does over 90% of CTA's political donations go to?

Just sayin'.

But wait, it gets better:

Joining a groundswell of support from fellow unions, community leaders and students throughout the country, CTA proudly supports the Occupy Wall Street movement, which is in favor of tax fairness and against corporate greed.

This from an organization that doesn't produce anything, that legally compels and extorts money from teachers who don't want to pay them, and that doesn't pay any taxes at all on that money.

I've said it too many times to count: consistency is not a strong suit of the left.

Nothing To Do With The Teachers Union, But It's A Great Story

I enjoyed this story in the October issue of California Educator:

Want the latest news about your school district right on your smartphone? Now there’s an “app” for that — at least in one Bay Area school district, thanks to the inventiveness of two high school students.

The Fremont Unified School District students have created the first iPhone application for a school district in California. Andrew Han and Sumukh Sridhara, both seniors at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, came up with the idea and ran with it, says Han’s journalism teacher at the high school, Sandra Cohen.

The best part of the story is that it comes with no union whining or cheerleading.

The "Pension Truth Squad"

Do they address the "unsustainability" of the current model? I doubt it would fit the narrative, but it's an important part of the discussion, don't you think?

With attacks against public pensions escalating, a cadre of retired CTA members is joining forces with Pension Truth Squads that have been barnstorming the state.

Retired teachers in San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Chico, San Luis Obispo, Riverside and Palm Springs have shared their stories and brought the truth to the public about their retirement plans. They are not alone in fighting back. They join a coalition of retired school employees, firefighters, police and other public employees who are out to set the record straight on public employee retirement.

They are making it known that their pensions are modest — not the six-figure incomes that those who would undo the public employee pension system suggest.

“We would like to dispel some of the myths about public employee pensions,” said Alen Ritchie, a retired Redlands music teacher, who spoke at an event in Riverside in May. “Teachers do not go into the profession for money, but we do deserve a livable retirement.”

I love the "editor's note" at the end of the article:

EDITOR’S NOTE: At press time, Secretary of State Deborah Bowen gave the go-ahead for signature-gathering to begin on three antiunion initiatives. One would increase the retirement age for public employees to 65, one would increase the income tax on pensions in excess of $100,000 to 15 percent and higher, and another would eliminate bargaining rights for public employee unions altogether.

1. How is increasing the retirement age for public employees "anti-union"?
2. Don't liberals believe that "the rich", perhaps those making 100K or more, should pay more? And doesn't mentioning a 100K pension undercut the article, which discusses "modest" pensions and "liveable" retirement income?

Maybe this lack of logic in CTA articles comes from a dearth of math and science knowledge :-) (see this post from a few minutes ago to be in on the joke)

Let's Play "Spot The Bias"

There's a hilarious article in the September California Educator regarding redistricting and the possibility that it "could bring more funding to schools". Check out the final sentence of this paragraph:

Redistricting could have significant implications for the state budget process. If the results of the 2012 elections create a new supermajority in the Legislature, it might be possible to raise new state revenues on a simple majority vote. Current law allows the Legislature to approve a state budget on a simple majority vote, but raising new state revenues still requires a two-thirds supermajority of both houses of the Legislature. During the 2011 budget stalemate, the state was held in the grip of a small group of anti-tax lawmakers whose votes were needed to approve any new revenues or change in the tax structure. As a result, the governor and legislators were forced to balance the state budget with massive cuts and deferrals. Although they tried hard to spare education, school funding has been cut by more than $18 billion over the past three years. To restore funding for schools and to boost appropriations to the level they were during Gov. Reagan’s term, Californians will need to elect more centrist lawmakers willing to support revenue increases and tax fairness.

When has CTA ever been interested in "centrist" lawmakers? These people have no shame.

Where Does This Problem Lie?

It's that time of year again, boys and girls--time to get California Educator magazine, the mouthpiece rag of the California Teachers "Association", and to pick apart its silliness. Take this article for instance:

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know science education is becoming extinct in California’s schools, producing a negative impact on society. It’s a domino effect: Science gets short shrift in elementary schools that focus mostly on English and math due to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements. Students enter secondary school lacking a foundation in science, and their classes emphasize rote memorization instead of hands-on learning. With schools unable to afford materials for science labs, students think science is boring and pursue careers in other fields. Without a new generation of scientists, America loses its edge in creating new technology, finding cures for diseases and improving the overall quality of life.

I'm not sure when the "Golden Age" of elementary science education was, but there is definitely some interesting silliness in the above paragraph. First, of course, is tossing the blame at NCLB, to which I'll return in a moment. The next, though, is the emphasis on "rote memorization"; I ask, why aren't these teachers, professionals that they are, doing more than rote memorization? Do they really need Bill Nye The Science Guy setups before they can teach? And when did elementary school teachers, notorious for not wanting even to teach math, become the chemists and biologists of our age?

Sorry, I'm not buying it.

Now let's return to the Big Bugaboo, NCLB. Because of its emphasis on English and math (as if you could do science without either), science instruction is supposedly getting short shrift. But California Educator is a California publication about California schools--don't our state standards include elementary science? Why, yes they do! From what I can determine, science is tested by the state in grades 5 and 8-11, but there are standards that are supposed to be met in all grades. Is California Educator, and by extension the CTA, saying that California's professional teaching corps is focusing only on what's tested, and is not meeting all its responsibilities when it comes to teaching the required curriculum?

That's a big admission. What's the real problem here? Are school administrators forbidding the teaching of science?

Flip, Flop, Flip, Flop, But Some Things Never Change

In June we're told about a Doomsday school budget scenario:

Recent events have exacerbated the school funding budget crisis.

During a frenetic week in mid-June, Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislators joined CTA members in trying to persuade four Republicans — two in the Senate and two in the Assembly — to help them pass the tax extensions on the required two-thirds vote. Without that support, the Democrats crafted a budget that used a variety of methods — including the reinstitution of a deferral of about $3 billion in education funding — to bridge the gap.

Now that the budget's been passed, let's see what the CTA has to say about it:

While this new State Budget plan is far from what our schools and colleges need to provide all students a quality education, it protects them from much worse cuts and will help local school districts and colleges plan for the coming year. The proposal defers nearly $3 billion in funding to K-14 schools and cuts $300 million from higher education. This year as thousands of educators were laid off, class sizes pushed higher, the school year shortened, student programs eliminated, and college tuition fees increased, Republican lawmakers simply watched and offered no honest solutions that would even maintain California’s current level of funding to public education. (boldface mine--Darren)

It's always the Republicans' fault, even in a legislature overwhelmingly Democratic. Amazing. But I guess it's good to know that there are some constants in the universe.

But wait, look at the tone. This budget is "far from what...(we)...need", but it protects us from much worse cuts. Odd, that doesn't sound like Doomsday, but it's exactly the budget mentioned in the first link above! You'd almost think the CTA wasn't being entirely honest, that it was just saying things to score political points, wouldn't you?

Breaking News! CTA Recognizes That Republican Teachers Exist!

It's the end of June, a good time to receive the June issue of the CTA mouthpiece rag, California Educator. Let's look on page 29, and see what's going on with that most mysterious and never-seen species, the Republican Teacher:

Fed up with stonewalling by GOP leaders and the failure of the Legislature to approve tax extensions, several Republican teachers from the Central Valley turned out on June 9 to urge their lawmakers to do the right thing for schools, students and California by approving tax extensions to prevent deeper cuts to education.

The teachers, all prominent in the Republican Party and active in CTA’s Republican Caucus, particularly took aim at two local Republican legislators during a news conference at the Visalia Adult School.

I don't know how people can fall for this story line. Democrats have overwhelming majorities in both houses of the legislature and now a full-on Democrat (as opposed to a Democrat-lite) in the governor's office. How is it that Republicans are responsible for getting a budget passed on time? How is it that Republicans are preventing anything from getting done?

The answer is: they're not. The Democrats need only two Republican votes in each house of the legislature for a supermajority, and the Republicans are standing in lockstep. The Dems don't need Republican votes to pass a budget, they need 2 Republican votes to reach the 2/3 majority needed to raise taxes--this is what the Republicans are denying them. And shame on the teachers mentioned above, who are looking out for their own short-term self-interest. I look out for my own long-term self-interest as well as the state as a whole, recognizing that I won't have the retirement I've been promised if this state isn't solvent and on a strong financial footing.

How can you know what I'm telling you is true? Why should you believe what I say? What proof can I offer you? This, from the major Sacramento newspaper:

Gov. Jerry Brown said for months that he could broker a bipartisan budget deal.

By agreeing to a majority-vote budget, passed by Democrats in the Legislature on Tuesday, he conceded he could not...

"We can't sit here until we're covered in cobwebs waiting for them (Republicans) to be reasonable," Duran (the governor's spokesman) said Tuesday. "He's doing his job. He did his best to broker a bipartisan deal, but instead he had to find a way to wade through the dysfunction and get a budget on time."

Republicans are not the problem in this state.

Not Quite Getting The Idea

What is the purpose of a teacher's union? If they were voluntary, I'd say they can have any purpose they want. But in a state like California, wherein I'm required by law to financially support a union even though I'm not a member, the purpose (and legitimate activities) of a teachers union would be very clear and delineated: to support improvements in Darren's pay, benefits, and working conditions.

This teacher, in a letter to the editor on p. 6 of the CTA's mouthpiece rag, doesn't get it:

I am frankly puzzled that some of our members still do not appreciate the very simple (almost simplistic) fact that there is no us/union without our students, the people about whom we dare to write occasional cover stories. We are fighting as a union, from our local chapters all the way to the national (NEA) level, to keep our students in our public schools for a more equitable and well-rounded educational and human experience.

If that's true, why is the union entitled to my money? They're entitled to it by law because the union is supposed to be looking out for my interests, not students'. I should not be compelled to furnish money to an organization devoted to looking after students' interests. It is this teacher and her beliefs that are "simple (almost simplistic)"--in fact, they're dead wrong.

Recent Issues of California Educator Magazine

My February issue was delivered to the wrong address, and I only received it perhaps a week and a half ago. I received the March issue yesterday.

I've said repeatedly that when a union is legally entitled to my money, as they are in California, they should be legally limited in what they can do with it; they should be required to focus only on member pay, benefits, and working conditions. I would not have near as much disgust with the CTA and NEA if they had to adhere to such strictures.

If you've read other recent posts here at RotLC you're aware that California is in a little bit of a budget pickle--we blow too much money on social engineering, we run businesses out of the state, and we tax the remaining businesses and people at rates higher than just about any other state in the union. Education is going to take a big hit in the upcoming budget, and if certain tax extensions don't pass, it's going to take an even bigger hit. I would say that's a pretty big deal and will definitely have an impact on my pay, benefits, and working conditions.

So what are the cover stories for the last two issues of the union mouthpiece rag? February's is about successful support for new teachers (won't be any of those next year anyway, after all these budget cuts and pink slips) and March's is about school programs for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students.

Looking at the table of contents in each magazine, the first reference I see to budget cuts or education funding is on page 34 of the February issue and page 32 of the March issue.

Remember, these people are entitled, by law, to my money, ostensibly so they can "represent" me before my employer.

Right Twice A Day

A stopped analog clock is right twice a day, and the CTA is right just as infrequently. Still, when they're right I don't mind acknowledging that, and sometimes in their mouthpiece rag they publish articles that merit praise. The most recent (January 2011) issue, which I've blasted in a few previous posts, contains a series of articles on teachers who are doing great and wonderful things, and this series merits my praise. I'd like to highlight two of the teachers. I may eventually link to the actual pages at CTA's web site, but since I'm having difficulty getting their pages to load (perhaps the RotLC deities are trying to prevent my blasphemy!) I'll just link to the digital version of the hardcopy magazine and tell you what pages to turn to. :-)

One teacher is "Dr. Raja" (see p. 11 of the magazine), who teaches at a local, uh, "not a high-end community" high school:

"His solution to students (sic) failing to understand math included developing a system called CREATE that uses repetition to teach concepts, staying active in class, immediate rewards for success, and employing tough love when students are slacking.

"Dr. Raja believes that learning has to happen in class. He doesn't follow textbooks, assign homework or spend lots of time lecturing to his students. Without homework, he finds students are more willing to pay attention in class. If they have trouble, he will tutor them at lunch or after school...Mostly, Dr. Raja gives them what students of this generation crave--immediate rewards."

There's more detail, but it's nice to read about a teacher who's reaching students.

Another story that really struck a nerve with me was about Kimber Wilkinson, a special ed teacher (see p. 14 of the magazine) who helps her students find and get employment:

"Wilkinson drives Garcia to other stores where she's already applied, to remind employers she's still interested. Sometimes Wilkinson accompanies her inside the business establishment, and other times she waits in the car and lets Garcia go solo. She helped Garcia put a resume together, assisted with online job applications, and conducted 'mock interviews' so Garcia is ready to answer tough questions. Wilkinson also talked with Garcia about grooming, hygiene, and how to exude an air of confidence...

"The students Wilkinson works with have disabilities including autism, Asperger's syndrome, mental retardation and emotional disturbance. Even in a good economy, it would be difficult for some of them to find employment. But despite these barriers, Wilkinson estimates she has found jobs for 60 students ages 16-22 over the past few years...

"Mostly, says Wilkinson, she is teaching her students the art of 'self-advocacy'...."

Hats off to these two teachers, true inspirations.

Update, 1/11/11: Here's the link for the article on Dr. Raja, and here's the link for the article on Kimber Wilkinson.

Rabid Partisanship

Do you need a better example than this one?

At the first meeting in Sacramento, budget experts sketched out how the state’s unprecedented economic downturn was exacerbated by elected officials’ inopportune decisions. These decisions include outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first action in office, the slashing of the vehicle license fee, something experts had warned would cost the state billions over a few short years.

Did you get that? The reason California's in such deep crap is primarily because of the reduction in the vehicle license fee. Had Schwarzenegger not lowered that fee, everything would be hunky-dory. What other conclusion could one reasonably draw from this paragraph, quoted from the mouthpiece rag of the California Teachers Association?

California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Its Projected Rate of Return

California Educator Magazine, mouthpiece rag of the CTA, interviewed two CalSTRS officials about the "state of the retirement fund". My favorite quote is this one:

Will lowering the rate of return mean that teachers inevitably contribute more?

Ed Derman: The lawyers who have reviewed this for CalSTRS have concluded that the contribution rates charged to existing members cannot be increased to pay for the benefits that are already in place. Therefore, existing teachers would not be called upon to contribute more to pay for the liabilities associated with the current benefit plan. Higher contributions can be imposed on new teachers, however, as well as employers and the state. If the rates don't change at all, CalSTRS will eventually deplete the trust fund and retirement costs would fall entirely to the state. The rates will need to go up for new members, because none of us can expect investment returns to generate a double-digit return for the next two decades. However, only the Legislature can increase contribution rates.

There have been proposals for years for teachers, districts, and states all to kick in a little bit more in order to stabilize the fund; the legislature would have to approve this, as CalSTRS officials cannot do so unilaterally.

Remember back when we were being told how rosy everything was with STRS? How could it have been, given this:

What is the amount of the unfunded liability?

Ed Derman: We won't know the current unfunded liability until we complete the valuation — a snapshot of the health of the system — in the spring of 2011. If the new, reduced investment return assumption had been applied to the last valuation, it would have increased the unfunded liability from $41 billion to $45 billion. CalSTRS is currently funded at the level it was funded in 1990.

Since I'm sure no one's been lying, I'll have to try to come up with some other explanation.

Obfuscation of the Highest Order

Let's read what Ole Si Se Puede has to say about McKinley Elementary, the first school in California whose parents have chosen to implement the "parent trigger law" and turn the school into a charter school:

McKinley is actually a school that is a perfect example of how educational change can work when teachers, administrators and parents work together to best meet the needs of students. Although the Parent Revolution was able to target McKinley Elementary because it has not met the statewide API target of 800 out of 1,000 points, McKinley students have been making steady and significant progress for the past three years. And they have been making this progress since the implementation of CTA’s Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA). McKinley is one of nearly 500 schools serving at-risk students that are receiving $3 billion in additional resources over an eight-year period to lower class sizes, align professional development using student data, and create a collaborative approach to reform among parents, teachers and other local stakeholders. The good news is that McKinley’s API score has risen more than 70 points in the last two years alone. With continued progress, and to the credit of McKinley’s educators and the QEIA system, McKinley could be out of Program Improvement in the next few years.

So, what is McKinley's score? And how does McKinley rank amongst other schools in the state? You'd certainly have no idea from reading the above quotation, would you? Well, leave it to Darren to inform you.

Ole Si Se Puede tells us that this particular McKinley Elementary is in Compton, so it's entirely possible that this is the school in question (click on the brown Base button once there). This school is ranked in the bottom 10th of all schools in California (statewide rank=1). When compared only with 100 schools with students of similar demographics, it ranks in the bottom 10th of those schools as well (similar schools rank=1). I'm sure Si Se Puede knows this but of course won't tell you this; it doesn't fit his narrative.

Enough To Make You Gag

I got the November issue of CTA's mouthpiece rag yesterday--one might call it the "we won" issue. And in last month's election California Democrats swept about as strongly as the Republicans did in the rest of the nation. I guess I can't fault them for being happy that their people won, even if I still think they're idiots.

As I so often do, I love to point out the hypocrisy and silliness I find within a single issue--and this particular issue doesn't disappoint. Let's start with the column authored by Ole Si Se Puede himself, found on page 4 of the magazine:

The new governor and Legislature will face the state’s abysmal budget deficit, which the Legislative Analyst’s Office has recently projected to be a $25 billion shortfall by the 2011-12 budget year. As they begin their work, officials will continue to hear from CTA and educators around the state, reminding them of the devastating effects that the previous cuts, already exceeding $21 billion in three years, have had on California classrooms. It will be important for all of us to remain engaged and focused on what’s happening in Sacramento, and to tell the stories of our local schools.

They recognize the problem but will squeal like stuck pigs if there's any talk of balancing the budget by cutting money from schools--even though schools make up about half of the state budget.

On page 26 we get to one of the big "we won" articles about the election. Jerry Brown is identified as someone who can "bring collaboration back to Sacramento", but just a few paragraphs later we read this:

The passage of CTA-supported Proposition 25, which does away with the two-thirds vote required to pass a budget, will make it possible for the state budget to be passed on time, saving hundreds of millions of dollars and allowing schools to plan their budgets in advance.

Allow me to translate: "Democrats won't even have to consult with the minority-party Republicans in order to pass a state budget. And we're happy about that."

I also liked reading about how we should teach "culturally sensitive holidays" such as Columbus Day. I truly enjoyed reading how a 3rd grade teacher does the critical thinking thing, (page 20 of the rag/mag):

Matthew De Lucia-Zeltzer, a third-grade teacher at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in San Francisco, enjoys the challenge of turning a lesson about Columbus into an exercise in critical thinking. He believes in teaching history in a way that’s “progressive, not in terms of the status quo,” and observes that many of his Latino students also have indigenous roots...

Next he reads aloud from Encounter by Jane Yolen, which tells the story of Columbus from the perspective of a child belonging to the Taino tribe. Columbus and his men appear friendly, but the boy sees that they are greedy for gold. The invaders attempt to enslave the boy with other Indians they have taken captive, but he escapes.

As part of the lesson, students are asked to write essays from the point of view of the Taino Indians and also through the eyes of Columbus. He wants his students to think critically about past historical events and their ramifications today.

Look at the dude's picture. 'Nuff said.

And someone in CTA wants high math standards, but not if those standards help shine a spotlight on the exceedingly poor performance of certain racial/ethnic groups (see page 33):

This is what California decided to do: Have an eighth-grade algebra core for some students and also a high-level pre-algebra core for others, which is supposed to be a powerful preparation for algebra. CTA is concerned that this could lead to tracking, however, and encourages schools to be very careful that this does not happen, especially with low-income students and students of color.

One thing I can always count on regarding the waste of trees that is California Educator--it always provides me with plenty of material about which to blog.

Pulling Out All The Stops

The September 2010 issue of California Educator magazine, mouthpiece rag of of the California Teachers Association, takes naked hypocrisy to dizzying new heights. One would think that after 5-1/2 years of blogging about education that I'd be inured to this verbal whiplash, but I must congratulate California Educator--they have stunned me yet again.

Let's start with page 4, and Ole Si Se Puede himself:

We currently have a federal administration that asks us to compete for education dollars; corporate foundations are increasingly meddling in the classroom, influencing policy that leads to dangerous, experimental reforms; and too many of our state's elected leaders are failing to do their jobs, leaving us - still at this late date - with no budget at all. And that's why the elections this year are so very important: to help fix this broken process.

Both houses of Congress have been run by Democrats for almost 4 years now, and for almost 2 years we've had a Democratic president. Our state legislature has been run by Democrats for as long as I can remember, and our governor is a Republican in name only. Which party is Si Se Puede accusing of being the problem? Why, the Republicans, of course! Does Puede not know who's running the "federal administration that asks us to compete for education dollars"? Of course he does! He doesn't like Race To The Top, of course, but he'd have been quite happy if California had gotten a piece of that pie--because more money would flow into CTA's coffers. He can make bad sounds about RttT, but he'll still tell you to vote straight ticket Democratic.

Puede doesn't like corporate money going to schools, and this article on page 10 singles out the Broad, Gates, and Walton Family foundations as having undue influence on education policy. I've got to ask, Puede, has this situation gotten better or worse in the last 2-4 years? He's happy to point out US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's ties to corporate foundations, but will still tell you to vote a straight Democratic ticket. Interestingly enough, pages 28-29 of the magazine are devoted to grants given to schools by CTA and NEA; presumably, those are "good" grants.

We jump to page 20 for A Lesson Plan For Victory, how and why we should elect Jerry Brown to be our once and future governor. Is this the same Jerry Brown who worked such wonders in the schools as mayor of Oakland? The same Jerry Brown who went against the local school board and teachers union to create the Oakland Military Institute, and without whose support the school wouldn't even have been founded? (I laud Brown for this support, btw.) Is this the same Jerry Brown whose campaign commercials now brag that when he was governor in the 70's, he cut state (union) worker pay? Is this the same Jerry Brown who, as Attorney General, can investigate a private university foundation for paying Sarah Palin to speak, but couldn't be bothered to investigate ACORN offices that were filmed trying to assist people they believed were involved in child prostitution? That Jerry Brown? He's supposed to "put California back on track"? He would be "A governor with our values"? What, exactly, do we think he'll do for education, or for teachers?

"A governor with our values". What are those values? Perhaps we can get some idea what they are by looking on page 36 at the CTA-Sponsored and Co-Sponsored Legislation For 2010. I cannot find a link for that article on the main page, so if you want to see it yourself you'll have to click on the magazine's digital version (link is just under the cover picture) and turn to page 36. Here are the only 3 bills listed:
SB 810, Universal Health Care (Obamacare on steroids)
AB 1814, Retiree Health Benefits (go see what it does!)
AB 2320, Charter Schools (putting restrictions on them, of course)

Those are CTA's values right there. Nothing that's going to help Darren, that's for sure!

So let's recap. In an issue where we're told that everything is going to Hell in a handbasket and we need to vote for all the Democrats in a few weeks, we see that Democrats are a big part of the problem. But hey, we should vote for them anyway, because what's good for CTA is good for California, right?

Ri-i-i-i-i-i-iight.

Turmoil in the Family

As I wrote in this post, the NEA wants President Obama to ditch Secretary of Education Duncan.

Yesterday the New York Times reported that no federal official is scheduled to speak at either the NEA or the AFT conventions this year:

NEW ORLEANS — For two years as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama addressed educators gathered for the summer conventions of the two national teachers’ unions, and last year both groups rolled out the welcome mat for Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

But in a sign of the Obama administration’s strained relations with two of its most powerful political allies, no federal official was scheduled to speak at either convention this month, partly because union officials feared that administration speakers would face heckling.

The June issue of California Educator, mouthpiece rag of the California Teachers Association, has the CTA president, Ole Si Se Puede himself, referring derisively to the "Obama-Duncan reform agenda".

I am not hearing the kumbayyah.