Oregon: Stand for Children Opposes Parents Right to Opt Children Out of Testing   by Diane Ravitch on the Ravitch blog

"Stand for Children" was once a civil rights group; it once advocated for more funding and for programs to help children. Then it was taken over by the corporate reform movement and became outspoken against unions and teachers. The budget surged into the millions, due to its new-found friends (the Gates Foundation, the Walton Foundation, and friends from Bain Capital). In Illinois, it bought up all the top lobbyists to push through a bill to limit teachers'  rights and prevent teachers in Chicago from striking. Stand's founder, Jonah Edelman, boasted about his success in beating the unions and was videotaped doing so at the Aspen Institute  (here is the videotape). (He later apologized for what he said but not for what he did.) In Massachusetts, Stand threatened an expensive referendum to eliminate teachers' job rights and won.

  It's rare for educators to be kept in the scientific loop, and rarer still to encounter research that might actually compel us to change our teaching habits. But these ten findings are the real deal- the gamechanging brain science we like to hear and the practical guidelines we can follow to integrate it into our daily routine. Let's make a point to stay in the know and use what we can.

  When spirits were low, enthusiasm made us optimistic. When energy levels were depleted, enthusiasm helped us find a second wave. When we wanted to give up, those with enthusiasm said, "Keep going." It helped us get to the finish line. 

Now becoming enthusiastic is not easy, especially when doing something daunting like taking the stage in front of 1,000 people - or even 100. The demands of your day, travel schedule, or the presentation itself already provide a fair amount of stress. But, you need to overcome these obstacles. Why? Because enthusiasm matters. It displays passion. It displays conviction. It displays that you care about your topic and your audience.

Why Technology Won't Fix Education  by  Kevin Giffhorn  on the Insight site. 

   Having good habits is the difference between your life being an easy, smooth-sailing adventure, and it being a train wreck. Why? Because good habits allow us to keep the little things under control so that we can effectively handle the big things. With good habits, we are able to navigate life's obstacles with ease. And they make life generally more pleasant.

The habits listed below aren't time consuming. They simply should be part of your everyday routine. So here are some good, quick habits that you can do each day to make your life easier and more enjoyable.

  

 

What's the Difference Between a Voucher, Charter, and Public School?  on the StopTakeOver site

  The more the people of Milwaukee find out about the Takeover of MPS, the more concerns and questions they have. One question keeps being asked is: What's the difference between a voucher, charter, and public school? This non-partisan report was published in 2012, and although some of the numbers have changed since 2012, it should help answer many of these questions for people.

In recent decades, there has been an expansion of the types of schools in Milwaukee receiving public tax dollars. In some areas, differences may seem slight. In other areas, there are significant differences. This is especially true in terms of students' rights, public accountability, and democratic oversight.

There are three main types of schools in Milwaukee that receive public tax dollars:

* Private voucher schools, charging tuition but also open to students who receive publicly funded vouchers. 

The biggest difference between voucher schools and charter and traditional schools is that, by definition, voucher schools are private schools and can provide religious-based instruction.

Scott Walker Expands All-Out War Against Teachers' Unions To University of Wisconsin  by  Roger Bybee at the AlterNet site 

  Gov. Scott Walker and his allies are advancing one of the most radical assaults on public education in recent history, by bombarding Wisconsin's highly regarded schools, from kindergarten through the state university system, with draconian spending cuts, anti-union and corporate-style governance and ending faculty tenure. 

As was the case several years ago when Walker and a Republican-majority legislature took away collective bargaining rights for most state workers (public safety unions were exempted), the 2016 presidential candidate and his Republican crew are ignoring overwhelming public protest to impose their right-wing, anti-union, anti-academic freedom agenda.  

   

Next Time Someone Mocks Teachers For Making Less Money, Show Them This.  Illustrations by Gavin Aung Than, words by Taylor Mali on the Zenpencil site

  The Horace Mann League  on the The Horace Mann league site