Jonathan Alter, an Obama lapdog on education

Unbelievable

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-11/obama-shows-spunk-pushing-brave-education-plan-jonathan-alter.html?wpisrc=nl_wonk

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I woke up to that message this morning.

Jonathon's Alters name in the link made me wonder if 0400 am was too late or too early for a drink,,,while I was considering that. I noticed the link went to Bloomberg.. I'd have given the editors there credit for more sense.  Bloomberg has a decent reputation, and as far as know isn't hurting for good writers with solid backgrounds.  Why in the hell are they publishing a writer who was a senior editor at Newsweek, and helped drive the weekly from one of the most respected widely and read publications in the country, to a company the owners literally gave away to an aging billionaire a year ago.

I passed on the drink, fixed coffee and read..

Sadly his appearance in Bloomberg wasn't the only thing unbelievable.  he wrote on a subject he knows virtually nothing about.  In fact the only thing he knows is if Obama's for something, he's for it too.  He's as loyal to Obama as Joseph Goebbel's was to Hitler, he has about as much respect for America's Constitution as Goebbels did.  He makes that clear

Republican lawmakers complain that the White House waivers run roughshod over the legislative branch -- and they’re right. But gridlock demands more robust use of presidential authority and, at least in this case, we’re getting it. Unless Duncan’s action is challenged and reversed on constitutional grounds, No Child Left Behind will be left behind for good.

He knows it's a direct violation of  Article I Section 1 of the Constitution but his attitude is do it anyway and make the American people take it to court.. Then he made a statement comparing Obama's shrewdness to that of "Tricky" Dick Nixon, (I added the Tricky).  Alter seems have forgotten what Nixon's shrewdness,  contempt of the Constitution, Congress and the American people got him.  The jackass goes on to say Republicans broadly support Obama, but they're politically committed to opposing him at every opportunity.  Alter seem to have forgotten there are over 80 new Congressman... elected because the American People oppose Obama's policies . 


To make a lie plausible there has to be some truth in it.. Jonathan Alter knows this and he correctly manages to point out a number of the flaws and failures of the widely hated No Child Left Behind law.  Educators, those not on the payroll of the Administration or Billionaires who stand to make billions more off Obama's plan have referred to the scheme as No Child Left Behind on steroids.. while Obama publically talks about the flaws of standardized testing in NCLB, his  RTTT agenda requires a lot more testing with the Federal Government keeping personally identifiable records of the progress of each child.. So much for the 4th Amendment/   


For the next several paragraphs he rehashed the talking point;s Secretary of Education Duncan made made last Monday right after Obama tried to reassure Americans that having our credit rating down graded was a mistake on SP's part and had nothing to do with is spending money we don't have..  After Obama and Duncan were finished speaking the Dow dropped another 400 points,  In all fairness I think that had more to do with Obama.


Common Core Standards- a plan to indirectly nationalize school curriculum's. Common Core nationalizes the tests kids will be required to to take that grade not only them, but determine whether or not their teachers earn more than a minimum living wage.   After telling is what a wonderful idea Common Core, and by logical extension  nationalization is, Alter praises the states "Leading the pack"  

"..................... Colorado, Indiana and Florida are leading the pack in developing the sophisticated accountability standards necessary for better performance........

We won’t know until September exactly what Duncan will demand of states in exchange for granting them waivers, but the price is likely to resemble the requirements imposed by Race to the Top, the competition launched by the Department of Education in 2009 that has inspired a flowering of reform across the country"

Is it my imagination or do we have a repeat of Pelosi's infamous you have to pass the law to find out what's in it?  We didn't pass it, we got it shoved down out throats and we're trying our damnedest to  spit the F'ng thing out.  Clearly Obama and Duncan. with Alter wagging his tail err keyboard behind , think they can make the suckers fall for the same bull manure over and over..

As for leading the pack,  I can't speak for Colorado or Indiana but a few weeks ago Dr Rich Swier of Sarasota Florida posted this blog about Florida's Passage of Obama's scheme... Swier is a retired US Army Lt Colonel with a doctorate in education,  he says it better than I can:

Florida Sells the Souls of Its Public School Students for $63 Each

By: Dr. Richard Swier ( Scribe ) on Jul 16, 2011 | 0 Comments

Have you heard something about a national education initiative titled: Race to the Top (RTTT)? Well this initiative was created from whole cloth by President Obama’s Secretary of Education Arne...

READ MORE >>

Jonathon Alter finishes with a paragraph that once again show his arrogance, Obama worship and contempt for our Constitution, our Congress and the American People...

Duncan will need to use the power of the executive branch to enforce both the requirements of Race to the Top and whatever broad reforms he demands in exchange for state waivers. If that requires withholding federal funds from recalcitrant states -- good. If it means overriding a dilatory and dysfunctional Congress -- even better. 

 In a strange way Alter's final comment offers a bit of hope..  there is very little doubt what Duncan's demands will be-- Regulatory compliance without any legislative authority to back it up, a routine tactic in Castro's Cuba, not long ago it was common place in Qaddafi's Libya.  As long as there hasn't been to much public outcry the Senate is content to let Obama do what he wants,, there is a limit to how far they can let him go without risking the wrath of the American People

Over riding Congress by Executive order is treason, that's not a word to be used lightly.  It was seen as a possibility by the men who wrote the Constitution.  It should be enough to give the US Senate a badly needed and well deserved kick in the ass. 

Bloomberg wisely makes it clear the views expressed in Alter's piece are his own-- not the views of Bloomberg

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Diane Ravitch Keeps It Simple: No Desired Results From NCLB

Posted for

   Sandra in Brevard





Ravitch describes briefly, clearly, and concisely what is wrong with the federal mandates of NCLB in a way that non-educators can understand.



Ravitch is scheduled to appear in the following debates on education reform.

JUNE 29-30 Diane to Discuss/Debate with Founder of Teach for America, Wendy Kopp (to be aired on C-Span)

JULY 29-30 SAVE OUR SCHOOLS MARCH RALLY w/M DAMON ON 7/30;

AUG 18 Diane to debate Michelle Rhee on Achievement Gap on Martha's Vineyard - set up by Harvard Inst of African Amer Studies. (To be aired on C-Span)

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Ravitch: Let's all push back as hard as we can

Posted for

Sandra in Brevard







A few weeks ago, I sent a letter to Representative Posey asking about his position on the proposed FERPA regulations and his position on sidestepping parent consent on the sharing of student information. A reply came in the mail today thanking me for my question about Medicare and a two page letter on the Ryan Plan and what I didn't have to worry about. The letter came after sitting patiently for 70 minutes waiting to ask my question on a recent telephone townhall.

I find Diane Ravitch a brave voice and one that has spoken facts that the advocates for current and past education reform have not been able to shut out or ignore. She is not the only voice, but has been able to get attention in a sea of no reporting. The public can form no opinion, up or down, unless all the information is presented in a way that can be understood. Read her words:

A LETTER TO MY FRIENDS AND READERS

Many people have asked what they can do to try to change the conditions and misguided policies that I describe in my book. Wherever I go, the same question comes up: What can we do? How do we stop these bad policies and programs? Whether they are parents, teachers, administrators, school board members or citizens concerned about the future of our children and our society, they want ideas about how to persuade our elected officials to change course.

Education used to be a state and local function. Unfortunately, since the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001–02, the levers of power now are in the hands of federal officials. With Republicans and Democrats both advocating policies that endanger the future of public education, the situation seems dire indeed. Unfortunately, many of our nation’s wealthiest philanthropies and individuals embrace the misuse of testing and accountability and the advance of privatization.

The odds against us seem overwhelming, but we cannot afford to do nothing. We must take action. At present, the Obama administration is embarked on a course of action that many find repugnant. The Race to the Top is built on the foundation of No Child Left Behind. It emphasizes high-stakes testing, judging teachers by their students’ test scores, closing low-performing schools instead of helping them improve, and promoting a huge increase in private management of public schools. These approaches will narrow the curriculum and promote teaching to the test, which will rob children of the opportunity for a good education. Furthermore, none of these strategies has a solid research base, none has been proven effective in practice, all have the potential to disrupt students’ education, demoralize teachers, and shatter communities. The burden of these policies will fall heavily on low-income, minority communities, but many other communities will be affected as well.

What we need to improve education in this country is a strong, highly respected education profession; a rich curriculum in the arts and sciences, available in every school for every child; assessments that gauge what students know and can do, instead of mindless test prepping for bubble tests. And a government that is prepared to change the economic and social conditions that interfere with children’s readiness to learn.

We cannot improve education by quick fixes. We will not fix education by turning public schools over to entrepreneurs. We will not improve it by driving out experienced professionals and replacing them with enthusiastic amateurs. We will not make our schools better by closing them and firing teachers and entire staffs. No high-performing nation in the world follows such strategies. We cannot be satisfied with the status quo, which is not good enough for our children, nor can we satisfied with the Bush-Obama-Duncan “reforms” that have never been proven to work anywhere.

This is what I suggest:

Join the Save Our Schools organization created by outstanding teachers. Their website is www.saveourschoolsmarch.org. Whether you are a teacher or a parent, join the march on Washington, D.C., from July 28 - 30, 2011. I will be there, supporting the dignity of the teaching profession and our public schools.

Join Parents Across America. Their website is www.parentsacrossamerica.org. This is a group of parents who want to work together to strengthen public education and restore common sense reforms.

Write your elected officials. Find out whether any Congressmen or Senators from your state are on the education committee in their House of Congress. Write the members of the education committees even if you don’t live in their state. Ask your colleagues to write letters to them. Write letters to the editor. Comment on education blogs. Call in to talk shows. Speak up at school and community meetings. Speak up, speak out.

As the great Southern writer Flannery O’Connor wrote in a letter to a friend, “You have to push as hard as the age that pushes against you.”

This age is pushing mighty hard against children, against educators, and against the very concept of good education.

Let’s all push back as hard as we can.


Diane Ravitch

http://www.dianeravitch.com/action.html