CTEN letter - February 2012

Dear Colleague,

Every year, the National Council on Teacher Quality puts out a yearbook, a 52-volume, 9,000-page compendium examining the state of the states on their policies to promote teacher quality. ( http://www.nctq.org/p/tqb/viewBulletin.jsp?nlIdentifier=286  )

“For the first time ever, this year's Yearbook includes a progress rating for states on goals that have been measured since 2009. In addition to receiving an overall grade, states also receive overall progress rankings, showing how states compare to each other in moving forward on their teacher policies.”

Unfortunately, California came in 51^st in 2011. Please look at the CA report and see if you think we have been treated fairly - http://www.nctq.org/stpy11/reports/stpy11_california_report.pdf  I think this report might make for a good discussion to have our blog. If you agree, let’s start a conversation at http://www.ctenteachers.blogspot.com/

No Child Left Behind and the federal role in education are topics that are debated constantly. The following three links seem to generally encapsulate the differing factions. (There is no shortage of written material on the subject!) No one likes it as is, but suggested fixes vary considerably. Once again, if you would like to start a dialogue about NCLB, please do so at http://www.ctenteachers.blogspot.com/

http://dropoutnation.net/2012/02/09/obama-and-duncan-waive-good-bye-to-systemic-reform/

http://www.hoover.org/news/press-releases/107411

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/01/student-success-act-reforming-no-child-left-behind

If you are a charter school teacher, your pension may be endangered. The IRS “recently issued a Proposed Regulation titled ‘Determination of Government Plan Status.’ This regulation would force states to prohibit charter school teachers from participating in state retirement plans. Presently, every single state that authorizes charter schools either requires or permits charter school participation in the state’s retirement system. Therefore, this regulation would negatively impact nearly all charter school teachers in the country.” To learn more, go to http://www.publiccharters.org/Additional-Pages/IRS-Proposed-Regulations.aspx

Last month, CTEN board member Darren Miller went to see Diane Ravitch speak in Sacramento -- hoping for one thing, but getting another. To read his excellent in-depth report on the former reformer who has done a remarkable 180, please go to http://rightontheleftcoast.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-evening-with-diane-ravitch-and.html

In case you haven’t heard, March 5^th, during the school day, the California Teachers Association will take a leading role in an “Occupy the Capitol” demonstration in Sacramento. CTA President Dean Vogel is quoted on the union’s website:

“We have seen class sizes grow, college tuitions increase, and job opportunities vanish at the same time that banks have received bailouts and large corporations and millionaires have received tax cuts. We are the 99%. It’s time to put Main Street before Wall Street, and for corporations to pay their fair share of taxes."

We at CTEN can’t help but wonder why CTA is demanding that “corporations pay their fair share of taxes” when the current rate is 35 percent, already the second highest of all industrialized countries. Also worth noting is that CTA is itself a corporation that brings in almost $200 million a year and pays no taxes at all.

Bob Bowdon, director of The Cartel, has made an excellent video in conjunction with the Association of American Educators about why school choice is not only good for kids, but also good for teachers. To see this 16 minute video, released during National School Choice Week, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHQThKptwQc

On February 8^th, I had a brief debate with Joel Flores, a California Federation of Teachers union organizer, on SoCal Insider broadcast on KOCE in Los Angeles and Orange Counties - http://video.wttw.com/video/2196615360  I also wrote a piece for City Journal in which I analyze the state of school choice in the Golden State - http://www.city-journal.org/2012/cjc0124ls.html

In any event, if you enjoy these letters and find them informative, please pass them along to your colleagues. We know that there are many independent-minded teachers in California who are looking for alternative sources of information.

If you would like to see us address certain issues, topics, etc. in these newsletters or on our website – http://www.ctenhome.org - please let us know.

As always, we at CTEN want to thank you for your ongoing support and feedback.

Larry Sand

CTEN President

CTEN - January 2012 newsletter

Dear Colleague,

As the fiscal situation in California worsens, Governor Jerry Brown has come out with a budget that cuts even more from education. He and others are confident that a tax increase is in the cards, but this remains to be seen and teachers should not count on it. To read more, go to http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/07/BAOC1MM0FM.DTL

 

Certainly a part of the state’s financial malaise stems from the public employee pension “tsunami.” The school districts and unions have sold the state a devastating bill of goods. Please don’t assume that this won’t affect you, even if you are already retired. Recently, in Rhode Island, some retired cops and firemen bit the bullet and took cuts to their pensions. It would behoove all public employees to stay on top of this issue and perhaps take the lead. I have written two pieces about this recently. I know not all of you will agree with what I wrote. Please share your thoughts with us on the CTEN blog. (http://www.ctenteachers.blogspot.com/)  To read my blog posts, go to redcounty.com/content/state-sponsored-thievery-continues-plain-sight  and  http://redcounty.com/content/more-pension-truths-and-why-you-should-be-very-angry  Additionally, a good website for keeping up with news about public employee pensions is http://pensiontsunami.com/  

The National Education Association seems to have jumped on the reform bandwagon and it has issued a “Three Point Plan for Reform.” (http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/NEA_3point_plan_for_reform.pdf) What will come of this no one knows. Unfortunately we’ve been down this road with NEA before and typically, nothing much comes of their good sounding talk. Either their reforms become adulterated and rendered meaningless or the state and local affiliates want nothing to do with them. 

In another olive branch move, NEA Pres. Dennis Van Roekel co-wrote an article with a former enemy, Teach For America’s Wendy Kopp.  http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2011-12-20/teachers-education-public-schools/52121868/1 )  An odd couple if ever there was one! In fact, their collaboration upset many people, including Matt Damon’s mother Nancy Carlsson-Paige who was so upset by it that she told NEA that her son would not be accepting the NEA’s “Friend of Education” award. According to Mike Antonucci, “The New York Times and the Washington Post report that Dr. Carlsson-Paige has rejected the nomination on behalf of herself and her son, because of what she calls a “collaboration” between NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and Teach for America. TFA, according the Post‘s description, “recruits newly minted college graduates who are not education majors and gives them five weeks of summer training before placing them in classrooms in high-poverty schools. Recruits are asked to commit to only two years of teaching.” ( http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2012/01/05/matt-damons-mom-wont-let-him-accept-nomination-for-nea-award/ )

Mike Antonucci also reports that NEA continues to lose members, down 169,000 in the last three years - http://www.eiaonline.com/archives/20111219.htm  This hasn’t seemed to hurt their lobbying efforts, however, which included fifty NEA activists sending over 17,000 e-mails to Congress, which comes to about an email a day from each of the fifty writers. (http://www.eiaonline.com/intercepts/2011/12/19/youve-got-mail/) 

As schools of education have come under fire lately, I was asked to write a piece about them for the online publication, Clarion Call (http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/287144/are-education-schools-our-weakest-link-george-leef) which reportedly generated a pretty good response. I’d like to know how many of you had similar experiences in ed school. Once again, if you’d like to share your thoughts and experiences, the CTEN blog (http://www.ctenteachers.blogspot.com/) is the place to do that.

Last July, a Wall Street Journal editorial proclaimed 2011 “The Year of School Choice.” “School may be out for the summer, but school choice is in, as states across the nation have moved to expand education opportunities for disadvantaged kids. This year is shaping up as the best for reformers in a very long time.” To read more, go to (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304450604576420330972531442.html?mod=googlenews_wsj ) The Journal’s sentiment was echoed by Marcus Winters in the Washington Examiner in a piece called “Manhattan Moment: Why 2011 is the Year of the School Voucher.”  (http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2011/11/manhattan-moment-why-2011-year-school-voucher) 

And, speaking of choice, National School Choice Week runs from January 22-28 this year. On Jan.24^th, I will be speaking at an event in Los Angeles with former D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty - http://www.schoolchoiceweek.com/lissnell/reason_foundation_school_choice_celebration_in_los_angeles  The next day, I will be in Santa Clara moderating an all-star panel. Gloria Romero, a former state senator, author of the Parent Trigger law and currently the State Director of Democrats for Education Reform, will be joined by Terry Moe, Stanford professor and Koret Task Force member and Lance Izumi, Senior Director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute. For more information about this event, please go to http://www.schoolchoiceweek.com/8365/school_choice_for_santa_clara_county_with_terry_moe  For all the NSCW events that week, please go to - http://www.schoolchoiceweek.com/

 

CTEN has two Facebook pages. If you have a Facebook account, we urge you to visit ours and let us know your thoughts. Having a dialogue among teachers is an effective way to spread information and experiences and share ideas. Our original Facebook page can be found here - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=125866159932&ref=ts  

Our second page, which deals with teacher evaluation and transparency, can be accessed here - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=126900987357825&ref=ts 

As always, we at CTEN want to thank you for your ongoing support. Please continue to provide feedback so that we can continue to keep you informed, provoke discussion and meet your needs. Thank you very much.

Larry Sand

CTEN President

CTEN - October 2011 newsletter

Greetings,

I just returned from the Foundation for Excellence in Education conference in San Francisco. For education reformers, this was the certainly the place to be – teachers, think tankers, charter operators, legislators, etc. convened for a day and a half, compared notes and planned reform strategies. I’m not sure what the future of education will look like, but I can tell you with great certainty that the status quo will not continue to stand for long. The conference, which was streamed live, is available as a podcast - http://wpc.230d.edgecastcdn.net/00230D/august2/fee/webcast/index.html

Perhaps the greatest threat to business as usual is digital learning, which is already being utilized in some states on a limited basis. Perhaps the greatest boon to learning via computer came accidentally. Sal Khan, a former hedge fund analyst, made a couple of YouTube videos to help his younger cousins get through some troubling math areas. Soon Mr. Khan learned that it wasn’t just his cousins that he was helping. He then made more videos on different subjects and people from all over the world began to watch and learn from them. Bill Gates became a supporter and Khan is now known to millions.  To get the full story, I urge you to watch this video in which Mr. Khan gives an overview of what he has accomplished in a very brief time -   http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html  His website, which now has over 2,600 videos, is a must visit - http://www.khanacademy.org/

No Child Left Behind has been in the news recently; due for yet another renewal, people from both sides of the aisle are fighting about the best course to take. The government, which wants to give waivers to states that are not going to able to live up to the original dictates of the 2001 law, is supported by some. But others are just plain tired of the government’s involvement in what they feel should be an issue left up to the states. The following articles sum up both sides of the discussion - http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-federal-takeover-of-education/2011/09/30/gIQAdKYBBL_story.html  and http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/03/opinion/la-ed-nclb-20111003

Teacher preparation programs have been in the news lately and mercifully so. Too many of our schools of education do a horrible job of readying teachers for life in the classroom. The National Council on Teacher Quality reports that, “In response to growing demand from its state customers to offer a new elementary generalist licensing test, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) will be releasing a considerably improved alternative to the current Praxis II ‘content knowledge’ test now used by 25 states.” The hope is that with a more rigorous assessment, the states will do a better job of teaching the next generation of teachers. 

Additionally, President Obama has thrown himself into the ed school fray. “The Obama administration announced a new $185 million competition Friday that would reward colleges for producing teachers whose students perform well on standardized tests.”

This competition “would require states to provide data linking collegiate teaching programs inside their borders to the test scores of their graduates' students. Under the proposal, to be eligible for the money, states would have to ratchet up teacher-licensing exams and close persistently low-performing teacher-training programs.” To continue reading this Wall Street Journal article, go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204138204576602992880869786.html
 

And finally, there is a union angle to the ed school follies. While NEA President Dennis Van Roekel constantly complains about poor teacher preparation, NEA gave $381,576 in 2009-2010 to the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, which oversees teacher training programs. To read more about this double-dealing, please go here - http://redcounty.com/content/tragedy-and-farce-american-schools-education

On the subject of teacher quality and teacher pay, education researcher Marcus Winters claims that a compensation system “based on additional academic credit and experience makes sense only if those factors are actually related to classroom effectiveness. They aren't.” This article, which explains that the way most teachers are paid is wrong, is a must read - http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/02/opinion/la-oe-winters-teachers-pay-20111002  

Long time friend of CTEN, Palm Desert High School teacher Ossil Macavinta has suggested that if you are interested in starting a “No Cussing Club” at your school to let him know. He is very interested in expanding the clubs and would be willing to help you get one off the ground. More info can be found at http://palmdesert.patch.com/articles/city-extends-influence-of-no-cussing-club and http://PDHSNoCussing.com  To contact Dr. Macavinta, you can email him at ossil.macavinta@dsusd.us or info@pdhsnocussing.com or call him at 760-333-2139.

Final reminder: If you are considering becoming an agency fee payer, it is a two step process. First, you resign from the union (thus becoming an agency fee payer) and then request that the political part of your dues be returned to you. Sample letters for both steps are available here - http://www.ctenhome.org/knowMembership.htm#exoptions  (As a first timer, you must take care of both steps by November 15 to get a full rebate.)

If you already are an agency fee payer, you must request your rebate this year (and every year!) by November 15th. If you are even one day late, you will not get a penny back. Also, because liability insurance is very important for teachers, we suggest joining the Association of American Educators http://www.aaeteachers.org/  or Christian Educators Association http://www.ceai.org  Both AAE and CEAI are professional organizations, not unions, and are apolitical. (Also, teachers who mention CTEN when they sign up with AAE for the first time will get a $30 discount off the regular $180 first year membership.)

In any event, if you enjoy these letters and find them informative, please pass them along to your colleagues. We know that there are many independent-minded teachers in California who are looking for alternative sources of information.

If you would like to see us address certain issues, topics, etc. in these newsletters or on our website – http://www.ctenhome.org - please let us know.

As always, we at CTEN want to thank you for your ongoing support and feedback.

Larry Sand

CTEN President

CTEN - September 2011 newsletter

Dear Colleague,

Welcome back! By now all school districts in California are in session. We know that some teachers have taken a pay cut, and many will have to yet again make do with fewer materials in their classrooms.  But it would appear that due to AB 114, no teachers have been laid off, at least for the time being. If you are not aware of AB 114, we did a complete story on it in our July newsletter - http://www.ctenhome.org/PDFdocs/CTENLTL7-11.pdf

While this is an election off-year, CTA is still very politically active. If your politics don’t happen to jibe with CTA’s, or you don’t think that a teachers’ union should be spending money on issues that have nothing to do with teaching or education, you might want to consider not giving them the 30% or so of your dues that go toward politics. If you’d like more information about your options, please go to http://www.ctenhome.org/know.htm

If you are making this move, it is a two step process. First, you resign from the union, thus becoming an agency fee payer, and then request that the political part of your dues be returned to you. Sample letters for both steps are available here - http://www.ctenhome.org/knowMembership.htm#exoptions  If you already are an agency fee payer, you must request your rebate this year (and every year!) by November 15th. If you are as much as one day late, you will not get a penny. Also, because liability insurance is important for teachers, we suggest joining the Association of American Educators http://www.aaeteachers.org/  or Christian Educators Association http://www.ceai.org/  Both AAE and CEAI are professional organizations, not unions, and are apolitical. (Also, teachers who mention CTEN when they sign up with AAE for the first time will get a $30 discount off the regular $180 first year membership.)

Speaking of resigning from your union, here is an inspiring story from an articulate teacher in Wisconsin who did just that - http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/article_8333100d-c468-52bc-8fe2-9890e857274a.html?mode=story

Laurie Rogers is an education advocate who runs a provocative blog that we think is well worth checking out. “Betrayed is a forum on public education designed to inform the public about critical education issues affecting students, teachers, community members, and the country.” It can be found here - http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/2011/09/politics-driving-math-classes-not.html

She also posted the following on the CTEN Facebook page, “I'm seeking out education professionals who work for rigorous academics and an effective, efficient teaching approach. I think the public needs to hear about you. Perhaps others would be inspired. You can be anonymous, but I have to know who you are. There is so much in public education to be angry about, even frightened about ... But many professionals ARE aware and are working on behalf of the children. Let's celebrate the good.” She can be reached at wlroge@comcast.net

For those of you who are reform-minded, there is an excellent new education news and opinion website started by Bob (“The Cartel”) Bowdon. A one-stop shop for matters pertaining to education reform, one can find original stories, state-by-state happenings and listings of every reform conference, event, etc. in the country. Just unveiled yesterday, it’s sure to be a well trafficked site - http://ChoiceMedia.TV

One of our subscribers, Rhory Lamboy, has been a special ed teacher for over 20 years. She is of the opinion that special ed teachers are inundated with paperwork and regulations, leaving them little time to teach. She would like to know if you have similar concerns. What are you dealing with in the area of special education? Are you feeling more like a lawyer, secretary, or educator? (General education teachers – feel free to respond also.) TheSchoolWorkGuru@gmail.com

Recently a teacher in Florida posted some anti-same sex marriage comments on his Facebook page - http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/19/florida-teacher-suspended-for-anti-gay-marriage-post-on-personal-facebook/#ixzz1VUbbIys1 He was suspended from teaching, but reinstated in short order. However you feel about this story, it does bring up some important questions about social media that all educators using Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. should be aware of and concerned about.  Here is what Missouri is doing on the subject - http://hazelwood.patch.com/articles/mo-school-social-media-bill-compromise-at-core

Whatever your feelings on value added measures, this way of measuring student achievement seems to be gaining traction. This article in the Wall Street Journal gives a good overview - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903895904576544523666669018.html

A story definitely worth watching: termed out United Teachers of Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy, long known for his virulent stance against charter schools, has signed on to be the president of a charter school outfit that promises to open one or more schools by September of 2012. Equally shocking to friends and foes alike is his stance on tenure, which is considerably tougher than the one he held during his six years as UTLA chief. For more on this story, go to http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/01/local/la-me-0901-duffy-20110901

CTEN has two Facebook pages. If you have a Facebook account, we urge you to visit ours and let us know your thoughts. Having a dialogue amongst teachers is an effective way to spread information and experiences and share ideas. Our original Facebook page can be found here http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=125866159932&ref=ts

Our second page, which deals with teacher evaluation and transparency, can be accessed here - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=126900987357825&ref=ts

If you were away over the summer and did not read the July and August letters, we encourage you to get caught up.  Please visit http://www.ctenhome.org/newsletters.htm to do so.

Finally, we hope that everyone has gotten off to a good start and that 2011-2012, despite the ongoing fiscal turmoil, will be a great one for you and your students.  As always, sincere thanks for your continued interest and support.

Very best,

Larry Sand

CTEN President

CTEN August 2011 newsletter

Dear Colleague,

We know that many of you are back to work already, but quite a few are still enjoying your summer, so we will wait till September for our official back-to-school letter. In the meantime though, there is plenty happening.

The SOS March on Washington came and went without creating so much as a ripple from a policy standpoint. The small crowd carried signs criticizing President Obama, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, capitalism, corporatizers, privatizers, the rich, charter schools and every education reform imaginable as you can see here - https://picasaweb.google.com/113193310602533838134/SOSMarch73011?authkey=Gv1sRgCMfyu8ab68j4sgE&feat=flashalbum#

In a just released book that has received raves from every quarter, Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America's Schools, author Steven Brill claims that former education reformer, turned union shill Diane Ravitch is “in it for the money.” It seems that Dr. Ravitch has been well paid for being the unions’ head cheerleader. In any event, Brill’s book promises to be a most interesting read.

One other book, a very brief one, is also well worth reading.  Jay Greene, education researcher and head of the Education Reform Department at the University of Arkansas, has written Why America Needs School Choice, which refutes all the usual arguments with a well reasoned and researched approach.

The American Federation of Teachers’ sleazy tactics used to successfully neuter a Parent Trigger law in Connecticut came to light because someone within AFT decided to put its strategy in the form of a PowerPoint on their website. Education writer RiShawn Biddle posted a story with an embedded link before AFT realized what happened. They pulled the PowerPoint immediately, but fortunately Mr. Biddle saved a copy. All is revealed here - http://dropoutnation.net/2011/08/02/the-afts-real-feelings-about-parent-power/

Teachers unions playing hardball is hardly new. Perhaps the most egregious example of this phenomenon is a training tape, clearly inspired by Marxist community organizer Saul Alinsky, made by the Michigan Education Association, an NEA affiliate, in the 1990s for union negotiators who collectively bargain with school boards. I urge you to listen to the audio and not just read the text. The creepiness of actually hearing the trainer pitch his uncompromising tactics adds a dimension that is missing when you just read the words - http://www.mackinac.org/9405

Also noteworthy is a new study just out from the National Center for Education Information - http://www.ncei.com/Profile_Teachers_US_2011.pdf  According to the Orange County Register, the poll reports that,

“Nearly one in five U.S. educators say they support abolishing teachers unions, and one in three support ending tenure for teachers, according to a new survey by the think-tank National Center for Education Information.
“The survey of 1,076 public school teachers nationwide indicates that educators are becoming increasingly supportive of doing away with unions and tenure, with support growing by four to five percentage points over the past 15 years, to 19 percent and 33 percent, respectively.”( http://articles.ocregister.com/2011-08-03/news/29852188_1_teacher-tenure-math-teacher-public-school-teachers  )

The National Council on Teacher Quality has come out with yet another extensive, scrupulously researched report. This time NCTQ tackles the issue of “Student Teaching.”  If your less-than-satisfactory experience was anything like mine, I think you’ll find plenty to chew on here - http://www.nctq.org/edschoolreports/studentteaching/

In another interesting story, NCTQ claims that the new IMPACT teacher evaluation system in Washington D.C. is working out quite well. For more info, go to http://www.nctq.org/p/tqb/viewStory.jsp?id=27431

And finally, I had an op-ed published in the San Jose Mercury News about the Commission on Teacher Credentialing Commission scandal which curiously got very little media coverage - http://www.ctenhome.org/PDFdocs/SJMN%20-%20CTC%20scandal%5B1%5D.pdf

As always, we at CTEN want to thank you for your ongoing support. Please visit our website – www.ctenhome.org regularly. If you any need information that you can’t find on the website, please send an email to cteninfo@ctenhome.org  or call us at 888-290-8471 and we will get back to you in short order. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Larry Sand

CTEN President

CTEN - July 2011 letter

Dear Colleague,

Since our last newsletter, two major pieces of legislation have become law. On June 30^th, Governor Brown signed AB 114 ( http://toped.svefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/StateBud-TrailerBillAB114Text063011.pdf ), which prohibits laying off any teachers. As such, school districts have been given mandates that will be difficult for many to carry out. Educated Guess writer John Fensterwald says there are three ways that AB 114 steals power away from the local district.

First, it requires that each school district “assume the same level of funding as last year and maintain staffing and program levels consistent with that. Legislators are dictating this even though they admit there’s a good chance that revenues may not bear that out.”

Secondly, AB 114 eliminates the option that “districts would have over the next 45 days to make staff adjustments if they view this as necessary. Instead, the legislature is suspending that capability under the law for the next year. As School Services noted, ‘This provision is clearly designed to protect union positions, even if the district cannot afford to pay for the services.’”

Finally, the new law will “suspend key provisions for one year of AB 1200, under which school districts must self-certify that they can balance their budgets in the current year and one and two years into the future. Those that cannot must work with their county office of education to align revenues and spending. This year 13 districts were negatively certified in the latest filing, indicating they could not balance their budgets this year and next. An additional 130 districts – nearly one in seven – acknowledged trouble balancing their budgets two years out. AB 114 would require districts to assume the same revenue as this year and prevent county offices from seeking evidence of financial stability for the next two years.”

There seems to be little doubt that CTA is behind this bill, which ultimately could spell disaster for many local school districts. The California School Boards Association is already starting to talk about counter legislation.

Regarding the other major new law, back in April, we wrote the following:

As of this writing, SB 48 very well may become law in California. According to the legislative analyst, this controversial bit of legislation “would require instruction in social sciences to also include a study of the role and contributions of Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and other ethnic and cultural groups, to the development of California and the United States.” To read the exact wording of the bill, go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sb_48_bill_20110329_amended_sen_v98.pdf
 

Last week, Governor Brown signed this CTA-supported bill into law. Hence, it would appear that curriculum and textbooks will undergo some rather interesting changes and SB 48 will most certainly be the topic of many a staff development come the fall.

One other legislative note from last week: The hotly debated Parent Trigger law, which needed some clarification, was addressed by the state Board of Education. The changes put forth were accepted and it would appear that this law originally signed into being by Governor Schwarzenegger in January 2010 will now proceed pretty much in tact.

Longtime LAUSD sub Rob Schmidt, has taken on some important work. He has been documenting cases of students who abuse teachers, and has created several videos which deal with this very sad issue. Thus far, Bill O’Reilly (Fox News) and John Phillips (KABC Radio) have covered Rob’s stories. A Los Angeles Television station has green-lighted a project based on the videos and would like to hear more personal accounts from teachers. So, if any of you have recent stories related to this subject or know someone who does, Rob would love to hear from you. Feel free to contact him at rob.schmidt@earthlink.net His website is www.RobSchmidt.org

Periodically, the National Council on Teacher Quality focuses on a given school district. In June, it was Los Angeles’s turn. They reported,

Probably the most jaw-dropping finding is LAUSD's approach to teacher raises. While all American school districts give raises to teachers who head back to graduate school, LA's approach is a new one on us. In LA, there's actually little incentive to earn a honest-to-goodness master's degree, but instead teachers accumulate what are deceptively termed "credits," which teachers earn for visiting the opera or the zoo during their off-hours. No wonder that so many teachers have reached the top of the pay scale in LAUSD--decidedly unlike any other district we've seen.

Is this really very different from the way your district handles teacher raises? (Perhaps this would be a good topic to discuss on the CTEN blog - http://www.ctenteachers.blogspot.com )

In any event, to read more about the study, go to http://www.nctq.org/tr3/consulting/losangeles.jsp

Also, in an article I wrote for City Journal - http://www.city-journal.org/2011/cjc0707ls.html - I contend that class size does not have an effect on student achievement. I suspect that some of you will take issue with my position, and invite you to post any comments on the CTEN blog for all to see - http://www.ctenteachers.blogspot.com

Regarding our recent CTEN Survey Monkey poll, while many of your responses were pretty much what we had expected, one result however, was a bit of a surprise. Sixty-one percent of respondents said that they were full dues payers. Considering that almost 72 percent identified themselves as Republican or Libertarian, we would be interested in learning why those respondents would choose to stay in a union, paying for politics that don’t reflect their views.

As always, we at CTEN want to thank you for your ongoing support. Please continue to provide feedback so that we can continue to keep you informed, provoke discussion and meet your needs. Thank you very much.

Larry Sand

CTEN President

An Orgasm for the Children

NEA’s reprehensible sexual agenda goes on unabated and the MSM is MIA.

At a time when teachers’ unions are battling for their collective bargaining lives, courtesy of Governors Scott Walker, Chris Christie, John Kasich et al., it’s hard to go a day without reading a newspaper account of the latest union news. However, there is a story involving the National Education Association that has flown under the mainstream media radar.

I could not find a single MSM account of a talk given at a UN conference on March 3^rd where Diane Schneider, representing the NEA at the “Commission on the Status of Women” said:

“Oral sex, masturbation, and orgasms need to be taught in education,” Diane Schneider told the audience at a panel on combating homophobia and transphobia.  Schneider, representing the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in the US, advocated for more “inclusive” sex education in US schools, with curricula based on liberal hetero and homosexual expression.  She claimed that the idea of sex education remains an oxymoron if it is abstinence-based, or if students are still able to opt-out.  

Comprehensive sex education is “the only way to combat heterosexism and gender conformity,” Schneider proclaimed, “and we must make these issues a part of every middle and high-school student’s agenda.”  “Gender identity expression and sexual orientation are a spectrum,” she explained, and said that those opposed to homosexuality “are stuck in a binary box that religion and family create.”

A woman wants to teach children as young as eleven about oral sex, masturbation, and orgasms in a public school setting and it’s not news!!??!!

A little digging finds that Ms. Schneider is a high school health educator and very active with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in upstate NY, where she is its co-chair. She is also proud of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) that she advises in her high school. Her presentation at the UN conference was part of her training from the NEA’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Trainer of Trainers.

The NEA’s LGBT Trainer of Trainers??

After my initial outrage, it quickly came back to me: the NEA has had a perverse agenda for many years now, taking pride in the fact that they are at the forefront of a movement to sexualize pre-pubescent children. With the MSM silent, I wrote in 2005 about GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings and his relationship with the country’s largest teachers’ union. In Outing the NEA , I wrote that 

…at its 2004 convention the National Education Association gave its prestigious Human Rights Award to Kevin Jennings, the founder of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN). This is the group that presided over the infamous “Fistgate” conference held at Tufts University in Massachusetts in March 2000, where state employees gave explicit instructions (about “fisting” and other forms of gay sexual activity) to children as young as 12. The conference was secretly recorded and can be heard here. The contents are extraordinarily vile.

Unfortunately, “Fistgate” was not an isolated incident. On April 30 of this year GLSEN held an event at Brookline High School in Massachusetts, and distributed an obscene booklet to hundreds of middle and high school students. With headings like F**kin’, S**kin’ and Spit or Swallow?, it describes various sexual practices that can only be described as perverse. 

Mr. Jennings’s career as a sleazy activist has never suffered – not even with his support of the North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), an organization dedicated to the joys of pedophilia.

In fact, he was promoted. Currently, he is President Obama’s hand-picked “school safety czar.”

While it is imperative that we address collective bargaining and its attendant evils, we must not lose sight of the fact that a teachers’ union is pushing a sordid agenda and is involved with people whose values many Americans find repulsive and abhorrent. Maybe one day the MSM will take notice.

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/issues/fistgate/index.html