“Schools of the Future” and Other Scams to Monetize Your Child

“Schools of the Future” and Other Scams to Monetize Your Child Do you feel it? The future is coming. There it is hovering just over the horizon. You squint your eyes trying to get a quick peak before it arrives. But that rarely works. By the time it’s here, it’s never quite in the shape you…

Pity the Corporate School Reformers

Pity the Corporate School Reformers It’s gotta’ be tough to be a corporate school reformer these days. Betsy DeVos is Education Secretary. Donald Trump is President. Their entire Koch Brothers-funded, ALEC-written agenda is national policy. But their stripes are showing – big time. The NAACP has turned against their school privatization schemes. The Journey for Justice Alliance is having none of it….

Teacher Appreciation Week is a Pathetic Joke!https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/10/teacher-appreciation-week-is-a-pathetic-joke/

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, America! All over the country, millions of educators can look forward to a free burrito. Or maybe an Arby’s sandwich. Or a complimentary donut. Because we REALLY appreciate teachers here. What a pathetic joke! I don’t mean to seem ungrateful. I’ll redeem my coupon at Chipotle. I’ll take that Roast Beef…

PA Senate Regulates Union Political Spending But Not Corporate Political Spending

PA Senate Regulates Union Political Spending But Not Corporate Political Spending In a display of blatant hypocrisy, the Pennsylvania state Senate voted yesterday to further regulate labor unions political spending but not that of corporations. By a vote of 28-22, the Senate passed a bill blocking government agencies from deducting union dues used for political activity…

Donald Trump lies. If you haven’t learned that yet, America, you’ve got four more cringe-inducing years to do so. Even in his inaugural address, he couldn’t help but let loose a whooper about US public schools. “Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves,” he said….

Self-Serving Public Servants – Trump, DeVos and the Rise of the Plutocrats

Self-Serving Public Servants – Trump, DeVos and the Rise of the Plutocrats This election cycle we have witnessed a subtle change to our political landscape – and it’s probably not the one you’re thinking about. It’s not that Republicans have gained control of a large chunk of our government. It’s not that racists, anti-feminists and xenophobes…

Why Schools Should NOT Be Run Like Businesses

Why Schools Should NOT Be Run Like Businesses America loves business. We worship the free market. Nothing is more infallible – not reason, not morals, not even God. Money is the true measure of success – the more you have, the better a person you are. This perverted ideology has taken over much of American life….

Make Your City a Sanctuary City: 4 Practical and 4 Moral Reasons

Make Your City a Sanctuary City: 4 Practical and 4 Moral Reasons There’s an entire underclass of people living among us. These are people like you or me who have no choice but to do the most menial jobs for meager pay under the table. And when reality-TV-stars-turned-politicians like Donald Trump come around offering to solve…

Standardized Tests Have Always Been About Keeping People in Their Place

Standardized Tests Have Always Been About Keeping People in Their Place There are some things that can’t be unseen. America’s history of standardized testing is one of them. Today, critics from all sides of the political spectrum decry the overuse of high stakes tests while paradoxically championing them for accountability purposes – especially for schools serving…