Teachers Unions

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Chicago - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Chicago Teachers Union President Blames Woes on ‘Lower Class’ and ‘Students of Color’

July 26, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago School system is rapidly collapsing. Its graduation rate is a horrid 56 percent, its finances are in tatters, and even though the Chicago Teachers Union was offered a 10 to 15 percent raise, CTU officials still want to strike claiming it isn’t enough. So, what went wrong? CTU President says it’s all because of Chicago’s “lower class students” and “students of color.”

CTU President Karen Lewis recently took part in a strategy conference call with community organizer Jitu Brown, and retired professor and Bill Ayers associate Mike Klonsky. In the released audio of the conference call, CTU President Lewis tries to address the reason for the Chicago Public School System’s woes.

Lewis, it seems thinks that the whole decline of Chicago’s schools is because of lower class kids. Her comments are heard in the last 30 seconds of the audio.
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Chicago Teachers Union President Blames Woes on ‘Lower Class’ and ‘Students of Color’”

Anti-Americanism - Associated Press - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Ethics - GOP - Government - Jobs - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - Public Employees Unions - Republicans - Scott Walker - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Assoc. Press Now Pushing Anti-Scott Walker Story About… Beer?

June 13, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Associated Press seems to be still on the lookout for stories about how Wisconsinites (especially “unions”) hate Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker — yes, even after he beat a recall attempt getting even more votes than he did during his first run for the Guv’s manse. This time AP is pushing the tale that Carrie Nation’s alcohol prohibition “union” is mad at Walker for wanting to serve beer at his unity picnic. Yeah, the same 140-year-old group chiefly responsible for passing the ill-fated Prohibition Act on the country in the 1920s.

So now, the AP has its headlined, “Walker Angers Temperance Union by Serving Beer,” and is seriously trying to get the nation all ginned up over the fact that the beer hating Women’s Christian Temperance Union is upset at the Governor.

What is the Women’s Christian Temperance Union? The WCTU started way back in 1873 ultimately becoming a major political force when its most well-known advocate, Carrie Nation, helped lead the way for the 18th Amendment, the one that banned alcohol in the United States. Of course, Ms. Nation died 8 years before the Amendment succeeded in becoming law, but that doesn’t stop her from being one of the main reasons for giving rise to the exciting career of our most honored Chicago citizen, Al Capone. Thanks, Carrie.

So, who cares much about what the WCTU is doing now some 90 years after their main premise was proven an abject failure? The AP apparently.
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Assoc. Press Now Pushing Anti-Scott Walker Story About… Beer?”

AFSCME - Barack Obama - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Government - Liberals - President - Public Employees Unions - Scott Walker - SEIU - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Obama to Wisconsin’s Recall Pushing Unions: I Was Just Too Busy To Bother With You

June 12, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, we finally know why President Obama didn’t bother to go to Wisconsin to support Democrat Tom Barrett in the late recall effort so heavily supported by his biggest constituents, the unions. He was just too darn busy.

When asked by a Wisconsin TV reporter from Green Bay why he never got to Wisconsin to campaign for Barrett who was running against Republican superstar Scott Walker, Obama noted that as President he was just too darn busy.

According to the president:

Well, you know, the truth of the matter is that as President of the United States I’ve got a lot of responsibilities, uhhh, I was supportive of Tom and, uh, had been supportive of Tom. Ahhh, but, obviously, uhh, I would like to have seen a different result…

Certainly we can all agree that it really is a “truth of the matter” that being President of the United States is quite a demanding job. But one has to ask that if he was too busy with the myriad of duties he faces as President, why did he have time for about a bazillion fundraisers the very week of the recall election?
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Obama to Wisconsin’s Recall Pushing Unions: I Was Just Too Busy To Bother With You”

Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

It’s Come to This: The ‘Tolerant’ Left’s Twitter Wishes for Scott Walker to be Assassinated

June 6, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Yep, now the left reveals it’s true black, hateful, murderous heart…

I hope the governor has a good team of body guards that have all been vetted to make sure none of them are Democrats.

This is the heart of leftism. They love “democracy” when it goes their way. But when they lose, it isn’t time to retrench and try to figure out why their ideals were rejected. No, if they lose it is time to kill everyone that disagrees with them. That is the heart of leftism.
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It’s Come to This: The ‘Tolerant’ Left’s Twitter Wishes for Scott Walker to be Assassinated”

Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - Public Employees Unions - Scott Walker - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Wis. Victory Lap, Old Media Backtracking Already…

June 5, 2012 by

The American Future Fund just uncorked this great jbbaroo…

Love it.

**UPDATE**

… aaaannnd the union thug crying begins…

This is the funniest thing I’ve seen for a looooong time.

All I can say is… Are you crying? There’s no crying in union thuggery!!

Bwaaaahahahahaha

Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Government - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Democrat Vote Fraud Efforts Focusing on Dane and Milwaukee Counties

June 5, 2012 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

A few moments ago Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard reported on his Twitter that Democrats are getting a lawsuit ready in an attempt to get some left-wing judge to allow Dane and Milwaukee Counties to keep their polling places open late into the night so they can scam as many illegal votes as possible before the closing bell is rung.

Here is what Hayes Tweeted:

Two WI GOP sources say Dems/Barrett preparing lawsuit to keep polls open late in Dane & Milwaukee counties. GOP will fight it.

Dane and Milwaukee Counties are the two most left wing counties in the state with Dane being home to Madison, the state Capital, the same capital where thousands of union toughs spent months destroying public property in protest against their duly elected governor.

With reports that Democrats and out-of-state schemers and union thugs are bussing in thousands of illegal voters into Wisconsin, the vote fraud is mounting steadily.

As Hayes notes, the state Republicans are going to fight the move and they’d better. There is already going to be plenty of criminal vote fraud perpetrated by Wisconsin’s Democrat union thugs, so they’d better stop this move to stuff the ballot boxes even further in the two counties in question.

Democrats are not content to have an election run under rules. They are keen to play games with the system and indulge as much criminal activity as possible.

Government unions are antithetical to good government and they should all be eliminated. This travesty of an “election” is proof of that.
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Democrat Vote Fraud Efforts Focusing on Dane and Milwaukee Counties”

AFL-CIO - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Government - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Scott Walker - Teachers Unions - Teamsters - UAW - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Chris Plante Show: Dems Shipping in Busloads of Fraudulent Voters into Wisconsin

June 5, 2012 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is the massive vote fraud I’ve been warning about and Gov. Walker better be prepared for it.

WMAL’s Chris Plante got a call today from a man claiming to be on one of four busses that are driving from Michigan to Wisconsin in order to have fraudulent voters flood the polls for Democrat Barrett who is vying to upset Wis. Governor Scott Walker.

The caller says that the busses were organized by an auto union to bring as many illegal votes to Wisconsin as they can.

Radio host Plante sums up the caller’s claim thus:

What you’re telling me is that the unions in Michigan have organized a bus convoy — and you’re riding in that bus convoy — and they’re bringing Michigan residents to Wisconsin in order to vote illegally for Tom Barrett.

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Chris Plante Show: Dems Shipping in Busloads of Fraudulent Voters into Wisconsin”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - Ethics - GOP - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - Public Employees Unions - Republicans - Scott Walker - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Prediction: Media Will Dismiss Walker Win as Meaningless

June 5, 2012 by 5 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

As I write this it is only hours before the polls in Wisconsin open to take votes for the Walker recall effort. Polling data says that Walker will likely win this election, though the media spin this as a “close” thing. Whether Walker will win or not I won’t guess on the eve of voting day, but one thing I can say for a fact is that if Walker does win this election the media will claim that the election is meaningless as to any greater import to the 2012 election cycle.

That’s right, if Scott Walker retains his governorship, the media will suddenly find that this recall election really doesn’t mean a thing.

Now, this is a far different narrative as we stand pre-election day. The media has been calling this election an important bellwether for unionism. They have said that this election has excited unions and driven them to the streets in an important show of unanimity.

The election has also been called a trial run for the November presidential election one that might act as a guidepost of what will happen with Obama vs. Romney.
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Prediction: Media Will Dismiss Walker Win as Meaningless”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - GOP - Government - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Republicans - Scott Walker - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Supporting Wisconsin’s Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch

May 29, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Many of you are aware of the recall election being held in Wisconsin. There, leftists and union thugs throughout the state are trying to oust the only recently elected Republican Governor, Scott Walker. But something many don’t realize is that Walker’s Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch, is also under recall in this needless and expensive re-do of the 2010 elections.

Kleefisch is the Republican Lt. Gov that entered office alongside Gov. Walker and she, too, is a target of these leftists. She hasn’t gotten the same publicity nation wide as Walker, of course, but she is just as deserving of our support and help. After all, the program that Walker and Kleefisch instituted has already saved Wisconsin $1 billion! Seems like a duo worth saving to me.

Despite what the pair have saved the state in budget dollars, estimates have varied on what this foolish recall election will cost, a recall effort that even liberal newspapers in Wisconsin oppose, but some are saying it will cost the donating mood, click on the image below and help Kleefisch out with the expenses that these liberals are forcing upon her, won’t you?

Recently Lt. Gov. Kleefisch was in Chicago and spoke a few words at the Tax Day Tea Party. (Video captured by MarathonPundit)

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Supporting Wisconsin’s Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch”

Budget - Education - Larry Sand - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

NEA: Poverty Pimp #1

May 19, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

The teachers union not only plays the poverty card, but by battling reforms, ensures that the impoverished will remain that way

“No Education Reform Without Tackling Poverty, Experts Say,” is the title of an article on the National Education Association website. Experts? A trip into the weeds leads to something called the Center on Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy at Georgetown University. Its main benefactor is none other than the Open Society Foundations run by former Nazi sympathizer, rabid America hater and megalomaniac, George Soros, a man who once said he saw himself as “some kind of god, the creator of everything.” Expecting anything without an agenda from this bunch would be foolish.

The NEA’s “experts” claim that pouring money into education will eradicate poverty is wrong on all counts. For example, they state that children would be better educated by attending a “high quality pre-school.” Yet Head Start, according to Reason’s Lisa Snell, U. of Arkansas Professor Jay Greene and others, has been a bust. In 2010, Lindsey Burke at the Heritage Foundation wrote,

Taxpayers have been on the hook for more than $100 billion for the Head Start program since 1965. This federal evaluation, which effectively shows no lasting impact on children after first grade and no difference between those children who attended Head Start and those who did not, should call into question the merits of increasing funding for the program, which the Obama administration recently did as part of the so-called “stimulus” bill.

So, $100 billion later, children are no better off attending a preschool, but what’s important to the unions is that more adults are employed. And that means more dues for them to spend on their progressive political agenda which favors causes that have nothing to do with education – e.g. abortion on demand, same-sex marriage, income redistribution, and nationalized health care. In 2010-2011, NEA spent $133 million in lobbying and gifts to further its progressive agenda.
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NEA: Poverty Pimp #1″

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Ethics - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - President - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

FAIL: Obama Ad Attacks Romney for Bain Bought Company That Laid People Off… But Romney DIDN’T Work There Then!

May 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Barack Obama released a new video ad featuring former workers of GST Steel of Kansas City who lost their jobs because of Mitt Romney’s work at Bain Capital — at least according to Obama that’s why they lost their jobs. Unfortunately for team Obama, the truth seems to argue against his campaign lies.

The ad is full of lament about GST workers having lost their jobs, sympathy that is most certainly warranted. But the ad goes on to call Romney an “economic vampire” over the layoffs. Union member Jack Cobb, one of the workers in the ad, says for instance, “It was like a vampire. They came in and sucked the life out of us.”

The ad goes on to blame Mitt Romney and Bain Capital for that vampirism.


WARNING: This Obama ad is filled with lies!

But there are quite a few problems with all these hoary claims of the evils of Bain Capital. First of all is the fact that every voice in this video is that of a union thug. Most especially a man noted as the lead union negotiator, David Foster. Does anyone think a unionista will tell the truth about what went on with a company they spent decades extorting?
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FAIL: Obama Ad Attacks Romney for Bain Bought Company That Laid People Off… But Romney DIDN’T Work There Then!”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

Stand Up To Bullying Day

May 11, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

The NEA says that May 4th should be devoted to anti-bullying. Okay, and to be fair, I suggest that we start with the biggest organized bullies in the country – the teachers unions themselves.

The National Education Association celebrated “Stand Up To Bullying Day” on May 4th. Its website is full of advice about how to deal with what it calls “everyone’s problem.” With a solemnity ordinarily reserved for a Sunday morning sermon, NEA has created a pledge –

I agree to be identified as a caring adult who pledges to help bullied students. I will listen carefully to all students who seek my help and act on their behalf to put an immediate stop to the bullying. I will work with other caring adults to create a safe learning environment for all the students in my school.

Please note, the union talks only about children bullying other children; there is nothing about adults bullying other adults.
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Stand Up To Bullying Day”

California - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Teachers Unions - Unions

The Tragic Consequences of Social Justice Education

May 7, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

The president of the National Education Association continues to promote ideas that are anti-American and are turning our kids into progressive, anti-wealth, equality-obsessed robots.

Last week, the drone-like National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel gave a talk at the annual gathering of the Nebraska State Education Association. He unleashed the same tired old class warfare hogwash that teacher union leaders have been yammering about for years. The latest version of this old whine stresses closing corporate tax loopholes. As I wrote last week, the NEA claims the U.S. can recoup $1.5 trillion in taxes if those greedy corporate types would just pay their “fair share.” Van Roekel conveniently omits the fact that NEA took in $400,000,000 in 2010-2011, mostly in dues forcibly taken from its members, and didn’t pay one red cent in taxes.

Van Roekel then reprised another union mantra – claiming that NEA must pursue “social justice.” He said,
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The Tragic Consequences of Social Justice Education”

Budget - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

The Second American Revolution

May 6, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

If education reformers stick to principle and don’t back down, all other obstacles to victory can be overcome.

Recently, Andrew Rotherham wrote a short piece in The Atlantic in which he describes “The 3 Main Obstacles in the Way of Education Reform.” The first obstacle he mentions is that currently “We buy reform.”

Or at least we try to. Some politicians really think that throwing money at the problem will help and the less principled ones do it because they are trying to pay back certain political allies. The result is that untold billions are taken from taxpayers to support giant bureaucracies on the federal and state levels and to prop up programs that do little or nothing to help the students who desperately need it. Rotherham writes:
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The Second American Revolution”

Budget - California - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Larry Sand - Liberals - Los Angeles - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

NEA Greed Machine is in Overdrive

April 29, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

Tax Freedom Day is April 17th. Freedom from teacher union extortion? To be announced.

The National Education Association has thrown itself full force into the “corporate loophole” demagoguery campaign. According to the NEA, children are being victimized by avaricious corporate types who don’t pay their fair share of taxes. The NEA exhorts the American people to “stand up for the middle class and support closing corporate tax loopholes at the federal and state level, so that additional resources can be invested in public education and other services that build our communities.” In a message oozing with class warfare, we learn that “Corporate tax loopholes are costing our schools and communities resources that would help the next generation achieve the American Dream.” (Cue the violins.)

They then post a list of programs that would thrive if the greedy corporate bastards would just pay their fair share – Title 1, Pre-K education, etc. NEA of course fails to mention that these programs, though popular, are essentially federal boondoggles. They don’t really do what they purport to do. They do make work for unionized adults, however, which if you haven’t been paying attention, is all NEA really cares about. But I digress….

Using Citizens for Tax Justice as their source, NEA claims that closing the seven largest corporate tax loopholes would provide an estimated $1.487 trillion in additional revenues over the next ten years. Coincidentally, CTJ just happens to be the union founded and funded lobbying wing of something called the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
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NEA Greed Machine is in Overdrive”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Liberals - Michigan - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Wealthy Michigan Teacher Upset She Can’t Retire at 47

April 20, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

It’s just unfair, isn’t it? I mean, if an $80,000-per-year, union protected, unfireable, teacher can’t retire at the extremely young age of 47 while the rest of us have to work into our 70s, well, what kind of world are we living in? That’s how teachers in Michigan feel, anyway.

Just ask the haughty Terri List, a Michigan public school teacher from Saginaw Township. She’s entirely disgusted with all those ignorant taxpayers — who vote in evil Republicans — that won’t let her retire at 70% of her salary at a sprightly 47-years-of-age. She’s so upset that she’s telling anyone that will listen that being a teacher isn’t worth the effort.

On the government union site run by the Michigan Education Association, Mz List is seen carping that waiting to retire at 60 is a travesty for the teaching profession. In what rotten world do people have to wait until they are 60 to retire, anyway!?

… only the rest of us, Mz List, only the rest of us. You know the “us” I’m speaking of Mz List? Yeah, the “us” that are with our taxes forced to pay your exorbitant salary, your overly generous benefits, and your retirement in your middle age.
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Wealthy Michigan Teacher Upset She Can’t Retire at 47″

Budget - California - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

Perverts Prevail in Public Schools

April 19, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

With teacher union enabling, child abuse goes on unabated.

A male business owner joking about life for homosexuals in prison, forced a junior accountant to bend over a desk, lined up behind him to simulate a sex act, then quipped, “I’ll show you what’s gay.”

An insurance company middle manager who had been warned about touching secretaries brushed his lower body against a new employee, coming so close that she told company investigators she could feel his genitals through his pants.

A corporate vice-president sent text messages to and called one of his female underlings nearly 50 times in a four-week period and, over the winter holidays, parked himself near her home.
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Perverts Prevail in Public Schools”

Budget - California - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Government - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

Good Teachers: Beware The Ides of March

March 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

-By Larry Sand

Julius Caesar came to a bad end on March 15th, the same date many good teachers were warned that they may be unemployed in June.

“Nearly 20,000 Teacher Pink Slips Statewide Show Drastic Need for More Education Funding” screamed the headline on the California Teachers Association website.

First, let’s straighten out the union spin. Typically when a person receives a “pink slip,” it means that they are fired. What some teachers actually received is a Reduction in Force (RIF) notice, which according to state law, must be sent to teachers by March 15th if there is the slightest chance that they will be laid off in June. School districts really don’t know in March what their budget will be for the next school year so they plan for the worst case scenario. It’s unheard of for all teachers who get the notices to actually be laid off, but some will, and they must be notified if there is any chance they will lose their jobs.

As a young teacher in New York City in 1975, I lost my 6th grade teaching because the city was in the midst of a fiscal swoon. A few thousand of us were laid off because we were the newest hires, not because we were the worst teachers. The union contract did not make any provision for getting rid of the poorest performers, just the newly employed. Fast forward 37 years and we are still doing the same stupid thing.
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Good Teachers: Beware The Ides of March”

Alan Caruba - Budget - Children - Education - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions

A Failing Grade for America’s Educational System

March 19, 2012 by

-By Alan Caruba

Back in 2001 I wrote a four-part series on “The Subversion of Education in America” and more than a decade later not much has improved. The causes are easily identified. One is federal control and the other is the National Education Association (NEA) which, despite its name, is a union.

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey became a nationally known figure when he took on the teacher’s union for the way contracts with generous pension and health benefits were bankrupting the State. Other civil service contracts also came under review for the same reason.

A recent headline in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye. “No-Child Law Faces Wave of Opt-Outs” reported that “Twenty-six more states asked to be excused from key requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, an exemption that would curb the education law’s impact considerably.” If the Obama administration grants waivers to all the new applicants, three quarters of the statesContinue reading “

A Failing Grade for America’s Educational System”

Budget - California - Children - Education - Larry Sand - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions

Seattle Teachers Union Seeks to Ban Teach For America

March 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Larry Sand

Teachers unions, known for fighting to keep pedophiles in the classroom, try to get rid of good teachers in Seattle.

Last week, I wrote about the particularly egregious case of a teacher in Rochester, NY who sent sexually charged emails to her principal and was subsequently jailed for ignoring a restraining order. Upon her release, she returned to the classroom, and in short order was accused of fondling her middle school students. But due to her union’s pressure tactics, the school board cannot get rid of this tenured teacher.

Across the country in Seattle, we now have a situation where it would appear that the local teachers union may have success in getting six teachers removed from the district.

Pedophiles? Of course not. They are talented Teach For America teachers who have received good reviews from their principals. In what could be a new low for teachers unions – and that’s really saying something – it would appear that through heavy pressure from the Seattle Education Association, the Seattle School Board may terminate the contracts of the six teachers for absolutely no good reason.
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Seattle Teachers Union Seeks to Ban Teach For America”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions

School Choice: Time to Move Forward

March 9, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

As evidence mounts that the government/union education monopoly is failing our children, 2012 should see ramped up efforts to advance school choice.

Last week, Education Week published “What Research Says About School Choice,” in which nine scholars analyze the results of various studies concerning “school choice” – the quaint notion that parents should be able to choose where to send their kids to school. The report boasts no ecstatic claims, nothing about lions and lambs, no Hallelujah moments – just a sober look at the 20 year-old movement to end mandatory zip code school assignments. Some of the findings:

Among voucher programs, random-assignment studies generally find modest improvements in reading or math scores, or both. Achievement gains are typically small in each year, but cumulative over time. Graduation rates have been studied less often, but the available evidence indicates a substantial positive impact.

Among voucher programs, these studies consistently find that vouchers are associated with improved test scores in the affected public schools. The size of the effect in these studies varies from modest to large. No study has found a negative impact.

A third area of study has been the fiscal impact of school choice. Even under conservative assumptions about such questions as state and local budget sensitivity to enrollment changes, the net impact of school choice on public finances is usually positive and has never been found to be negative.

Also last week, the California Charter School Association released its second annual “Portrait of the Movement: How Charters are Transforming California Education.” Not a sales pitch or compilation of cherry-picked data data, the CCSA report is an honest look at California’s 900 plus charter schools which educate about 400,000 students. A few of its many findings:
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School Choice: Time to Move Forward”

Children - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Government - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Teachers Unions - Unions

Adults’ Rights Come Before Children’s Health and Welfare in Public Schools

March 8, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

Parents send their children to school assuming that kids are its number one priority. But as recent events have shown, public schools are Ground Zero for a culture that puts children last and doesn’t hold adults accountable.

In Waiting For Superman, Michelle Rhee stated that it took her a while, but she finally realized that public education is really about the adults, not the kids. No truer words have ever been spoken. In too many cases, a small group of inept and corrupt adults – district administrators, school boards and teachers unions – is in charge of what has become an increasingly incompetent public education system. Recently, several scandalous events point to deep-seated problems.

First and foremost, we have the Mark Berndt case in Los Angeles. This man sexually abused children for years at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles. For many reasons — including careless dismissal of children’s claims, missing teacher files and operating in a culture of non-accountability — Berndt got away with doing unspeakable things to his students for over 20 years. The system is so perverse that the school district couldn’t get rid of Berndt without going through a lengthy appeals process costing over $300,000. So, when his crimes were exposed, Berndt gamed the system by accepting a $40,000 bribe and retired – but only after racking up another year of credit toward his pension.
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Adults’ Rights Come Before Children’s Health and Welfare in Public Schools”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions

CTA in Bed with the Occupy Crowd? LOL!

February 27, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

The California Teachers Association is seeking cover in the Occupy Wall Street movement. The OWS crowd doesn’t understand that CTA and other public employee unions are a major part of the problem.

Last week, part of my post concerned itself with the March 5th “Occupy the Capitol” protest being promoted by the California Teachers Association. I wrote,

“Not only is CTA inviting the OWS rabble, they are calling for teachers to attend, even though it is a school day, thus costing taxpayers all over the state untold thousands in costs for subs and robbing children of a productive school day.”

Little did I know, March 5th was just the tip of the iceberg. The CTA website is now touting a “Week of Action” covering the first seven days of March. Many activities are planned and will be led by various “Occupy” groups that have sprung up like weeds. The result is a grand mishmash of radical organizations coming together to vent their spleen over various and sundry issues, and all links to their activities are available through the CTA website.
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CTA in Bed with the Occupy Crowd? LOL!”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Larry Sand - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

The Brazen Hypocrisy of the Teachers Unions

February 26, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

When teachers unions wear their duplicity like a bright red bandana, it shows the whole world what they really are about.

Last week, New Jersey Education Association Executive Director Vincent Giordano, who makes over $500,000 a year in salary and assorted perks, shoved his foot in his mouth big time. Appearing on “New Jersey Capitol Report,” he and the host were discussing Governor Chris Christie’s plan to install a voucher system in New Jersey. Such a plan would enable students in the state’s worst performing schools to escape them with a voucher that they could use to attend a private school.

Host: The issue of fairness, I mean this is the argument that a lot of voucher supporters make. People who are well off have options. Somebody who is not well off and whose child is in a failing school, why shouldn’t those parents have the same options to get the kid out of the failing school and into one that works with the help of the state?
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The Brazen Hypocrisy of the Teachers Unions”

Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Teachers Unions - Voter ID - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Wisc. Voter’s Name Fraudulently Signed Four Times to Same Recall Petition

February 9, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A self identified Wisconsin watchdog group called Citizens for Responsible Government of Racine reports that a Racine man found his name signed four separate times to the petition to recall Republican State Senator Van Wanggaard, but the voter, Jeff Demet, said had never signed the recall petitions at all. As watchdog blogger Ken Brown says, “this is what vote fraud looks like.”

Blogger Ken Brown found that Jeff wasn’t the only Demet family member that appeared on official records without having put their hand to the petitions. Brown found that several Demet family member’s names appeared on the petitions, some of them several times, some even under different and false addresses.

It seems evident that these fraudulent signatures were added by Jeff’s brother, Mark, who had joined the recall effort and was passing around petitions himself.
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Wisc. Voter’s Name Fraudulently Signed Four Times to Same Recall Petition”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Larry Sand - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

CTA Sponsored Legislation Could Cripple Charter School Growth

February 8, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

The California Teachers Association can’t realistically unionize all charter schools, so it promotes laws that limit their numbers.

In Golden Missed Opportunity, recently published in City Journal, I examined the options that families in California have if they want to remove their children from failing public schools. The pickings in the Golden State are rather slim, and those options we do have — charter schools, homeschooling and the Parent Trigger — are constantly imperiled by a governor and state legislators who typically do the bidding of the California Teachers Association, the largest state affiliate of the National Education Association.

Charter schools are public schools which aren’t bound by the bloated union contracts that stifle so many traditional public schools. California has over 900 charter schools that currently educate about 400,000 students. To the union’s consternation, only about 15 percent of these schools are unionized. Of course, the union would like to see a 100 percent rate, but accomplishing that would take too much effort and money. Additionally, the flexibility that non-unionization offers is one of the attractions of charter schools for many teachers.

So instead of unionizing, CTA tries to eviscerate current charter laws or get caps on the allowable number of charters. At this time, there are three pieces of CTA sponsored legislation working their way around Sacramento. In fact, just last week the state assembly voted 45-28 to approve one of them, AB 1172. The bill, now in the Senate Rules Committee, was authored by State Assemblyman and former teacher and union activist Tony Mendoza. If AB 1172 becomes law, it would allow a school board to block the creation of a new charter school if it would have a “negative fiscal impact” on the school district. However, “negative fiscal impact” is never really defined, and California charter law already has clearly defined reasons why new petitions can be denied.
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CTA Sponsored Legislation Could Cripple Charter School Growth”

Budget - California - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Larry Sand - Liberals - Los Angeles - Taxes - Teachers Unions

Jerry Brown and CTA: Testphobic Twins

February 1, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

Children in the Golden State will get a better education when teacher quality becomes a priority

In perhaps the most in-depth study on the subject to date, three Ivy League economists studied how much the quality of individual teachers matters to their students over the long term. The paper, by Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia, tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years, and using a value added approach, found that teachers who help students raise their standardized test scores have a lasting positive effect on those students’ lives beyond academics, including lower teenage-pregnancy rates, greater college matriculation and higher adult earnings. (The authors of the study define “value added” as the average test-score gain for a teacher’s students “…adjusted for differences across classrooms in student characteristics such as prior scores.”)

The only caveat from the authors is that using test scores in teachers’ evaluations could lead to “teaching to the test or cheating.” Nothing new here. Some people, when involved in any kind of competition, will try to gain unfair advantage or cheat outright. Typically, it’s a small part of the population and those who do should lose their jobs and face criminal charges.

The lesson is clear: test scores can give us a great deal of information about who the really good teachers are. But California Governor Jerry Brown, unfazed by the blockbuster study, actually called for less testing in his recent State of the State address.
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Jerry Brown and CTA: Testphobic Twins”

Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Jobs - Larry Sand - Liberals - Los Angeles - Public Employees Unions - School Choice - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

Exposing a 40-Year Education Crime: Why California Needs School Choice

January 28, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

Busting LAUSD and every other school district in the state for negligence should help kids, but it’s anyone’s guess as to when. In the meantime, giving families more educational options would be a great help, but don’t hold your breath, California.

With National School Choice Week underway, we see many positive things happening across the country. In states like New Jersey and Louisiana, governors are taking the lead in proposing ways to break the devastating monopoly that government run schools – their educrat leaders, corrupt and/or inept school boards and the powerful teachers unions — have held for far too long.

As an example of Big Education gone bad, I write in City Journal about a crime that has been perpetrated on the children of California for 40 years and the lawsuit that addresses it:
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Exposing a 40-Year Education Crime: Why California Needs School Choice”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Chicago - Children - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - President - Public Employees Unions - Radio - Republicans - Rights - School Choice - Senate - Talk Radio - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Vouchers - Warner Todd Huston

Restoring American Exceptionalism – Chicago Townhall

January 24, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

I just got back from a wonderful evening taking school choice at the Restoring American Exceptionalism, Chicago Townhall. In attendance were radio talk show host Michael Medved, Fox News contributor Juan Williams, and Dr. Paul Worfel, Director of Education of Trinity International University. The discussion was moderated by John Tillman of the Illinois Policy Institute.

The event was sponsored by National School Choice Week, an effort by Americans for Prosperity, and is one of many events being held across the country to encourage parents, legislators, and activists to work toward allowing parents a choice in their children’s education. Co-sponsors were Townhall.com, Salem Radio Networks, and Chicago’s WIND Radio, AM 560

Arriving at the sprawling campus of Trinity International University of Deerfield, Illinois, the biting cold outside was quickly forgotten by the warm reception all received by the event staff. The program started promptly with an introduction by local radio host Big John Howell of AM 560, WIND radio who turned the program over to John Tillman of the Illinois Policy Institute.

The night’s debate was nicely balanced from right, center and left with a panel featuring the conservative side of the debate on education represented by talk show host Michael Medved, the center represented by Fox News contributor Juan Williams, and the more traditional educrat’s position taken by Dr. Worfel.

I won’t repeat the whole discussion, but here are some of the more interesting (and some might say provocative) highlights.
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Restoring American Exceptionalism – Chicago Townhall”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Ethics - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Indiana - Jobs - Liberals - Mitch Daniels - Public Employees Unions - Republicans - Right To Work - Senate - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Indiana Democrats Fleebagging Again, Abandoning Their Jobs

January 19, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Once again Indiana Democrats are playing the fleebagger game. Because they don’t have enough votes in the Indiana Statehouse, Hoosier Democrats are abandoning their rightful duties and fleeing the Capitol over Indiana’s right-to-work bill currently under consideration in Indianapolis.

Indiana Senate Bill 269 and House Bill 1001 would make it illegal to require workers in Indiana to join a union as a condition of being allowed to have a job. Allowing workers a choice seems like an inherently American idea, doesn’t it?

After all, how could anyone tell you that you must belong to a union or you’re not allowed to have your job? That sort of forced association seems so contrary to the American character. But forcing people to join unions just so that they can have a job is precisely what Indiana Democrats are fighting to protect.
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Indiana Democrats Fleebagging Again, Abandoning Their Jobs”