Re: Fwd: report on Miller in Vallejo and an action to take

[Rich Gibson <rgibson@pipeline.com>]

Thanks for an interesting if predictable report. Good you all went.

There is a special edition of Substance News 
devoted to Chicago, just out. It is preposterous 
and dishonest for Miller to use Chicago as 
anything but a negative example, but that would 
go for any big city, or any city for that matter. 
Miller is a hustler for the rich, as are all 
legislators. Better to revolt than vote. Miller 
isn't there to listen. He is there to rule.

Meanwhile, Tijuana teachers are setting an 
example their colleagues in the USA might learn 
from. They are going to march on the busiest 
border in the US, San Ysidro, tomorrow morning, 
and shut it down. Actually, the US is going to 
shut it down for them as, in fear, the Homeland 
Security corps announced the north/south border 
will be closed. The teachers are protesting their 
own criminal governments efforts to eradicate 
their pensions. An injury to one only goes before 
an injury to all. Just wait. Teacher salaries and 
test scores will be linked, unless a mass 
movement of parents, teachers, and kids is there to halt that.

Meanwhile, what is the vaunted power of the union 
on the US side of the border doing? That would be 
SDEA. They are doing nothing to support this 
exemplary job action. Nothing. It is a shame as 
many people felt the new leadership would be a 
step forward, and we can all hold out some hope 
that will happen, before it is too late. A few of 
us will be at the border, Rouge Forum banners in full view.

And, as Kozol is taking his show on the road in 
California again, Indymedia reissued this piece
http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2007/08/127758.shtml

Susan Harman and I, with organizing specialist 
Bob Apter, will be on the road about the same 
time. We actually are eager to see and listen to folks.

best r
www.rougeforum.org





At 11:25 PM 8/30/2007, you wrote:
> Amy?
> Thanks for going, and for this careful report. I 
> just couldnt face him again...
> Susan
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: amylvalens@comcast.net
> > Date: Thu Aug 30, 2007  8:50:14 PM US/Pacific
> > Subject: report  on Miller in Vallejo and an action to take
> >
> > Hello all:
> >
> > This evening Sandy Dorward and I attended the 
> > the meeting with George Miller at the Vallejo 
> > Unified School District's offices on Mare 
> > Island.  There were about 100 people there I 
> > would guess, many school board members from 
> > distircts that Miller represents, a good number 
> > of CTA folks, including a rep from San 
> > Francisco, and a variety of school 
> > administrators from Vallejo and beyond.  Miller 
> > was late because he had been called for jury 
> > duty, but when he got there he got right into 
> > it.  He said how proud he was to be the author 
> > of this legislation, spoke about how the nation 
> > had started taking education reform seriously 
> > because of it, patted himself on the back for a 
> > while longer, then aknowleged some of the 
> > shortcomings--including many that we have 
> > brought up.  He thinks he has created answers 
> > to all of them..  He talked about how much more 
> > flexible the new law would be, how much better 
> > funded, and how it would have a 'growth model".
> >
> >
> > A good part of the audience was there because 
> > CTA is concerned about what is being called 
> > "pay for performance".  The way Miller would 
> > like you to see it, this is simply creating 
> > ways to reward teachers who take further 
> > training, mentor other teachers, or are mentored..at
> > least it could be the way the money is spent, 
> > depending on what unions negotiate with their 
> > school boards.  There was much skepticism about 
> > that, and he was pretty brutal in his counter 
> > attacks when teachers questioned him.
> >
> > His standard answer to many of the questions 
> > that were put to him was that it was the State 
> > or the district that made the poor decisions, 
> > not the feds.  They just outlined a Great Idea, 
> > and it was the states who chose poor tests, or 
> > the local boards who went for drill and kill 
> > when there were sterling examples of schools in 
> > Chicago that had actually improved their 
> > teaching methods and deepened their curriculum 
> > because of this golden opportunity that they 
> > took advantage of.  He waxes 
> > particularly  eloquent when he talks about the 
> > low expectations that the country had for 
> > minority children and how NCLB is what has 
> > turned that around.  It was a show.  At several 
> > points I wanted to shout out: "would you stop 
> > grandstanding and just listen!!"   sigh.
> >
> > But there is some good news too.  There may 
> > actually be more flexibility in assessment 
> > possible in the new bill.  He talked about 
> > protfolios and multiple measures, but it was 
> > hard to say for whom, and who would get to 
> > choose--the state or districts.   And there 
> > will certainly be more money for some 
> > things--hard to say if any of them will be of real benefit.
> >
> >
> > The most important thing that came out of being 
> > there was finding out that there is a draft of 
> > the actual reauthorization bill on this website:
> >
> > http://edworkforce.house.gov/micro/nclb.shtml
> >
> > warning: it is over 400 pages long.  There is 
> > also a summary that is 11 pages long.  And they 
> > want comments and have a way for you to make 
> > them on the website.  It behooves us to 
> > comment, even if Miller's behavior indicates on 
> > many issues his mind is made up.  Only caviat 
> > is they are planning to vote on the final 
> > version by the end of the month of 
> > September.  Well, the highways were going to be 
> > awful anyway, why not spend the weekend at home with a long read?
> >
> > best wishes
> > Amy Valens
>
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> -Eric Crump