The Daily News
1 Wow.
2 Romney.
3 Really dude?
4 If you are a Romney fan, then yesterday's news released by Mother Jones would have to have been an embarrassment.
5 Welp, it is what it is.
6 I'll stay apolitical on that one, but really?
7 Scary stuff.
8 Those are not politically wise things to be coming out of the mouth of a presidential candidate.
9 I'll stop there, because I'm pretty flabbergasted.
10 Moving on, Part the First: I heard on the radio this morning that the Chicago teachers' strike has ended. Anytime a strike ends, it is a good thing.
11 Any time a strike ends, we also have to wonder why it ever began.
12 Union bashing has become hip, and for the life of me I don't understand why.
13 It's all a bunch of propaganda, but you can't tell people that because propaganda now works.
14 If anyone knows the slightest thing about education, they might know that a strike just looks bad for everybody. Nowadays unions and management, at least in education, don't need bad press.
15 Schools need money. Period. It is expensive times, and schools are trying to live on budgets that are ten years old.
16 But no school district wants bad press, and no teachers' union wants that either.
17 Modern union/management negotiations are usually a case of compromise and peaceful co-existence.
18 If either faction has some egomaniac trying to push an idiotic agenda, war breaks out.
19 So I don't really understand all the union bashing. That strike in Chicago had a definite anti-teacher news bent, which is a bit alarming.
20 The article in this morning's Merc News by reporters Monica Davey and Steven Yaccino said little about the specific collaboration, but used disturbingly anti-union words to color their "reporting."
21 Look at this, for example. It is directly from the article:
While a halt to the teacher's strike, this city's first in a quarter century, may end the immediate local contract fight over job security, teacher evaluations, pay and working conditions, the episode brought to the forefront larger questions, still unanswered, about the philosophical direction of public education, a national agenda for change, and the potency of unions.
22
23 That, ladies and gentlemen, is how propaganda works. It is subtle. But the paragraph looks clearly anti-union.
24 Let's break it down. First, the overall article never informed us of what was settled.
25 Second, the issue of job security is germane to the effectiveness of a good teacher. The move nowadays is to tie teacher evaluations and job security to test scores.
26 At my school, I'm safe. I teach at a school that has a lot of parent support and a focus on learning as a top priority. My test scores will give me job security.
27 Another teacher teaching in an inner-city school in economic decline may have poorer parents who have to have two jobs, and maybe their sons and daughters have to focus on home issues, and may even have to take on part-time jobs just to survive.
28 Their test scores are clearly not going to be as high as at my school. At "tougher schools, even the higher performing students are going to be put in classrooms that might be out of control, because the lives of them and their peers are out of control.
29 Tie that to low pay and working conditions, and you get a picture of what is really happening all over the nation.
30 The "potency of unions" is simply something that can assure a teacher that he or she is protected from being judged on things that are socio-economical issues, and not on their effectiveness as teachers. Most of those teachers are dedicated professionals working hard to combat those issues.
31 Here is another quote:
And although the political players in this fight were Chicagoans--some saw it as a highly personal standoff between Mayor Rahm Emanual, a democrat in his first term as mayor, and Karen Lewis, the Chicago Teachers Union president--the matter swept in national politics as well. Even though the schools were closed all over President Barack Obama's hometown, he did not publicly take sides in a showdown that pitted Emanual, his former chief of staff, against labor, a bloc that Democrats depend on in election years like this one.
32 Yeah, THAT'S not political. The "bloc" sandwiched between President Barack Obama and Democrats must have been coincidental.
33 In my lifetime, the only time I have ever seen the word "bloc" is when somebody is talking about Russia, or socialism. As a kid, I always heard about the "Soviet bloc," whatever he heck that is.
34 There's much more, but on the surface, this article suggests to me that unions should be blown up and scattered to the winds, and that our president is clearly a socialist.
35 Propaganda, baby. You gotta love it.
40 And I maintain that I am staying apolitical here. These are just issues that came out in the "news" lately.
41 Chew on it and get back to me.
42 As a hard-working teacher, I'm a bit incensed at the reporting of that strike. It smacks of a political agenda, and of the subtlety of propaganda.
43 Frankly I think those two reporters need to change their diapers, or get into another line of work. Like McDonald's.
44 Moving on, Part the Second: Anybody coming at me?
45 Meanwhile, in the REAL world of edumacation, we English nerds have been told that we need to inject way more non-fiction reading into the curriculum.
46 They say that like they want us to teach extremely boring things so that students can learn to write mechanically and to understand college gobbledygook.
47 Fine with me.
48 Fine with lots of teachers.
49 This morning, for example, I found an old copy of Jim Garrison's On the Trail of the Assassins, an explosive expose by the New Orleans DA who had to investigate Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy.
50 For those of you who don't know, Oswald was the guy that the "government" concluded shot and killed Kennedy on November 22, 1963. A report came out of this called the Warren report, after Chief Justice Earl Warren, who headed the committee.
51 They concluded that Oswald was a lone gunman, upset with his life, who just lost it and killed Kennedy with a rifle shot from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
52 Garrison was dragged into this mire when he had to investigate contacts of Oswald, who lived in New Orleans prior to the assassination.
53 I'll keep it short, but the book goes into his investigation, which started to reveal CIA contacts, mafia, and anti-Castro Cubans popping out of manholes all around the intelligence community in New Orleans. Oswald chilled in that area, and had chillingly odd contacts with a community of spies, extremists, fascists, and other sordid people.
54 Garrison's story is riveting, and his efforts to get to the bottom of the story had him painted as a headline hunter and a kook.
55 I don't believe that is the case, and that piece of non-fiction is more non-fiction than the ridiculously fictitious and made-up Warren Report.
56 I used to teach the JFK assassination as a November unit. At some point I had to eliminate it because of curricular demands.
57 I'm thinking of going back into the case, which I solved years ago.
58 It would certainly dovetail with the conspiracy theories that are all over the internet nowadays.
59 As I stated earlier, I am, of course, apolitical.
60 Thanks for listening. We're going in.
61 Peaceout.
~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
23 That, ladies and gentlemen, is how propaganda works. It is subtle. But the paragraph looks clearly anti-union.24 Let's break it down. First, the overall article never informed us of what was settled.25 Second, the issue of job security is germane to the effectiveness of a good teacher. The move nowadays is to tie teacher evaluations and job security to test scores.26 At my school, I'm safe. I teach at a school that has a lot of parent support and a focus on learning as a top priority. My test scores will give me job security.27 Another teacher teaching in an inner-city school in economic decline may have poorer parents who have to have two jobs, and maybe their sons and daughters have to focus on home issues, and may even have to take on part-time jobs just to survive.28 Their test scores are clearly not going to be as high as at my school. At "tougher schools, even the higher performing students are going to be put in classrooms that might be out of control, because the lives of them and their peers are out of control.29 Tie that to low pay and working conditions, and you get a picture of what is really happening all over the nation.30 The "potency of unions" is simply something that can assure a teacher that he or she is protected from being judged on things that are socio-economical issues, and not on their effectiveness as teachers. Most of those teachers are dedicated professionals working hard to combat those issues.31 Here is another quote:And although the political players in this fight were Chicagoans--some saw it as a highly personal standoff between Mayor Rahm Emanual, a democrat in his first term as mayor, and Karen Lewis, the Chicago Teachers Union president--the matter swept in national politics as well. Even though the schools were closed all over President Barack Obama's hometown, he did not publicly take sides in a showdown that pitted Emanual, his former chief of staff, against labor, a bloc that Democrats depend on in election years like this one.32 Yeah, THAT'S not political. The "bloc" sandwiched between President Barack Obama and Democrats must have been coincidental.33 In my lifetime, the only time I have ever seen the word "bloc" is when somebody is talking about Russia, or socialism. As a kid, I always heard about the "Soviet bloc," whatever he heck that is.34 There's much more, but on the surface, this article suggests to me that unions should be blown up and scattered to the winds, and that our president is clearly a socialist.35 Propaganda, baby. You gotta love it.40 And I maintain that I am staying apolitical here. These are just issues that came out in the "news" lately.41 Chew on it and get back to me.42 As a hard-working teacher, I'm a bit incensed at the reporting of that strike. It smacks of a political agenda, and of the subtlety of propaganda.43 Frankly I think those two reporters need to change their diapers, or get into another line of work. Like McDonald's.44 Moving on, Part the Second: Anybody coming at me?45 Meanwhile, in the REAL world of edumacation, we English nerds have been told that we need to inject way more non-fiction reading into the curriculum.46 They say that like they want us to teach extremely boring things so that students can learn to write mechanically and to understand college gobbledygook.47 Fine with me.48 Fine with lots of teachers.49 This morning, for example, I found an old copy of Jim Garrison's On the Trail of the Assassins, an explosive expose by the New Orleans DA who had to investigate Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy.50 For those of you who don't know, Oswald was the guy that the "government" concluded shot and killed Kennedy on November 22, 1963. A report came out of this called the Warren report, after Chief Justice Earl Warren, who headed the committee.51 They concluded that Oswald was a lone gunman, upset with his life, who just lost it and killed Kennedy with a rifle shot from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.52 Garrison was dragged into this mire when he had to investigate contacts of Oswald, who lived in New Orleans prior to the assassination.53 I'll keep it short, but the book goes into his investigation, which started to reveal CIA contacts, mafia, and anti-Castro Cubans popping out of manholes all around the intelligence community in New Orleans. Oswald chilled in that area, and had chillingly odd contacts with a community of spies, extremists, fascists, and other sordid people.54 Garrison's story is riveting, and his efforts to get to the bottom of the story had him painted as a headline hunter and a kook.55 I don't believe that is the case, and that piece of non-fiction is more non-fiction than the ridiculously fictitious and made-up Warren Report.56 I used to teach the JFK assassination as a November unit. At some point I had to eliminate it because of curricular demands.57 I'm thinking of going back into the case, which I solved years ago.58 It would certainly dovetail with the conspiracy theories that are all over the internet nowadays.59 As I stated earlier, I am, of course, apolitical.60 Thanks for listening. We're going in.61 Peaceout.~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
