Notes from the news, July 13
by Dale Mezzacappa on Jul 12 2012
Black arts organization has new leader Inquirer
Lorene Cary is stepping down from Art Sanctuary.
Days before its charter hearing, Truebright fired 8 teachers Inquirer
The dismissed teachers were U.S. citizens who had filed complaints that they were paid less than Turkish staff members at the school, one of 130 nationwide run by followers of a Turkish imam.
Louis Freeh report on PSU attacks Joe Paterno's judgment and integrity Inquirer
Former FBI director's report confirms that officials were more concerned with the university's reputation than with the welfare of children.
See also: Abuse Scandal Inquiry Damns Paterno and Penn State NY Times
Shame, but no resignations, from Penn State trustees Newsworks
Teachers remember former E.M. Stanton student picked fourth in NBA draft Notebook
Dion Waiters always dreamed big.
Commentary: Hite's hiring is not a cause for celebration Notebook
Notebook blogger and former teacher Ron Whitehorne's thoughts.
It's the Illuminati! Philly Metropolis
The inimitable and insightful Tom Ferrick -- who, by the way, has written about the District for 30 years -- discusses schools, charters and conspiracy theories. He starts off this analysis by talking about dry cleaning.
Summary from Keystone State Education Coalition
How to retain good teachers Making the Grade blog
New Detroit schools contract allows up to 61 students in grades 6-12 Detroit News
This is the result of an imposed contract.
Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.
Click here to get Notes from the news in your inbox every day.
Comments (7)
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 09:54.
I think Lorene Cary picked the wrong organization to step down from. My respect for her goes down every day she stays on the SRC and provides cover for this farce.
Submitted by Joan Taylor on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 10:01.
What's with the gushing Tom Ferrick intro? Seriously, Notebook, I expect a bit more impartiality.
Submitted by Annony (not verified) on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 10:43.
Dale Mezzacappa is writing this section - that explains the "gush" for Tom Ferrick. They were Inquirer colleagues - yes, the mainstream press. City Paper is competition and cutting edge.
Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 13:59.
Tom is my friend, and I tried to write an intro in the spirit of his style of writing and spice things up a little. I guess I succeeded; today there are more comments on the Notes than I can remember. And, regardless of what you think of his views on the Philly schools, he is inimitable and insightful (and knowledgeable).
Submitted by Joan Taylor on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 20:30.
Unfortunately, the intro came across as an editorial endorsement. I think you can let the guy's work speak for itself.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 10:10.
Tom Ferrick's right wing attack on Philadelphia public schools ignores the social conditions and political policies that have led to the decline of urban schools all over the country. He scoffs at those who see a "vast conspiracy led by right-wing organizations" to privatize public schools.
Some of the same political forces that have always held that funding Philadelphia's public schools is "a waste of money" have jumped on the bandwagon as they see privatization as a way to get taxpayer dollars.
What little is known about charter schools is that their results are mixed. Little is known about their results because they fight tooth and nail to prevent transparency. They are in court to prevent the opening of their academic and financial books. They have been exempted from the new teacher evaluation system where a teacher's evaluation includes 50% of test scores. In the just completed legislative session, a bill was narrowly defeated which would have exempted charter schools from the state's Sunshine Law which requires public schools to disclose all contracts using taxpayer money.
If people see conspiracy it is because of the underhanded way the charterization is being carried out with no democratic process involving the people who these schools are being set up for.
Submitted by Joan Taylor on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 11:48.
I've been thinking about Tom Ferrick's article, and he conflates two issues that need to be untangled: school choice and union membership. While I was an early supporter of school choice, I have been dismayed at the lack of transparency and the evidence of corruption that have emerged about some charter schools. I don't understand why all data about all schools paid for through public funds isn't available. As taxpayers, don't we have a right (and a responsibility) to know where our money is going to? Shouldn't we know who benefits from our education dollars?
The union issue is a second factor that deserves close scrutiny. Tom Ferrick is essentially suggesting that concern about union membership is self-centered and ignoble; in fact the opposite is true. As union membership has declined in the US, so have worker salaries in general. Increased union membership is the tide that raises all boats, not tax cuts for the wealthy. In addition, many of the union jobs that the SRC is going after are the jobs of people who make under $30,000. How much more vulnerable are we going to make these people--whose children attend our schools?
We need to stop explaining away the connection between poverty and poor school outcomes. This connection is not going to go away until we provide jobs for the marginally and unemployed and put our education dollars into services that reach our neediest kids.
I wish Bill Gates would spend a few months teaching in an inner-city school. I don't think anything short of that will change his misconceptions. Perhaps Tom Ferrick should do the same.
Post new comment