'Parent trigger' laws give parents more power

Submitted by Deborah Russell... on Fri, 04/01/2011 - 15:22 Posted in Social justice in education | Permalink

Imagine us, the folk on Dauphin Street in North Philly, devoid of fancy degrees and titles. No Ed.D., Ph.D., M.A., or even a high school degree in many cases.

Yet, under proposed new legislation, there is a chance we may get more power to speak out on books in the curriculum or weigh in on effective classroom management. And supervise the principal, as if we were the board of directors (and theoretically we are). And work to boost the morale of a dispirited teaching staff that often feels taken for granted.

Or if none of that works, demand the school turn into a charter.

Far-out future or reality?

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The zero-tolerance debate

Submitted by Ron Whitehorne on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 15:48 Posted in Social justice in education | Permalink

Recently Youth United for Change released a report on zero tolerance that concluded this policy was ineffective in creating safe schools that nurture learning. It also argues that zero tolerance criminalizes youth and disproportionately punishes students of color.

Chris Paslay, a teacher, blogger, and frequent contributor to the Inquirer op-ed page, has been a vocal critic of the report. Writing in the January 28 Inquirer, Paslay suggests that District policies are “quite tolerant” and a choice must be made between making schools “shelters for troubled children”, or “institutions of learning where hardworking children can get an education.”

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'A Community Concern,' cinematic counterpoint to 'Superman'

Submitted by Ron Whitehorne on Tue, 11/23/2010 - 18:17 Posted in Social justice in education | Permalink

Davis Guggenheim’s "Waiting for 'Superman'" documentary has quickly become the media narrative about what’s wrong with public education and how to fix it. It boils down to the argument that bad teachers and their unions are the culprits and charter schools are the solution.  

The documentary “A Community Concern” tells a different story and points us in a different direction when it comes to solutions.

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The defeat of Fenty and Rhee in DC - What is the lesson for Philly?

Submitted by Ron Whitehorne on Thu, 10/14/2010 - 16:17 Posted in Social justice in education | Permalink

The defeat of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and the subsequent resignation of his schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is full of irony.

While Rhee is celebrated on Oprah's show and in the movie theatres as the poster child for fixing public education, the alleged beneficiaries of her reforms, low-income African Americans, repudiated her sponsor Fenty at the polls. A Washington Post poll taken right before the primary indicated that Fenty trailed his opponent among Black Democrats by a 64 to 19 percent margin while leading among Whites by a better than two-to-one ratio.  

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