The Reverend Jesse Jackson wants an end to mayoral control of the Chicago schools.
In Chicago we get to vote on who runs the water reclamation facilities. But not for those who run our schools. Jesse Jackson, community organizations and the Chicago Teachers Union plan to change all that.
Here are five reasons why the NY teacher ratings can’t tell you much about teacher quality.
Media hog, Michelle Rhee, won’t talk to USA Today. Why not?
My brother Mike is no mathematician. But he thinks he knows what average is? However, they seem to do math differently in the NY DOE.
The problem isn’t that teachers have lifetime tenure. The problem is that politicians do.
Election day’s coming, so, naturally, I get a mailing from the Democratic Party, telling me who to vote for. Not that I’m going to be heeding their endorsements, even though I’m a lifelong Democrat.
I know, it’s confusing—more like a cry for help.
So let me explain….As you know, it’s written in my genetic code by my New Deal-era parents, that I’m prohibited under any circumstances from ever, ever voting for a candidate of the Republican Party.
As long as Rick Santorum’s in it. And Newt Gingrich. And the new Mitt Romney—as opposed to the old Mitt Romney. Actually, I’m not so sure about him either.
Ron Paul, on the other hand, I have a soft spot for. Except for the gold standard thing. And the opposition to the Civil War. I tell you, people, the man’s got a weird thing about the Civil War. Other than that—what a guy!
Anyway, the mailing from the Democrats….
Headlined “a new day is dawning,” it goes on to endorse a long list of incumbents, as well as Mayor Daley’s nephew.
So much for the dawning new day.
On the inside is a color glossy picture of our favorite mayor—Rahm Emanuel. That caught me by surprise. I didn’t know Mayor Rahm had returned to the Democratic Party. Must have happened when I wasn’t paying attention. Ben Joravsky
Fred Klonsky 
Fred
Thanks for your personal observation about Democrats
.Personally my brainwashing began in second grade.Even 50 years later
if anyone asks me why i am here I would respond
” To know love and _ _ _ _ _ God in this life so I can be with him in the next”
Anyone who can fill in the missing word went to catholic school in the 50’s.
in my home there were three important people in history Jesus the leader of
the Easter Rebellion in 1916 and the sainted FDR. For decades I was a
card carrying democrat i even was a precinct caption. Then came reality.
Slowly after about 20 years teaching in a toxic building on the South Side
my views began to change.As I taught my Black students US History I began
to sense a paradox which began to make me wonder just who was telling the truth.
Teaching about the famous Brown Case one day a little girl asked me
” If its the law how come there aint no white kids here .” A truly profound
question from the mouths of babes. So i began to question democratic
friends of mine and found out NONE of them realized Eisenhower was
the Republican President at that time.
FDR was a brilliant man who played the media like a fiddle. When the
DAR supposedly refused to let Marion Anderson sing at their hall
the Roosevelt’s were able to take almost an entire race out of the GOP.
All while the democratic south was a hell for Black people.
Closer to home and in today’s world i have noticed the remarkable
differences in salary between suburban republican districts and my
Chicago Schools. Finally when people ask me why I left the democratic party
I tell them It left me.
Just a note: The observation about the Dems wasn’t mine. It’s from Ben Joravsky’s very funny column in the Chicago Reader.
Why won’t Ms. Rhee talk to U.S.A. Today? She is just TOO busy crisscrossing the country, making money for herself–oops!–that is, fundraising for Students First.
Here’s an official Obama campaign site to record your reasons for not donating to his campaign.
https://my.barackobama.com/page/s/supporting-the-president-in-2012
It was in an email asking why former donors and volunteers had not yet supported Obama in 2012