I'm a teacher, and I'm pissed off. Wisconsin Republicans are going directly after my profession again, and they don't seem to realize (or care) that their moves directly impact kids. The stripping of collective bargaining, overnight mandatory pension and health "contributions," insults, and almost $1 billion in cuts to WI's education aren't enough, now teachers are going to be disciplined on how their students perform on a one-shot standardized test.
This is part of the state's proposed new education "reform," which also includes increased charter schools (which haven't been proven to be more effective)--with lax teacher requirements, no income restrictions for participating families, no caps on participation, and not the same required standardized tests as public schools. (Click here for a great article about such detriments and corporate connections).
So, why is this a bad idea? Let me count the ways. Standardized tests aren't really accurate measures of what all kids have learned. Some kids don't do well on one-shot paper-pencil tests. Some students excel in areas not fully covered by testing (I've got a student who will be the next Stephen King, but his creative writing is never so assessed). Some kids are at a disadvantage because they haven't had the same experiences or backgrounds (I'm required to give an elemenrtary assessment that includes canoes--which if a kid doesn't know that word, they have a problem).
Kids--just like adults--also have bad days. Imagine if all jobs were dependent on how your production was on a particular day--nevermind that you just had some problem with your family, or the neighbor's party kept you up all night, or you have a touch of the stomach flu. Your performance on this particular day is the one that counts, And then imagine your boss got paid or judged on your performance for that day alone. If the state government had that requirement, in light of the nine looming Senate recalls, Walker wouldn't be drawing a salary.
Some years, some groups of kids learn better than others. If I was judged on the smart, enthusiastic kids I have this year, I'd be rich, I guess. If I was judged on the performances of an unmotivated, not-as-academically-bright class from a few years ago--a class with which I had to work even harder--I'd now be unemployed. And that same group, sadly, has had difficulties throughout their school careers, despite the best efforts of some very good and dedicated teachers.
And just for argument's sake, how do you judge a class on a standardized test? Do you give the blame to the current teacher, or the previous teacher? The one before that? The "inadequate" experience they had in Kindergarten? And how about the fact that not even all grades have standardized testing? Which, by the way, some non-public schools won't even be required to do the state standardized test ever.
And how does this affect students?
If the impetus behind this is eliminating bad teaching and removing bad teachers, this process will do exactly the opposite. In lieu of creative thinking and problem solving, students may very well spend their time getting ready for this paper and pencil test. Bad teachers will look good. Bad teaching will look good. Test scores will look good. But the kids will be much worse off.
Instead, reform the teacher evaluation processes, provide resources for schools, don't tie the hands of public schools by paying students to go elsewhere. Give a better chance for students--and teachers--to be successful.
And make those changes in an inclusive way--don't just have corporate interests, or those fearful of getting axed by the Walker administration, on such a panel. This isn't a slam against college drop-outs, but I don't want one in charge of running our educational system--just as I wouldn't want the guy who didn't finish med school doing my heart surgery.
Whew. Thanks for letting me get that all off my chest.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Newt's Wednesday Wisconsin visit could be fun
Bigtime Walker-backer Newt Gingrich, one week removed from officially announcing his Presidential candidacy, is coming to newly hostile territory in Holmen this Wednesday at 6:30 PM. The La Crosse Tribune reports the former House Speaker will be visiting Drugan's Castle Mound Country Club in Holmen, about 20 minutes north of La Crosse, near the hometown of Gingrich's third and current wife, Callista. And I can't imagine the visit will go unnoticed--by the media, or by anti-Walkerites near Holmen.
Gingrich called for Americans to "help" Walker in February, describing the Madison protests as "a campaign of intimidation and cowardice, (in which) the government employee union bosses and the Democratic Party that is beholden to them, are trying to thwart the will of the people."
We'll see what the "will of the people" really is.
La Crosse is ground zero for the recall effort. Current district Republican Senator Dan Kapanke is very vulnerable (he won his 2008 by a scant 2%). The area's 94th District Assembly seat was recently won by Democrat Steve Doyle, an upset considering it had been held by Walker crony Mike Huebsch from 1995 until earlier this year when Walker appointed him to be his Secretary of Administration, the right-hand-man post in which Huebsch was the chief author of the anti-collective bargaining bill.
Clearly, the will of the people has changed, Newt. I can only imagine that if people stood outside Walker's Wauwatosa home in February, greeted Paul Ryan with jeers at town meetings, and even came out to join Walker when he went fishing, for goodness sakes, it's likely you're going to get a front-row seat to that change come Wednesday evening.
Have a nice visit.
Gingrich called for Americans to "help" Walker in February, describing the Madison protests as "a campaign of intimidation and cowardice, (in which) the government employee union bosses and the Democratic Party that is beholden to them, are trying to thwart the will of the people."
We'll see what the "will of the people" really is.
La Crosse is ground zero for the recall effort. Current district Republican Senator Dan Kapanke is very vulnerable (he won his 2008 by a scant 2%). The area's 94th District Assembly seat was recently won by Democrat Steve Doyle, an upset considering it had been held by Walker crony Mike Huebsch from 1995 until earlier this year when Walker appointed him to be his Secretary of Administration, the right-hand-man post in which Huebsch was the chief author of the anti-collective bargaining bill.
Clearly, the will of the people has changed, Newt. I can only imagine that if people stood outside Walker's Wauwatosa home in February, greeted Paul Ryan with jeers at town meetings, and even came out to join Walker when he went fishing, for goodness sakes, it's likely you're going to get a front-row seat to that change come Wednesday evening.
Have a nice visit.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Voter ID: Republicans 1, Democracy 0
Couched in the guise of preventing "rampant" voter fraud, Wisconsin's Republican Assembly approved the voter ID bill late Wednesday night, making it just an inevitable skip through the Senate and on to Walker to bring this further attempt at Republican-fueled, apparent world-domination into law.
It's not necessary and it's not a good idea for the voters of the state. Republicans know this. This is a calculated move to make a variety of voters--college students, the elderly, minorities, heck, anyone most likely to vote Democrat--less likely to vote. According to research presented to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board earlier this year, "ethnic and racial minorities, high school and college students, senior citizens and disabled, women, and those with low incomes" are more likely not to possess state-issued, photo identification.
A UWM study from 2005 found about 23% of those Wisconsin residents age 65 and older, don't have a state photo ID (177,399 people). Nor do approximately 100,000 Wisconsinites from age 34-65. That's a lot of people left out in the cold.
College students could use a college ID, if it had their current address on it, which no UW system school presently provides.
When you bring minorities into the equation, voter ID seems downright racist. According to the same UWM study, Milwaukee County had only 47% of African American adults and 43% of Hispanic adults with valid drivers' licenses. The rest of the state came in at 85%.
Even in Indiana, where folks claim voter ID is working, those without ID are more likely to be Democrats that Republicans due to accessibility, familiarity and comfort with bureaucratic red tape, fewer resources, and less knowledge of political processes.
And the fraud won't even be prevented. It's thought that such a measure would prevent people from voting as someone else, but not one of the 20 voter fraud cases from Milwaukee County in 2008 were even of that variety.
Oh, yeah, and it'll cost in the vicinity of five million dollars, likely with additional costs per year.
So what does it sound like: a really necessary idea advanced for the good of the people, or more of the same self-serving legislation advanced for the good of the Republicans?
As echoed through the Assembly chamber to protest this bill on Wednesday afternoon, "Shame, shame, shame!"
For a visual take on this deplorable issue check out this Phil Hands cartoon of the Wisconsin State Journal.
It's not necessary and it's not a good idea for the voters of the state. Republicans know this. This is a calculated move to make a variety of voters--college students, the elderly, minorities, heck, anyone most likely to vote Democrat--less likely to vote. According to research presented to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board earlier this year, "ethnic and racial minorities, high school and college students, senior citizens and disabled, women, and those with low incomes" are more likely not to possess state-issued, photo identification.
A UWM study from 2005 found about 23% of those Wisconsin residents age 65 and older, don't have a state photo ID (177,399 people). Nor do approximately 100,000 Wisconsinites from age 34-65. That's a lot of people left out in the cold.
College students could use a college ID, if it had their current address on it, which no UW system school presently provides.
When you bring minorities into the equation, voter ID seems downright racist. According to the same UWM study, Milwaukee County had only 47% of African American adults and 43% of Hispanic adults with valid drivers' licenses. The rest of the state came in at 85%.
Even in Indiana, where folks claim voter ID is working, those without ID are more likely to be Democrats that Republicans due to accessibility, familiarity and comfort with bureaucratic red tape, fewer resources, and less knowledge of political processes.
And the fraud won't even be prevented. It's thought that such a measure would prevent people from voting as someone else, but not one of the 20 voter fraud cases from Milwaukee County in 2008 were even of that variety.
Oh, yeah, and it'll cost in the vicinity of five million dollars, likely with additional costs per year.
So what does it sound like: a really necessary idea advanced for the good of the people, or more of the same self-serving legislation advanced for the good of the Republicans?
As echoed through the Assembly chamber to protest this bill on Wednesday afternoon, "Shame, shame, shame!"
For a visual take on this deplorable issue check out this Phil Hands cartoon of the Wisconsin State Journal.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
One recall in the Hopper
It's official. The recall signatures are valid. Senator Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) better start updating his resume. Although several GOP State Senators are vulnerable in upcoming recall elections (i.e., Alberta Darling of River Hills, who won by only two percentage points in 2008, and Dan Kapanke of La Crosse, where part of his district recently toppled the longtime tradition of Republicans in the Assembly), none seems nearly as ripe for the picking as does Hopper.
Hopper won his 2008 seat in a virtual dead heat with Democrat Jessica King of Oshkosh (a 180 vote difference out of more than 80,000 cast), who will face him in the recall election. Recall petitions gathered more than 150% of the signatures needed to bring the election (more than 23,000), tentatively slated for July 12.
And Hopper's personal problems likely won't help him either. Last year, Hopper's wife issued a public statement to Milwaukee's WTMJ that declared her husband of 25 years had moved out and was having an affair with a Republican aide. What makes it even more interesting is that the aide, Valerie Cass, was given a job in the Walker administration, a hiring the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Daniel Bice reports may have been less than transparent. For good measure, there were even unsubstantiated reports that Hopper's wife had signed one of the recall petitions.
And so it begins.
Hopper won his 2008 seat in a virtual dead heat with Democrat Jessica King of Oshkosh (a 180 vote difference out of more than 80,000 cast), who will face him in the recall election. Recall petitions gathered more than 150% of the signatures needed to bring the election (more than 23,000), tentatively slated for July 12.
And Hopper's personal problems likely won't help him either. Last year, Hopper's wife issued a public statement to Milwaukee's WTMJ that declared her husband of 25 years had moved out and was having an affair with a Republican aide. What makes it even more interesting is that the aide, Valerie Cass, was given a job in the Walker administration, a hiring the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Daniel Bice reports may have been less than transparent. For good measure, there were even unsubstantiated reports that Hopper's wife had signed one of the recall petitions.
And so it begins.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Concealed guns for everyone!
Republicans are about to turn back the clock--to 1872, the last time it was lawful to carry concealed weapons in the state (great background here). That means the stressed guy in the next cubicle, the angry road-rage hothead you just accidentally cut off in traffic, the drunk who's picking fights in the bar could all be packing heat.
And it gets better. A current Republican-sponsored bill would require no permits, no background checks, and no training. (JS Online article here). But the bill does have the stringent requirements that someone walking around with a loaded handgun in their Jockeys be at least 21 years old, not a felon, and not have been ruled mentally incompetent. Thank goodness, huh?
I admit I don't know an awful lot about the issue. My post was late tonight because I was doing some more research on it. It seems a lot of the pro-concealed carry argument comes from the seminal Lott-Mustard study of 1997 showing that concealed carry correlates with lowered crime (because, as Lott says, "criminals are uncertain which potential victims can defend themselves"). However, there are studies reviewing the same statistics and coming to the conclusion that concealed carry actually increases crime (one example study here). Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reputable studies from the last ten years that backed either side.
To be sure, Wisconsin is one of only two states (along with Illinois) that does not allow concealed carry. And even Senator Russ Feingold backed a Republican-sponsored proposal in 2009 that would have allowed concealed carry into Wisconsin if it was legal in someone's home state.
But that doesn't make it right.
And they figured that out already back in the days of Billy the Kid..
And it gets better. A current Republican-sponsored bill would require no permits, no background checks, and no training. (JS Online article here). But the bill does have the stringent requirements that someone walking around with a loaded handgun in their Jockeys be at least 21 years old, not a felon, and not have been ruled mentally incompetent. Thank goodness, huh?
I admit I don't know an awful lot about the issue. My post was late tonight because I was doing some more research on it. It seems a lot of the pro-concealed carry argument comes from the seminal Lott-Mustard study of 1997 showing that concealed carry correlates with lowered crime (because, as Lott says, "criminals are uncertain which potential victims can defend themselves"). However, there are studies reviewing the same statistics and coming to the conclusion that concealed carry actually increases crime (one example study here). Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reputable studies from the last ten years that backed either side.
To be sure, Wisconsin is one of only two states (along with Illinois) that does not allow concealed carry. And even Senator Russ Feingold backed a Republican-sponsored proposal in 2009 that would have allowed concealed carry into Wisconsin if it was legal in someone's home state.
But that doesn't make it right.
And they figured that out already back in the days of Billy the Kid..
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day from Governor Walker
Governor Scott Walker said today he has "great respect for mothers, I really do." Shortly thereafter, he announced that today mothers will have to contribute 50% of their brunch costs saying, "It's time mothers pay their fair share." Walker went on to remark, "It gives kids the tools to balance their budgets" and that "Most mothers would be happy to get this kind of deal." Walker also promoted his "Mother Recognition Program" to acknowledge the fine work they do in working with the children of our state. It's a program, as Walker stated, designed to "highlight the most outstanding mothers with public recognition."
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