Sharing Our Stories

Today, AFT-MI members turned up in Lansing to talk to legislators about a number of issues important to educators in Michigan.

One of the bills that might go to vote during this Lame Duck session is HB 4639.  This bill would give the EAA the authority to take over schools throughout the whole state.  Currently, 15 schools in Detroit are under EAA authority.  I won't even go into what an unmitigated disaster the EAA is.  Eclectablog has done an amazing job covering this train wreck, please give that site some more traffic.

As for the bill, support for it has been largely partisan.  Many Republicans are eager to expand the EAA's powers to other "failing" schools.  Luckily, the AFT has had a huge impact on stopping the district's expansion.  All the AFT-MI did was transport teachers from EAA schools to Lansing and let them tell their stories to legislators, this past spring.

One of the legislators who heard those teachers stories was Republican Senator, John Poppageorge. He initially supported the EAA, but changed his mind after listening to teachers tell their stories.  One of the teachers told the senator that the EAA was a Potemkin village.  Clearly, that analogy made an impression on the senator, as he repeated the phrase to us today to describe his opinion of the EAA.

We have voices, but they are useless if we don't use them.  Teachers have been under attack across the nation at an unprecedented level over the last several years.  If we engage, even minimally, in the political process and simply tell our stories, even members on the other side will listen.

I shouldn't really be surprised

Yesterday's elections gave rationale and progressive people a few victories last night. In Michigan, we saw the recall of Paul Scott, who gave us the bill that basically through tenure out the window. He was also the chair for the Education committee for the House of Representatives in Lansing. As chair, he would have been presiding over the public comments hearing about a bill that would have lifted the numerical cap of charter schools in the state of Michigan. In Michigan, the majority of charter schools are operated by for-profit companies. Needless to say, both of the teachers' unions and most public school districts are adamantly against this bill. My union president asked me if I would like to go to Lansing and testify before the committee. I was thrilled and I have to admit that speaking before form of a legislative body is a bucket list item.

This morning, with testimony (and 30 copies) in hand, I drove to our state capitol. Sadly, my drive was in vain, as it turns out that the committee chair is busy licking his wounds and cancelled the hearing. That's really too bad, because I had somethings to tell them.

November 9, 2011
Good morning and thank you for allowing me to speak before you today on a topic of great importance: the lifting of the charter school cap, a notion I believe to be a very bad idea.
I have taught at Hamtramck High School (go Cosmos!) since 1997. In those 14 years, Hamtramck’s 2.2 square miles has become home to five charter schools, in addition to the seven schools operated by Hamtramck Public Schools. Twelve schools in 2.2 square miles is an astonishing number. It seems there has been no cap in Hamtramck, so I believe that I am uniquely qualified to tell the committee and the public what we can expect if the charter school cap is lifted.
We can expect to see an increase in de facto re-segregation of the American school system. This has already been the case in Hamtramck. The Greater Detroit Community Development Group met earlier this year with the superintendent of Hamtramck schools to discuss the possibility of Hamtramck Public Schools authorizing their proposed charter. It was explained in the meeting (I have attached a copy of the minutes along with a newspaper article) that the organization would target Bengali families specifically to enrol at the new school. How is that even possible? It is as if Brown v. Board never happened and taxpayer money will be spent on schools that look to cater to one ethnic group. Who is holding these organizations accountable?
We can expect to see a widening of the practice of not teaching what is not measured by AYP. A few years ago, I met a fourth grade teacher from a charter school in Hamtramck. After she asked me if there were any jobs in the schools, I asked her about a rumor about her school. We had heard that her school did not teach social studies (history) and frankly, report cards from students transferring to the public schools showed no social studies mark. She confirmed it and said that seeing as AYP was only measuring reading and math, social studies was dropped. Who is holding these schools accountable?
We can expect to see more schools that don’t provide even the most rudimentary basics, as a student of mine vividly details in a sheet I’ve also attached. She asked to remain anonymous, but I will tell you that she and her sister (who graduated last year) are two of the brightest young ladies I have ever taught. She quite plainly states that for two years, she didn’t even have a locker. In two years, she never used a textbook that was remotely close to new. But, that particular school offers Arabic, so I guess I can guess who their target audience is. Who is holding these schools accountable?
We can expect to see more schools that demand that their teachers use a script, as was the case of a former student of mine. Last year, she taught at a charter school that gave its teachers scripts and teachers were routinely reprimanded and written up if they were not at the appointed spot on the script at the appointed time. That school had a heavy ESL population and no ESL program. Who is holding these schools accountable?
We can expect to see more parents, especially those not born and raised in the United States, confused about the actual standing of charter schools. I have seen banners on a number of charter schools that proclaim them to offer “free tuition.” This subtly deceptive practice is bound to confuse a parent who comes from a poverty-stricken third world country where an education was the privilege of the wealthy, not a right for all citizens. Even my student who wrote of her charter school experience calls it a private charter school, underscoring the confusion that exists. Who is holding these schools accountable?

We can expect more parents to be told that there is no room in the school and that their child will be placed on a waiting list (after count day). My school doesn’t have a waiting list. Who is holding these schools accountable?
We can expect more special needs students to be told that there isn’t a program to help them, as has been the case of so many of our special education students. Who is holding these schools accountable?
No one is holding these charter schools accountable. For the most part, for-profit management corporations operate them. No democratically elected school boards. No open meetings. No books that can be accessed by any taxpayer who has the gumption.
Is it this legislative body’s intention to give taxpayers’ money to entities that are unaccountable to taxpayers? Is that the mission you have be given by taxpayers? Are schools that are unaccountable to taxpayers and ordinary citizens really what’s best for children? A lack of special services, “waiting lists,” deceptive marketing practices, scripts, a lack of basic supplies, no social studies, and de facto re-segregation? I don’t think so. Keep the cap and hold these schools accountable.

The woman from my union's office listened to me and she told me that my story needed to be told and that she'd let me know when the hearing would be re-scheduled. I plan on showing up and telling this tale.

Is anyone listening?

Dear Presidents of the NEA and the AFT,

I have just started my 16th year of teaching and yet I wish with all of my might that this were my last year. I desperately wish that the nation's economy were in much better condition so I could change my career. I feel that the politics surrounding education have been so toxic that there is no turning back.

Here is Michigan, tenure has been thrown by the wayside, all collective bargaining has been legislated away, we are on the verge of becoming a "right-to-work" state with a privatized teaching core. None of these actions relate in any way to actual research on best teaching practices or incorporating much needed social services in our poorest schools. Nope, this is all about destroying unions and decreasing salaries and about turning schools over to private corporations so they have captive markets and can reap all that taxpayer money.

But, down deep, you already know that. So, what are we to do? Are we to continue to try and compromise with an opponent whose demagoguery is driven by some odd combination of the Chicago School of Economics philosophy (the one that killed Allende, brought Pinochet to power, and drove Chile to its knees) and religious fanaticism that believes that Jesus today would spit on the poor? People who cheer at the thought of an uninsured person's death? People who listen to a radio announcer who called a 13 year Chelsea Clinton a dog? People who knowingly lied about weapons of mass destruction? Can one actually reason with and compromise with people like these? I don't think so. But, we keep trying - like good teachers who try to reach that angry student who is about to give up. Sadly, it isn't working.

I am not the only teacher who feels like this. There are many and we are looking to you for your leadership in making this happen. You see, we trench-working teachers are busy with lesson plans and marking papers. You and the leadership of the two unions have time for this task, so I beseech you to do the following:

CALL A STRIKE! CALL A STRIKE! CALL A STRIKE!

Shut the schools down for a few days. Flex our muscles. Show them that we have come to the fight prepared to win or at least not go down with a whimper. Call it and we will follow - I promise.

I'll be damned if I lose my job in three years (that is the time frame) without fighting back.

CALL A STRIKE!

Meltdown and Recovery in Detroit

Last night, I attended a symposium, sponsored in part by The Nation magazine, focused on the current economic crisis. The moderator, John Nichols, stated that the decision to come to Detroit was easy. FDR came here when he was campaigning against Hoover. The modern labor movement was born in Detroit. Malcom X came to Detroit and Dr. King first gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Detroit. Finally, the collapse of the auto industry has had a devastating effect on the city and the surrounding communities.

The panel consisted of six highly regarded activists, both local and national. The local activists were Dianne Freeley, a retired UAW worker; Joann Watson, a city council member; Elena Herrada, a community organizer in the Latino community; and the legendary Grace Lee Boggs. The national voices included John Conyers, author Barbara Ehrenreich, and economist/author Robert Pollin.

John Conyers spoke first (and he stayed the whole evening). The speech was a bit rambling, but the essence spoke to the notion that President Obama is a smart man, but that not everyone around him is not, including advisers. Of course, in my mind, that begs the question why did such a smart President pick a bunch of dummies to advice him. But, I digress.

The rest of the evening saw the various panelist answering a specific question from the moderator. For example, the first question went to Robert Pollin. It was a nice, simple question - What went wrong? His answer to this question was truly an eye-opener.

According the Pollin, in the 1970s, our political system turned itself over entirely to capitalist. This is marked by two "events" The first is that "full employment" ceased being the central premise in politics. In 1972, the average, non-supervisory worker made a little over $19 an hour (adjusted to current values). By 2007, before the current crisis really took hold, that wage had fallen to $17.40 an hour. This represents about an 11 percent decrease. In the same time period, U.S. productivity rose a whopping 90 percent.

The second thing that began to happen in the 1970s was the slow dismantling of the Glass-Steagall Act which separated commercial banking and investment banking interests. The bill was full repealed in 1999 (thanks a lot Bill).

It was important to hear from Barbara Ehrenreich that her book, Nickled and Dimed, was published in 2001 (pre-9/11). Her research was done during the boom years of the 90s. That means all the low wage workers she met were not seeing any noticeable boom. That was, of course, due to the fact that housing costs were sky rocketing out of control.

City Council woman Joann Watson reminded us that corporations have never voluntarily done the right thing - including stopping child labor. Grace Lee Boggs said that we have to re-image both ourselves and our planet as we attempt to rebuild. We can no longer afford to be crass consumers, the planet can simply longer sustain that type of behavior.

There was so much good information that it's hard to piece it all together. The most important feeling I took out of this symposium was the realization that there are people out there fighting for the poor, the planet, and our future. It was good to get my hands on information about actions that are currently taking place in the city or will be soon. For example, from June 15-17, CEOs from a number of giant corporations will meet in Detroit. To counter all that unfettered greed, a People's Summit and Tent City has been organized and will take place near the ballparks. Additionally, from June 22-26, 2010, the US Social Forum will take place in Detroit. One of the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the leave was to reconnect with the activist I was in college. These two events will give me a perfect opportunity to do just that.