Category: General

Won’t Back Down Bombs

The anti-union, anti-public education propoganda film “Won’t Back Down” recorded the worst opening weekend of any film in wide distribution (more than 2,500 screens) in 30 years.

Here are some of the reviews…

Salon.com with this quote…

Someone needs to launch an investigation into what combination of crimes, dares, alcoholic binges and lapses in judgment got Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal into this movie. Neither of them seems likely to sympathize with its thinly veiled labor-bashing agenda and, way more to the point, I thought they had better taste.

Julie Cavanagh’s “The Truth Behind Won’t Back Down”

The LA Times…

Anyone who values their one and only life would be well-advised not to spend two hours of it here.

Sunday Link Around

It may be a bit late to read during your Sunday morning coffee, but here are a few good links to check out before the work week begins…

A good critique on NBC’s “Education Nation”

A city school teacher talks about The Next Big Thing in education. (Thanks Steve Nielsen for the link)

The Washington Post’s Harold Meyerson on “Lessons from the teachers strike”

Some background on who is behind the propoganda film known as “Won’t Back Down”

Diane Ravitch goodies…

Diane discussing the $1 million ad that was put out after the CTU strike to spin the story in favor of “reform” groups.

Diane on who paid for the anti-union ads that were played during the strike. (Democrats For Education Reform, of course).

What one teacher did on Back-to-School night.

Two links (here and here) about NBC’s push for the corporate reform of education look at education in the US.

Public Education Makes for Strange Bedfellows Indeed

While you are deciding who to vote for this fall and public education is an important issue to you, the following story may be of interest to you…

Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan on the CTU’s strike: “we stand with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.”

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney then lied, that President Obama has taken the side of the union.

President Obama stuck his neck out on the line (sarcasm alert!) by having White House Press Secretary Jay Carney state that, unfathomably, he has no position on the issue…

CTU Strike: Day 2 Update

First and foremost, CTU President Karen Lewis on MSNBC’s The Ed Show:

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/the-ed-show/48996251/#48996251

Some SEIU Local 1 members who work in Chicago schools as custodians are now preparing to go out on strike as a show of solidarity with the teachers

Journalist and author Chris Hedges: “The teachers’ strike in Chicago is arguably one of the most important labor actions in probably decades,” Hedges says. “If it does not prevail, you can be certain that the template for the attack on the union will be carried out across the country against other teachers’ unions and against the last redoubt of union activity, which is in the public sector, of course — firemen and police.”

The AFL-CIO is asking all union members to wear red on Wednesday.

More people in Chicago support the strike than don’t.

An estimated 50,000 (!) people rallied in front of the Chicago Public Schools offices.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to force more standardized tests and teacher evaluations connected to those tests into Chicago Public Schools.  Interestingly enough, the director of the private school that he sends his own children to opposes testing for teacher evaluations!

The Chicago Teachers Union is On Strike

Tonight Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis announced that the CTU will be on strike tomorrow.  Among the major issues is the new teacher evaluation system that the city is trying to implement and the city’s insistance on eliminating steps and columns in the teachers’ contract.

There is no overstating the importance of this situation to all public school teachers across the country, including those in Comsewogue.

The Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association is proud to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Chicago.  Wear red tomorrow.