Rutherford County Stands Up

by Larry Proffitt

On March 6th, in Murfreesboro, TN, parents, grandparents, community members, and teachers, stood up to ask real questions of the NOT student-friendly group, “Students First.”

Not only were there TEA members in attendance from four different local affiliates, including the Tennessee Retired Teachers Association, but Murfreesboro and Rutherford County proved to have attentive educated parents who weren’t duped by shallow explanations, catch phrases, and unsupported documentation.

What a night! It was a

Continue reading… Rutherford County Stands Up

Why School Isn’t for Children

“…no matter how fluent my students are, no matter how amazing their writing, no matter how much they know about so many topics, they MUST be able to sit for two and a half hours straight and read 6-7 reading selections and write approximately 12 essay questions giving the scorers EXACTLY what they’re looking for or they won’t get their points and they won’t get their scores.”

Click here to read the full article in

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Stand up for education, stand up for yourself. VOTE!

Stand up for education, stand up for yourself. VOTE! from IEANEA on Vimeo.

The March 18 election will have a huge impact on Illinois and public schools.

A few years ago, Wisconsin elected an anti-public education, anti-union governor. This brief video shows what kind of an impact that election had on members and leaders of the NEA affiliate in Wisconsin.

Teachers Opt Own Children Out of Testing

“Some states have laws and policies that allow parents to opt their children out. Tennessee does not. Yet…

There is currently a Bill in the Legislature that, if it passes, would allow parents to legally Opt-Out of testing for their children without penalties (HB 1841 / SB 2221) . The Bill’s sponsor, Rep. Gloria Johnson, is also a teacher.

 

(Unfortunately, a half a BILLION dollar fiscal note has been attached to the

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Arizona Senate Bans Common Core

“Arizona adopted the Common Core standards in 2010 without opposition, but some Republicans have recently denounced the standards, saying they are a poorly conceived, federally driven effort that usurps states’ rights.”

Read more about Arizona’s decision to ban the Common Core State Standards here.

Resolution of the Rutherford Co. BOE

MURFREESBORO — — The county Board of Education wants the state to know “Rutherford County Schools are not for sale.”

Their resolution is below. To read the full article, please click here.

RESOLUTION OF THE RUTHERFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION IN OPPOSITION TO LEGISLATION THREATENING A FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM

WHEREAS, Rutherford County Schools are not for sale; and

WHEREAS, a number of bills are being advanced before the State of Tennessee’s

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ALEC: Bringing Harmful Ed. Bills to TN

ALEC is a corporate bill mill. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators wishlists that benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC’s operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills.

Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy’s ALECexposed.org. For a list of politicians with known ALEC ties, please see ALEC Politicians.

Please follow this

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More Money for Pearson & Gates – Since 2011

If you still think “Common Core” standards were developed by anyone in the education field, or that the standards are a new idea, you might want to look at this press release from April 27, 2011:

“NEW YORK–The Pearson Foundation today announced a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support America’s teachers by creating a full series of digital instructional resources. Online courses in math and reading/English language arts will offer a

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Backlash Against Huffman

 

“At first it was the union types. Then groups of parents grew frustrated. And now even the state’s school superintendents are piling on criticism of Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman.”

“His reform agenda was always controversial. After all, the state has dismantled public education’s traditional structure in recent years, changing the rules for teachers and students alike.”

“But lately, criticism of Huffman has reached new heights. Teachers dig into his background and create petitions. Some

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TN Teacher Rally, 2011

On March 5th, 2011, thousands of Tennessee educators and their supporters met in Nashville to rally against several anti-teacher bills. These thousands stood in the rain all afternoon, sending a clear message. There are multitudes of Tennesseans who are firmly against anti-teacher, anti-education, anti-worker, anti-union bills.

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First, we gathered.

We gathered to hear the plan for the day.

The, we gathered our signs.

Some had signs on their umbrellas.

Some had signs on their ponchos.

There were small signs.

From the TEA Rally, March 5, 2011 (Photo JOwen)

There were large signs.

March 5, 2011 (Photo JOwen)

We lined up, to march to Legislative Plaza.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel was there!

Teachers are really good at lining up. 🙂

We marched to Legislative Plaza.

It was a long way to march to Legislative Plaza!

Lots of supporters spent the day with us!

Steelworkers Support Teachers

United Campus Workers Support Teachers.

Nashville Peach and Justice Center Supports Teachers.

Machinists Support Teachers

Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Support Teachers

Hamilton County Residents Support Teachers.

Legislative Plaza, Nashville, TN. March5, 2011