Education is the Key To Freedom; know that freedom is being stripped away from the public school system. Before common core people of color were denied educational development that would allow them to become self sufficient. Segregation helped some communities, in others created flight of people who felt they are better than people of color and the allocations of resources. The public schoolhouse is vital for those of us not able or desiring a private education. The resources that create a schoolhouse differ with each demographics, resources such as professional educators, counselors, librarians, nurses, heat, and basic school supplies are needed in every school serving the public. These resources have pretty much been stripped away from today's schools with Common Core, Teach For America and Race to the Top.
The Education of Black folks is in a state of despair, disarray and disgrace. Many of you are familiar with phrases such as “school to prison pipeline”, “Achievement Gap”, “Education is the civil rights issues of the era”, “high stake standardized assessments that adversely impact Black and Latinos.” However there is a nation-wide 60 year old issue that, except for Chicago and New Orleans hardly any one is addressing. It’s the issue of removing Black teachers in the Education arena through pseudo evaluations, downsizing, “school turn abounds”, charter schools, demotions, or forced retirements.
That phenomenon of removing Black teachers in the classrooms started in the South at the onset of 1954 -55 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling. In a USA Today April 2004, entitled Thousands of black teachers lost jobs, Greg Toppo gave a historical perspective on the declining of Black teachers in the South. By 2015, the process of “structuring out” teachers of African descent has spread all over the country. In almost every state, one will find a number of tenured veteran black teachers who have been displaced, via demotions, dismissals or forced retirements or phony negative evaluations. Tenured Latino teachers are demoted, but they are not dismissed. WE NEED TO STOP THE REMOVAL OF BLACK TEACHERS FROM THE EDUCATION ARENA.
http://forpubliced.blogspot.com/2015/09/black-educator-teacher-nikky-speaks-at.html
Please don't believe any hype that our students are performing poorly in their educational development based on standardized test and common core. Please know that these test are designed to fail our students. Our schools are under resourced and poorly funded for the sole purpose of creating sweatshop labor. Please know that in May our students were passing those standardized test and in July the Pa. State Board of Education cut the scores. Please also know that standardized test feeds the school to prison pipeline. Our Government has invested in building prison communities consisting of sweatshop labor rather than build safe productive residential communities on meaningful wages or self employed.
Please know that parents are the most powerful in the world of education. There's Title 1, and more resources and laws that protect parents and students.
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/landing.jhtml?src=pn
Lee: Mr. President, my amendment (2162) would clarify that parents, not the federal government, are the primary educators of their children. It would ensure that parents may allow their children to opt out of federally-mandated tests. Now, the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Alexander, is right that states should be free to make their own tests mandatory if they so choose. However, that is not what this bill (ECAA) allows. This bill mandates that states give these tests and requires them to get the content of such tests approved by the US secretary of education.
My amendment is silent on the question of state tests. It simply clarifies that the tests mandated by this bill- mandated by this Congress- are in fact voluntary in that parents- not politicians or bureaucrats- will have the final say in whether individual children take federal tests. It also ensures that the federal government cannot punish states by restricting federal funding for education should parents choose to opt out their children from these tests.Moreover, Senator Isakson’s second opt-out amendment to ECAA, SA 2194 (approved by a vote of 98-0 on July 14, 2015), requires districts to inform parents of state or district opt-out policies:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mercedes-schneider/the-senate-debate-on-lees_b_7829878.html
At the beginning of each school year, a local educational agency that receives funds under this part shall notify the parents of each student attending any school receiving funds under this part that the parents may request, and the agency will provide the parents on request (and in a timely manner), information regarding any State or local educational agency policy, procedure, or parental right regarding student participation in any mandated assessments for that school year….
https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/both-house-and-senate-esea-bills-allow-for-opt-out-without-penalty/
Erica Siate Yeah, it was so awful in Philly that the Kindergarten and 1st teachers were all white women who screamed at the kids all day. They would threaten to pass the kids to "an even meaner teacher" for the day, so all the kids could easily come to the conclusion that white people are evil and they hate school. They were the craziest bunch of white people I've ever encountered. Happy to report, both kids' teachers this year are women of color. Also, the single mother principal just hired a black man to teach PE, and the kids love the whole staff. Our secretary of education is an American Indian woman and a woman on her staff just won National American Indian Educator of the Year. So good to be back home.
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