Monday, December 15, 2008

Appointment of Arne Duncan Incites Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

Silly me. All I want for Christmas is a national uprising of teachers, a nationwide walkout. While I am not anti-union, I think it would send a powerful message if the movement took place independent of the teachers' unions.


Please deliver Santa.

Naively yours,
Tauna

P.S. I do hope I'm wrong about Duncan. I can imagine worse...Michelle Rhee or Joel Klein. Still, I'm mighty uneasy Santa. That nationwide movement of teachers is needed regardless of who the Secretary of Education is.

It is needed to respond to a nation that does not take care of its children but simply dumps them into the public schools, places wildly unrealistic demands upon those schools, then hypocritically wags a finger of blame. It is high time the relentless "failing public schools" mantra received critical scrutiny.




5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Arnie Ducan ? He has a sociology degree. He wants to evaluate moving all the gay HS students into one building and thinks it's an innovative idea to evaluate and consider on a national level. So,what does that teach about respecting people for who they are in a multi-cultural globally 21st century world ?"Be you,it's all good and respect others cause we're not all going to agree ! Conflict resolution ! " A little to, "small pie thinking" on innovation with that one Arnie Ducan. So far,I like his name and he plays basketball and that's cool. The PAT program and having peer evaluators and mentors ? Sounds like a creative budget cut under NCLB and 10%. One announced,two unannounced,one peer and one summative end of year.Video all evaluations and mulitiple evaluators to elimimate bias. Would like to see more transparancy on testing corporations under NCLB. Also,want to see the mandates not working on NCLB end ! One fire truck and a marching band and race ya for a US teacher rally in DC to the Washington Monument.When do we get our bailout package for Public Education ? Send rescue ships for DC teachers under Rhee reform. If that's educational reform,we need to find the fire truck fast !Let's go Toto and get that broom to the Wiz ! Seriously,this reinforcement NCLB is sinking and Obama doubled funding for Charter.Relax,Public Education gets a bailout package and states can "use it or lose it" and don't blow it on rum in the bailout package. The call letters are PL 107-110 and it's a tuck and duck and we will slam dunk that NCLB and 10%! Roudolph with your nose so bright illuminate the team path bright ! Good Luck Arnie Ducan and don't foul out on those educational tax credits and funding formulas driven for resources and support from the bottom up ! A little more oversight for testing corporations and there is very little and we'll be on zone for transparancy ! The list is to long Santa and could type all night but if he can put a little fair balance into the ballgame it would be great. Charter got Wachovia and Fanny Mae and we got stuck with that rat NCLB and 10% with increased accountability and proceedual violation technicals !Punitive law that uses flawed standardized tests to label schools as failures and punish them with counter productive sanctions,assessment and accountability. Ya know, from the fire truck we could blast the song,Shake,Rattle and Roll." Go Santa go ! Read Manufactured Crisis and grab Guskey and Marzano !An education celebration ! Motivate to engage Santa ! Collective bargaining doesn't need to go to "crisis" and the 14th Amendment doesn't need to go to heck in a hand basket in all this NCLB and 10% selling reform ! Don't get radical and start re-writing the Constitution and stay balanced in the saddle. Making my list and checking it twice. Look out for that GS 94-142 and FAPE ! Is there no administrative remedy in the real world and now they blame the teachers ? That ball is out of bounds ! Good luck to Arnie Ducan! If I could make one wish it would be for school buildings to have fun teaching and learning! See Finland and Denmark !Fire up the pep bands for school spirit and we've lost it teaching to a bubble test.Merry Christmas! Equalize and balance !

Anonymous said...

Rhee stop picking on the teachers under NCLB and 10% !"Never throw the first punch but always throw the last !" Hee ! AFT has 1.4 million teachers on watch and we heard Joe Biden ! We're up ! Ha ! Some eat bees and some grew up stopping streets for parades !Hire,Train and Support !

Anonymous said...

"Principles alleged report being instructed to lie in their "teacher observations" about what is taking place during a structured lesson." One principle at Patterson Elementary School resigned in opposition to these unethical practices.Discrimination is not allowed in Public Education to support your agenda ! Call the attorney general and this is proceedually and operationally out of control ! Take it to a higer ground and Van Morrison to ya !We need a constitutional attorney !Thanks Santa !

Anonymous said...

Who is our Secretary of Education Santa ? How does he spell his name ? Docan,Duncan or Ducan ?Laugh and it's free !

tauna said...

Hi Anonymous,

I understand why you must post anonymously as I know you are literally under seige in DC. In my opinion, media darling Rhee is a tool of the ruling elite, with the troubled DC school system being a prime feeding ground for corporate opportunism, veiled as concern for poor children.

I'm not understanding about the 10% thing...can you help me out with that?