If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? |
Wednesday
Sunday
School Counseling Podcast: The-diagnosis-and-the-drug-use-of-psychotropic-med...
"Mon, 31 January 2011The Diagnosis and the Drug: Use of Psychotropic Medication
in the Foster Care System - Stephen McCrea, CASA Supervisor"
Saturday
How To Prevent Teenagers from Sexting
PARENTING: How To Prevent Teenagers from Sexting and Protect Them From Other Teens Who Do...
With the ubiquity of ever more powerful cell phones, sexting has become an increasing concern for the parents of teenagers and preteens. This article describes how you can protect your child from the dangers of sexting, an activity that has major implications for long-term online reputation and electronic privacy.
Sexting refers to sharing nude or near nude pictures, usually via a mobile phone. Most experts distinguish between sending naked photos, an activity with serious privacy, health, and legal implications, and simply sending suggestive text messages, which is less harmful.
Understand why teenagers engage in sexting
Although teens are less concerned with online reputation management than adults, that doesn’t mean they are unaware of the electronic privacy implications of sexting. Teenagers sext for completely understandable reasons, so drop the “my child would never do that” attitude. According to two recent surveys (PDF), approximately 1 in 10 American teenagers have sent sexts, and approximately 1 in 3 have received them.
Some of the reasons teenagers send sexually explicit photos include the following:
- Peer pressure or cyberbullying
- Self-esteem issues
- Rebelliousness, or the sense that they should be allowed to decide
- As a romantic gesture
- Because it feels naughty, liberating, or grown-up
- As a sexual favor in exchange for other services
- Self-esteem issues
- Rebelliousness, or the sense that they should be allowed to decide
- As a romantic gesture
- Because it feels naughty, liberating, or grown-up
- As a sexual favor in exchange for other services
Below are some other statistics useful in developing a rounded picture:
- Girls are slightly more likely to send explicit photos than boys.
- Of teenagers that do send sexually explicit photos, about 10 percent willfully send them to people they don’t even know. One teen girl even sent nude photos of herself to an entire school hockey team.
- Approximately 80 percent of young people in the U.S. under the age of 18 believe sexting is wrong, although some of those same teens do it anyway.
- Most teens that send sexts never get caught.
- Of teenagers that do send sexually explicit photos, about 10 percent willfully send them to people they don’t even know. One teen girl even sent nude photos of herself to an entire school hockey team.
- Approximately 80 percent of young people in the U.S. under the age of 18 believe sexting is wrong, although some of those same teens do it anyway.
- Most teens that send sexts never get caught.
Learn about the actual dangers of sexting
As it turns out, teens are fairly well educated as to the dangers of exposing private information or photos digitally. They also understand the impact on their online reputations, at least among their peer groups. Datafrom the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire suggests that sharing personal information electronically does not on its own correlate to an increased risk of harm. According to a survey of American adolescents, 3 out of 4 get it right when they say that sharing personal information or photos online falls between “somewhat safe” and “somewhat unsafe,” similar to the danger of underage drinking.
How To Prevent Teenagers from Sexting
PARENTING: How To Prevent Teenagers from Sexting and Protect Them From Other Teens Who Do...
With the ubiquity of ever more powerful cell phones, sexting has become an increasing concern for the parents of teenagers and preteens. This article describes how you can protect your child from the dangers of sexting, an activity that has major implications for long-term online reputation and electronic privacy.
Sexting refers to sharing nude or near nude pictures, usually via a mobile phone. Most experts distinguish between sending naked photos, an activity with serious privacy, health, and legal implications, and simply sending suggestive text messages, which is less harmful.
Understand why teenagers engage in sexting
Although teens are less concerned with online reputation management than adults, that doesn’t mean they are unaware of the electronic privacy implications of sexting. Teenagers sext for completely understandable reasons, so drop the “my child would never do that” attitude. According to two recent surveys (PDF), approximately 1 in 10 American teenagers have sent sexts, and approximately 1 in 3 have received them.
Some of the reasons teenagers send sexually explicit photos include the following:
- Peer pressure or cyberbullying
- Self-esteem issues
- Rebelliousness, or the sense that they should be allowed to decide
- As a romantic gesture
- Because it feels naughty, liberating, or grown-up
- As a sexual favor in exchange for other services
- Self-esteem issues
- Rebelliousness, or the sense that they should be allowed to decide
- As a romantic gesture
- Because it feels naughty, liberating, or grown-up
- As a sexual favor in exchange for other services
Below are some other statistics useful in developing a rounded picture:
- Girls are slightly more likely to send explicit photos than boys.
- Of teenagers that do send sexually explicit photos, about 10 percent willfully send them to people they don’t even know. One teen girl even sent nude photos of herself to an entire school hockey team.
- Approximately 80 percent of young people in the U.S. under the age of 18 believe sexting is wrong, although some of those same teens do it anyway.
- Most teens that send sexts never get caught.
- Of teenagers that do send sexually explicit photos, about 10 percent willfully send them to people they don’t even know. One teen girl even sent nude photos of herself to an entire school hockey team.
- Approximately 80 percent of young people in the U.S. under the age of 18 believe sexting is wrong, although some of those same teens do it anyway.
- Most teens that send sexts never get caught.
Learn about the actual dangers of sexting
As it turns out, teens are fairly well educated as to the dangers of exposing private information or photos digitally. They also understand the impact on their online reputations, at least among their peer groups. Datafrom the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire suggests that sharing personal information electronically does not on its own correlate to an increased risk of harm. According to a survey of American adolescents, 3 out of 4 get it right when they say that sharing personal information or photos online falls between “somewhat safe” and “somewhat unsafe,” similar to the danger of underage drinking.
How To Prevent Teenagers from Sexting
PARENTING: How To Prevent Teenagers from Sexting and Protect Them From Other Teens Who Do...
With the ubiquity of ever more powerful cell phones, sexting has become an increasing concern for the parents of teenagers and preteens. This article describes how you can protect your child from the dangers of sexting, an activity that has major implications for long-term online reputation and electronic privacy.
Sexting refers to sharing nude or near nude pictures, usually via a mobile phone. Most experts distinguish between sending naked photos, an activity with serious privacy, health, and legal implications, and simply sending suggestive text messages, which is less harmful.
Understand why teenagers engage in sexting
Although teens are less concerned with online reputation management than adults, that doesn’t mean they are unaware of the electronic privacy implications of sexting. Teenagers sext for completely understandable reasons, so drop the “my child would never do that” attitude. According to two recent surveys (PDF), approximately 1 in 10 American teenagers have sent sexts, and approximately 1 in 3 have received them.
Some of the reasons teenagers send sexually explicit photos include the following:
- Peer pressure or cyberbullying
- Self-esteem issues
- Rebelliousness, or the sense that they should be allowed to decide
- As a romantic gesture
- Because it feels naughty, liberating, or grown-up
- As a sexual favor in exchange for other services
- Self-esteem issues
- Rebelliousness, or the sense that they should be allowed to decide
- As a romantic gesture
- Because it feels naughty, liberating, or grown-up
- As a sexual favor in exchange for other services
Below are some other statistics useful in developing a rounded picture:
- Girls are slightly more likely to send explicit photos than boys.
- Of teenagers that do send sexually explicit photos, about 10 percent willfully send them to people they don’t even know. One teen girl even sent nude photos of herself to an entire school hockey team.
- Approximately 80 percent of young people in the U.S. under the age of 18 believe sexting is wrong, although some of those same teens do it anyway.
- Most teens that send sexts never get caught.
- Of teenagers that do send sexually explicit photos, about 10 percent willfully send them to people they don’t even know. One teen girl even sent nude photos of herself to an entire school hockey team.
- Approximately 80 percent of young people in the U.S. under the age of 18 believe sexting is wrong, although some of those same teens do it anyway.
- Most teens that send sexts never get caught.
Learn about the actual dangers of sexting
As it turns out, teens are fairly well educated as to the dangers of exposing private information or photos digitally. They also understand the impact on their online reputations, at least among their peer groups. Datafrom the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire suggests that sharing personal information electronically does not on its own correlate to an increased risk of harm. According to a survey of American adolescents, 3 out of 4 get it right when they say that sharing personal information or photos online falls between “somewhat safe” and “somewhat unsafe,” similar to the danger of underage drinking.
Wednesday
The Automatic Earth: March 16, 2011: How Black is the Japanese Nuclear Swan?
How Black is the Japanese Nuclear Swan?
The last 50 workers have fled the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi plant as the radiation in the 4th reactor shoots up. As of a few hours ago PST No one remains. Complete meltdown is now probable.
Japan suspends work at stricken nuclear plant
Japan suspended operations to keep its stricken nuclear plant from melting down Wednesday after surging radiation made it too dangerous to stay.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the workers dousing the reactors in a frantic effort to cool them needed to withdraw. The workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now," Edano said. "Because of the radiation risk we are on standby," he said. Edano said the government expects to ask the U.S. military for help. He did not elaborate. He said the government is still considering whether and how to take up the various offers of help from other countries.
The surge in radiation was apparently the result of a Tuesday explosion in the complex's Unit 4 reactor, according to officials with Japan's nuclear safety agency. That blast is thought to have damaged the reactor's suppression chamber, a water-filled pipe outside the nuclear core that is part of the emergency cooling system.
Japan suspends work at stricken nuclear plant
Japan suspended operations to keep its stricken nuclear plant from melting down Wednesday after surging radiation made it too dangerous to stay.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the workers dousing the reactors in a frantic effort to cool them needed to withdraw. The workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now," Edano said. "Because of the radiation risk we are on standby," he said. Edano said the government expects to ask the U.S. military for help. He did not elaborate. He said the government is still considering whether and how to take up the various offers of help from other countries.
The surge in radiation was apparently the result of a Tuesday explosion in the complex's Unit 4 reactor, according to officials with Japan's nuclear safety agency. That blast is thought to have damaged the reactor's suppression chamber, a water-filled pipe outside the nuclear core that is part of the emergency cooling system.
Tuesday
Monday
Education Secretary Arne Duncan, AFT President Randi Weingarten and Head of School Administrators Association Dan Domenech Candidly Discuss the Promise and Cynicism Around Historic Collaboration Conference
Organizers of unprecedented labor-management gathering answer tough questions...
Well folks, I called it in 2008. I wrote more than one article on economics and the REAL agenda behind "No Child Left Behind." I called it a foreseeable depression or deflationary spiral when then president "W" said there was no recession. A few days ago, Fontana USD pinked every single Counselor in order to save it's Football and Baseball Programs. For Now! This after telling the enraged public at the previous meeting that they wouldn't dismantle either. This week Moreno Valley USD pinked approximately 318 teachers, counselors and administrators. We still haven't hit bottom. We are enjoying the short lived occurrence known in financial cycle theories as a "Dead Cat Bounce." It simply means more downside to come.
The news out of Washington DC and Wisconsin is not only evidence of the last death throes of American Public Education (Free, Fair and Adequate) as we know it. Moreover, we are probably witness to a turning of the tide for collective bargaining, the idea that unions leveled the field between Workers and the Wealthy Modern Bosses - or corporate board members of today. Lastly the increasing erosion of that which made America the en vie of all the world - our working middle class. You watch what competition does. Education doe NOT manufacture a product. However, that is current measure of it's success. Education by the standards of Dewey, Whitehead, and other philosophical leaders of the time measured education for the experience, the socialization (equalization) and the opportunity to become equal participants in our American experiment called democracy. No one listened in 2009 and it seems no one cares in 2011. Narcissism, entitlement and self centered apathy rule the day. Today BAM Radio Network, the education station, released a pre-event interview with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, on the upcoming labor-management collaboration conference, Feb 15-16 in Denver, Colo. The aim of the conference is to find new ways to work together on behalf of students. In the segment, three of the conference organizers talk with RAW Education News Radio host Errol St. Clair Smith about their positive expectations for the unprecedented and potentially historic event. The three conference collaborators also addressed tough questions about community cynicism and fatigue with failed education reform initiatives. The program is available on demand at http://www.bamradionetwork.com or directly athttp://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=73&Itemid=190
The news out of Washington DC and Wisconsin is not only evidence of the last death throes of American Public Education (Free, Fair and Adequate) as we know it. Moreover, we are probably witness to a turning of the tide for collective bargaining, the idea that unions leveled the field between Workers and the Wealthy Modern Bosses - or corporate board members of today. Lastly the increasing erosion of that which made America the en vie of all the world - our working middle class. You watch what competition does. Education doe NOT manufacture a product. However, that is current measure of it's success. Education by the standards of Dewey, Whitehead, and other philosophical leaders of the time measured education for the experience, the socialization (equalization) and the opportunity to become equal participants in our American experiment called democracy. No one listened in 2009 and it seems no one cares in 2011. Narcissism, entitlement and self centered apathy rule the day. Today BAM Radio Network, the education station, released a pre-event interview with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, on the upcoming labor-management collaboration conference, Feb 15-16 in Denver, Colo. The aim of the conference is to find new ways to work together on behalf of students. In the segment, three of the conference organizers talk with RAW Education News Radio host Errol St. Clair Smith about their positive expectations for the unprecedented and potentially historic event. The three conference collaborators also addressed tough questions about community cynicism and fatigue with failed education reform initiatives. The program is available on demand at http://www.bamradionetwork.com or directly athttp://www.bamradionetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=73&Itemid=190
The program can also be downloaded from iTunes at
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/k-12-greatest-hits-the-best/id334633370
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/k-12-greatest-hits-the-best/id334633370
"This can be a turning point, literally for public education in this country," said, Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "If we can create the time and the space for folks to talk and listen, the examples are there…. For those who think we can't do it, the fact of the matter is it's being done today around the country. This is not some hope in the unseen or some imaginary vision. We have concrete examples, district after district, of remarkable breakthroughs," said Duncan.
The event is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, National School Boards Association, American Association of School Administrators, Council of the Great City Schools, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Funding to support the conference is being provided by the Ford Foundation.
When asked about the people who have become weary of failed education reform initiatives and have grown cynical, Randi Weingarten replied," You have to respect the cynics because they been through a lot…every three and a half nanoseconds we're trying something new and different that we pretend is going to work and then it doesn't. That's why they're cynical. But the bottom line is this, every teacher I know, every administrator I know, when you start focusing in what works for kids and you create a respectful, trusting, collaborative environment… then you see real motion on behalf of kids."
I, Praetorian
About RAW Education News Radio
About RAW Education News Radio
RAW Education News delivers C-SPAN-like education news coverage for a new generation. The program aims to update the public affairs programming model by repackaging government affairs content into a format more suited for a growing generation of educators, advocates, journalists and education leaders with limited time and limited attention. The program is called "RAW" because, like the CSPAN model, the programming emphasizes content over glossy production values. Unlike C-SPAN, however, RAW Radio seeks to deliver more of what listeners want, in less time. The program is distributed across the BAM Radio Network.
Thursday
Statement by Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, On White House Conference on Bullying Prevention and AFT’s ‘See a Bully, Stop a Bully: Make a Difference’ Campaign and Wristbands
Students, parents, bullying experts and educators—including AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Vice President Mary J. Armstrong—participated in today’s conference with President Obama and the first lady.
WASHINGTON—Schools should be places where students feel safe and can thrive without the fear of taunts or humiliation. It is time to stop excusing bullying as “kids will be kids.” The AFT is grateful that President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are making bullying a high-profile issue and emphasizing that everyone must share in the responsibility to stop it.
As part of the AFT’s effort to combat bullying, we created blue wristbands and posters featuring our new campaign slogan, “See a Bully – Stop a Bully,” which we will be distributing widely in schools across the country. When students see their teachers or anyone wearing the blue wristband, it will serve as a signal to students that they are not alone, that school is a safe haven, and that they can turn to and depend on their educators to deal with bullying or harassment.Next week, as the White House announced today, the AFT will officially launch our new national “See a Bully, Stop a Bully: Make a Difference” campaign at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning conference in New York. It’s a multifaceted campaign aimed at raising awareness and providing resources and training to educators, students, parents and others.
The AFT will also be bolstering the educator training we have provided for years to combat bullying in our schools, and we will be working with others to ensure that schools are safe environments for students and staff. We have established an online collection of resources, downloadable materials and links to partner organizations on the AFT website, and will host a series of webinar trainings and regional conferences on bullying in the upcoming months.
Bullying has become a constant reality for our children in this age of the Internet. We must do all we can to work together as parents, school officials, school staff, community leaders, nonprofit and private groups, and especially other students, to make it clear that we will not tolerate bullying and will do everything we can to prevent it.
It’s time to turn outrage into action
A message from Richard L. Trumka, President, AFL-CIO |
| Brothers and sisters, Last night in Madison, Wis., in the dead of night, Senate Republicans rammed through a bill that strips Wisconsinites of the collective bargaining rights their parents and grandparents bargained for, marched for, went on strike for and sometimes even died for. This assault on workers’ freedom will not stand. As the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO said last night: Scott Walker and the Republicans’ ideological war on the middle class and working families is now indisputable, and their willingness to shred 50 years of labor peace, bipartisanship and Wisconsin’s democratic process to pass a bill that 74 percent of Wisconsinites oppose is beyond reprehensible. What we saw in the dead of night in Wisconsin wasn’t democracy. It was back-door deal-making, partisan politics taken to the limit. That isn’t worthy of America. And working Americans simply won’t stand for it. Not in Wisconsin, and not anywhere. Brothers and sisters, it’s time to turn outrage into action. Take action now: Tell your CA state legislators that what happened in Wisconsin last night is unacceptable in any state. Last night, Gov. Walker and his rubber-stamp Republican senators showed us they will do just about anything to pay back corporate donors by stripping workers of their right to bargain for good, middle-class jobs. First, they claimed Walker’s bill was aimed at balancing Wisconsin’s budget. But that was exposed as an outright lie last night. Their true motives were exposed when they robbed hundreds of thousands of nurses, teachers, snowplow drivers and EMTs of their collective bargaining rights—without even a dime of savings to Wisconsin taxpayers. And they thumbed their noses at their state’s open meeting laws to do it. This was the second time in a week that Republican state legislators showed they are willing to sacrifice democracy for their partisan political agenda. First it happened in Ohio, where the Senate Republican leader threw a senator off a committee to ensure the body would vote to end bargaining rights. Now it’s Wisconsin. Act now: Tell your CA state legislators: Not in my state! We won’t allow attacks on collective bargaining to spread here. This morning, tens of thousands of workers are gathering at the Statehouse in Madison. Their fight is only beginning. They’re already getting organized, working tirelessly to recall the politicians who did this and win back the collective bargaining rights that were taken away in the dead of night. It’s time for us all to follow their example in our own states. We need to give it our all and show that like the Wisconsonites who have inspired us all, we don’t give up. Start today: Stand with those at the Wisconsin state capitol by e-mailing your state legislators now. We’ve never seen the incredible solidarity that we’re seeing right now, and I have never been more proud of this movement than I am today. Last night’s travesty in Wisconsin will not stand. Today’s a new day—and we’re even stronger and more committed. It’s time for action and we are ready. In Solidarity, Richard L. Trumka President, AFL-CIO P.S. It’s time for politicians to pay attention to the people they represent. Workers in Wisconsin and in Ohio and across America have had enough. If these attacks continue in statehouses across America, we will be even stronger and bigger, with more of the public—ordinary Americans who are being attacked—joining us to balance out-of-control corporate greed. Tell your CA legislators to keep attacks on collective bargaining out of this state—because politicians who ignore the will of the people will pay the price at the ballot box. |
To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.aflcio.org. |
Friday
Hundreds of San Bernardino teachers will be getting notices
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Hundreds of San Bernardino teachers will be getting notices that they could be laid off, although only a fraction would actually lose their jobs.
"We're cutting across the board - administration, classified, everyone from the custodian to the teacher to even the board," said Danny Tillman, president of the San Bernardino Unified School District.
He said they are preparing for a possible $25 million budget cut, which would force the district to cut a total of 272 teachers at the elementary and high school level.
"If the current level of taxes does not get extended it will be a tragedy because you're talking about a difference between having to cut $25 million and $9 million," said Tillman.
The severity of the cuts will depend on if Gov. Jerry Brown can get approval for a special election that would allow voters to extend the tax increases.
"We're all tax payers, I think that if we have to pay the cost for it they're our children, we should have to," said parent Nicole Williamson.
The budget cuts would not only cost teachers their jobs but would also increase classroom sizes.
"There's no money here and to take away from education, it's just a shame. You're cutting our childrens' hands from being what they can be," said parent Eddie Sanchez.
The district is also hoping to cut employees' pay by five percent at a saving of $10 million. Layoff notices will begin going out on March 15.
Wednesday
The contents of an email widely distributed about the situation in Wisconson by Cynthia Koebert
This diary is the contents of an email widely distributed by Cynthia Koebert. It was written by her mother Jo Koebert to her brother. Permission of both Koeberts to distribute has been granted.
Here are the words of Jo Koebert:
I am a Wisconsin resident who was born and raised in Milwaukee. I come from a working class family, and although I am lucky enough to spend some of the winter in Arizona, I am deeply connected to my Wisconsin roots. As I watch what is going on in Madison right now, I think about what unions have meant to our family.
My father had no skills other than the willingness to work hard, but he made a living wage because of the automobile union. He didn’t get rich, but he was able to provide for us, buy a simple house and own a car. My uncle worked in a unionized factory, again with no specific skills, yet he had a steady paycheck and enough sense to invest and leave his wife a comfortable inheritance. Another uncle also worked in a factory under safe conditions thanks to the union. We became middle class because of unions and, of course, our willingness to get up in the morning and go to work. Several in our family worked for a time in a Milwaukee forge plant, where men worked hard, got filthy cleaning furnaces, but took home a living wage thanks to the unions.
When I was at the central office of Milwaukee Public Schools as an administrator and the teachers were on strike, I remember complaining about the power of the union because it was making our jobs harder. I also remember one of the decision makers candidly saying, “Jo, if they didn’t have a union do you know how we would screw them over?” The unions have been responsible for forming the middle class in this country, and our family has been the recipient of the fruits of their labor in negotiating contracts. Yes, there were times when they became too strong and the workers were as much at their mercy as they would have been from the company itself. Today, they no longer have that kind of power, but they do still give the little guy a voice. They are, in fact, the single most active political voice actually working on behalf of working and middle class Americans.
I realize that much of this has been forgotten by many people who are clamoring for the destruction of the unions. Maybe, as educators and as parents, we didn’t do our job well in helping our kids to understand the history of labor in this country. Maybe I needed to tell the stories my dad used to tell about what it was like during the fight to unionize when the National Guard was made to fire upon common men who were demanding to organize.
In Madison, the excuse for these proposed policy measures is about saving money, but it seems obvious to me that this is not true. When the unions made clear that they were willing to concede the salary and benefit reductions the governor is proposing, so long as they get to keep their collective bargaining rights—the lifeblood of union power—Governor Walker refused to negotiate. The true agenda is to get rid of the unions, which will eventually get rid of the middle class and the little power that those who are not in the corporate elite have at this time. I won’t be around to see it, but our young people have got to open their eyes to what is going on in this war against the have-nots, both in Wisconsin and on the national level.
We should not have to fight for PBS and NPR to be saved. We should not have to hear that a proposal to cut all federal funding to Planned Parenthood programs has been introduced. This is serious and the agenda is much more than budget balancing. To my own family and all the others in America who share a similar history: may you never forget your roots. I come from the working class and I am proud of the people I see in Wisconsin fighting for their rights.
Sincerely,
Jo Koebert
CODA:
Posted by Kenneth Bernstein: Kenneth Bernstein is a National Board certified social studies teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he serves as the lead union representative for the teachers. He blogs as “teacherken” at Daily Kos and has written for The New York Times, Teacher, CNN.Com, and Huffington Post. He is a 2010 Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher.
PermalinkHere are the words of Jo Koebert:
I am a Wisconsin resident who was born and raised in Milwaukee. I come from a working class family, and although I am lucky enough to spend some of the winter in Arizona, I am deeply connected to my Wisconsin roots. As I watch what is going on in Madison right now, I think about what unions have meant to our family.
My father had no skills other than the willingness to work hard, but he made a living wage because of the automobile union. He didn’t get rich, but he was able to provide for us, buy a simple house and own a car. My uncle worked in a unionized factory, again with no specific skills, yet he had a steady paycheck and enough sense to invest and leave his wife a comfortable inheritance. Another uncle also worked in a factory under safe conditions thanks to the union. We became middle class because of unions and, of course, our willingness to get up in the morning and go to work. Several in our family worked for a time in a Milwaukee forge plant, where men worked hard, got filthy cleaning furnaces, but took home a living wage thanks to the unions.
When I was at the central office of Milwaukee Public Schools as an administrator and the teachers were on strike, I remember complaining about the power of the union because it was making our jobs harder. I also remember one of the decision makers candidly saying, “Jo, if they didn’t have a union do you know how we would screw them over?” The unions have been responsible for forming the middle class in this country, and our family has been the recipient of the fruits of their labor in negotiating contracts. Yes, there were times when they became too strong and the workers were as much at their mercy as they would have been from the company itself. Today, they no longer have that kind of power, but they do still give the little guy a voice. They are, in fact, the single most active political voice actually working on behalf of working and middle class Americans.
I realize that much of this has been forgotten by many people who are clamoring for the destruction of the unions. Maybe, as educators and as parents, we didn’t do our job well in helping our kids to understand the history of labor in this country. Maybe I needed to tell the stories my dad used to tell about what it was like during the fight to unionize when the National Guard was made to fire upon common men who were demanding to organize.
In Madison, the excuse for these proposed policy measures is about saving money, but it seems obvious to me that this is not true. When the unions made clear that they were willing to concede the salary and benefit reductions the governor is proposing, so long as they get to keep their collective bargaining rights—the lifeblood of union power—Governor Walker refused to negotiate. The true agenda is to get rid of the unions, which will eventually get rid of the middle class and the little power that those who are not in the corporate elite have at this time. I won’t be around to see it, but our young people have got to open their eyes to what is going on in this war against the have-nots, both in Wisconsin and on the national level.
We should not have to fight for PBS and NPR to be saved. We should not have to hear that a proposal to cut all federal funding to Planned Parenthood programs has been introduced. This is serious and the agenda is much more than budget balancing. To my own family and all the others in America who share a similar history: may you never forget your roots. I come from the working class and I am proud of the people I see in Wisconsin fighting for their rights.
Sincerely,
Jo Koebert
CODA:
"I am the Jo Koebert who wrote the letter mostly for family about the WI situation. You may distribute it if you wish, although I don’t know that it will change anyone’s mind.Anyone wishing to contact MS Koebert may email me at kber at earthlink dot net."This post originally appeared on http://dirtyhippies.org on February 24, 2011.
Posted by Kenneth Bernstein: Kenneth Bernstein is a National Board certified social studies teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he serves as the lead union representative for the teachers. He blogs as “teacherken” at Daily Kos and has written for The New York Times, Teacher, CNN.Com, and Huffington Post. He is a 2010 Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher.
Related Posts:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)