Friday Open Thread
Well, we can all just look at the window and see what kind of weather it is. If you have to go out, I wish you luck with the traffic.
Michelle Obama gave an impassioned speech yesterday and it's worth listening to in defense of girls and women. It's worth a listen.
A couple of thoughtful reads for this weekend.
One from Education Next about school discipline:
Here's a great listing of Halloween events from The Stranger. Many are adult-based but there are several (U Bookstore, EMP, pumpkin farms, etc.) for teens and kids.
Great story from Huffington Post on a barber shop that cuts prices for kids who read during their haircut.
What's on your mind?
Michelle Obama gave an impassioned speech yesterday and it's worth listening to in defense of girls and women. It's worth a listen.
A couple of thoughtful reads for this weekend.
One from Education Next about school discipline:
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced this spring that the number of suspensions and expulsions in the nation’s public schools had dropped 20 percent between 2012 and 2014.Parents and public discipline: Should you intervene? From the New York Times.
The news was welcomed by those who oppose the frequent use of suspensions and expulsions, known as exclusionary discipline. In recent years, many policymakers and educators have called for the adoption of alternative disciplinary strategies that allow students to stay in school and not miss valuable learning time.
Here's a great listing of Halloween events from The Stranger. Many are adult-based but there are several (U Bookstore, EMP, pumpkin farms, etc.) for teens and kids.
Great story from Huffington Post on a barber shop that cuts prices for kids who read during their haircut.
What's on your mind?
Comments
- KT
The enrollment planning department must produce updated school by school projections before we uproot 800 children from their communities in a possibly unnecessary game of musical chairs.
The teaching and learning department must produce a plan to support high schools in preparing next year's ninth grade students for the new graduation requirements. Half of them will need to take a world language course next year. What's the plan for finding those teachers?
The twenty minute increase in the school day will force every principal in the district to recreate the daily schedules in their schools. The accompanying early release or late start will require thousands of parents to adjust their child care or work schedules. This initiative must be postponed because district staff don't have the time or resources to address these challenges.
The 2013 Growth Boundary Plan was was too complex and created future boundary changes based on enrollment projections. The real world data does not match the projections so why are we stuck making changes that aren't supported by data.
50% of the changes for 2017 were amended to be removed. The remaining 50% also need to be removed.
This entire process reminds me of the height of the closures. At the peak of the crazy time, the logic was we have to close schools, because we have a plan to close schools and we must execute the plan.
We are back here again with the circular argument. Staff stressed that they need to follow the plan, because it is too late to do anything else. But that is just not the case.
- crazy time
The only two TOPS and Salmon Bay seem to maintain levels however Whitman is just up the road and could use bodies.
Then we have the former Pinehurst and that train wreck Broadview Thompson that hold on despite the numerous attempts to dismantle them. I am unclear why any of them exist as they just don't work well in Seattle.
Catherine Blaine needs to be a middle school and the elementary moved to the Magnolia building. They have only existed as there was no space to put anyone in their own hood.
They should consider finding an alt middle school that stands alone. Desperately needed.
-Former SPS'er
SEE is hell bent on calling national attention to October 19th and Wayne Au is asking for support from around the country. He is getting support from people that do not have children in SPS and whose children will be put at risk. He, Hagopian and others will never be held accountable for keeping our children safe.
From Au's facebook page:
"Friends, regardless of where you live, we could use your help in Seattle to overwhelm any backlash against efforts to challenge systemic racism in our schools and affirm that Black students lives matter.
Here's an example of a statement of support, authored by Wayne Au, that is garnering support from educators across the country.
“We, the undersigned professors and scholars, publicly express our support for and solidarity with teachers of Seattle Public Schools and their October 19, 2016 action in recognition of making Black Student Lives Matter in our schools. We hope that these teachers are continually supported by the district, the school board, their union, and parents in their struggle for racial justice in Seattle schools.
Name, Title, & Affiliation (for informational purposes only)”
Thanks to all!"
Make no doubt about it, Au and Hagopian have a history of doing good work, but this time they have gone off the rails. They are not working with district administrators.
The individuals leading the Oct. 19th called in BLM for support during the John Muir incident. Seattle's chapter of BLM is lead by Marissa Johnson.
"Black Lives Matter Seattle chapter controversies[edit]
The Seattle BLM chapter of Black Lives Matter has been criticized while under Johnson's leadership for allowing anti-Semitic remarks at rallies in the vicinity of Uncle Ike's Pot Shop in Seattle, whose owner was accused of gentrifying a traditionally black neighborhood.[16][17][18]"
More information on the loose organization called Black Lives Matter:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marissa_Johnson
Wow. So the concern is not that it's simply wrong to bring personal politics into the classroom, but that they might get dragged into a lawsuit when a family objects? Where is the concern about students' rights? Where is the concern about "Greenberging" the students by subjecting them to a teacher's personal politics? It was bad enough during his time at HIMS. Now he and the self formed SEE are forcing it on the entire district of staff and students.
enough.
"On August 8, 2015, a speech by Democratic presidential candidate and civil rights activist Bernie Sanders was disrupted by a group from the Seattle Chapter of Black Lives Matter including chapter co-founder Marissa Johnson[197] who walked onstage, seized the microphone from him and called his supporters racists and white supremacists.[198][199][200] Sanders issued a platform in response.[201]"
All of next week?
DisAPPointed
High school students are scheduled to take the PSAT that day. And if they miss it? What the *bleep* I am so tired of SPS *bleeping* with kids' futures.
*bleeping* mad
*bleeping* mad
SEA member
This event defiantly needs to be held off of any SPS campus. It seems more appropriate for Capital Hill, perhaps Central Community Collage.
I will be keeping my child home just in case. Better safe than sorry.
SAD
As I said previous, the district is setting itself up to be an innocent bystander. That is totally true of the Board who was not asked nor told anything as this was being created by SEE/SEA and approved by the district.
K8 Mom
if there is no need for all the k-8s (Licton Springs), Cascadia will fit at Eaglestaff and Whitman won't need to be decimated and the crazy boundaries...and...
open ears
As a Teacher in a public school I assumed I had to offer curriculum that covered all perspectives using district approved teaching texts and materials.
I also assumed that being non partisan was essential to at least try to remove any bias or prejudice (in the general not specific sense of the word) towards one philosophy, political party, etc.
This is not easy and we all come to the table with a dish of bias and all of us carry a jug of preconceptions that are stereotypes that can fill that jug with prejudice. And again color is not the only issue one carries. I admire Donald Trump he has hit every group fairly consistently with rhetoric of hate. Even now when asked by students (I no longer live in the white bread Seattle) whom I support, my response is "I do not talk about my personal politics with Students as that is a personal matter."
And here where I live now we have no such hysteria about a political movement. It has a place in discussion regarding current events and even history, as does Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party or any other conservative group that are part of the millieu of America.
This truly is another issue getting way more import than it deserves. Note that none of this ever comes out of schools south of ship canal. The Rainier Scholars did something that benefited everyone - Orca Cards.
So when will the shirts come out for Native Americans, Samoan,Latino - and all that defines by region and culture, Asian - and by specific regions and cultures - Hindu, Muslim (all divisions to be sure to include all), Christian, Hebrew, Women, LGBT, the Disabled, the Overweight, and I am sure I am missing someone/group which will bring out the finger pointers and blame seekers that define Seattle politics.
If you really want to make a difference you need to move to the Deep South.. Read the book by Paul Therox and then tell me all about your HCC kids, your poor kids, your white kids, your black kids, your on and on kids
Teachers are to teach curriculum and in that they can ensure that the kids they serve are being taught to the best of their ability and if that is not possible finding ways in which they can. All the T-Shirts and protests will not change that classroom dynamic as people are just people and they come to the buffet of live with their plates and jugs and we can choose to sample that buffet and reject what we don't like, what doesn't fit and doesn't taste good. We just hope that it does not kill us nor bring us or others harm.
You all need to drink a cup of STFU heavy on the cream - its ironically white
- Former Seattle Teacher
enough.
http://www.blacklivesmattersyllabus.com/fall2016/
As I read thru it, my thought was "This is a college-level discussion." Going back, I saw this notation:
"University instructors who attempt to adopt this course without proper attribution should expect to be contacted and reported to their Provost and/or the Department Chair at their home institution."
So I was right. That means that to use this syllabus will take some real work on the part of teachers beyond high school in order to make it an appropriate grade-level lesson and figure out what to use (because it is obviously a semester-long course.)
I also see that some people are saying this is a week-long event which is confusing to me.
wiseup SPS
It has been decided to use the Black Lives Matter slogan on T-shirts and buttons. Politically savvy individuals- like the individuals organizing this event- understand that the Black Lives Matter- political movement- has strong opposition from Blue Lives Matter. This is a recipe to call both national attention and threats to our schools.
The organizers of the 10/19 event could have chosen to put a slogan such as "Close the Gap" or "We are united in closing the gap.", but they chose to go with a politically charged T- shirt.
National attention has the capacity to bring threats to our schools and children that are inside the building. At a minimum, the district and Seattle's police will be on high alert. Is this the type of tactic that the Black Lives Matter- political group- would use? They seem to embrace the concept of disruption.
I also question the syllabus and grade level content.
The district had planned a week of calling attention to the gap.
The organizers of the 10/19 event have chosen to do an end run around the district and school board.
Some should be aware that the Black Lives Movement has their own syllabus.
I am calling BS. Organizers of the 10/19 event are acting beyond irresponsibly.
Soup for Teachers supports this event so yes, they are promoting it.
Watching, why would SPS discipline Hagopian and Greenberg. Their work around this event is apparently sanctioned by their union and the district so what would they be disciplined for?
Again, I think the district is trying to play dumb here. If it all goes well, they get credit. If the day gets derailed somehow because of BLM protests, then they get to say they had nothing to do with it.
"In the 2016-17 school year, we continue our commitment to eliminating opportunity gaps across our district."
It's too bad that, in 2017-18 (if the current boundary recommendations are approved), the hard work being done at our north-end elementary schools to close the gaps will be completely dismantled, with as much as 50% student turnover at some schools, as they segregate students of color into Cedar Park and re-engineer attendance areas and school communities from Lake City to Bitter Lake.
All this hype over a day when teachers may wear BLM t-shirts (if they so chose) is distracting us from what is really happening behind the scenes.
-North-end Mom
HF
It's best just to ignore them and let all this blow over.
BLMS
FYI, I am the one deleting your comments, not Taylor. If you have a beef with her, take it up at her blog, please.
Which Gap?
#blacklivesmatter
So I would of course call in sick. And the events leading up to that say whatever you want to whomever asked me and again call in sick
This is the Seattle "process" if you have ever followed this blog and I have over the years as it is a source of info/gossip/witch hunts/histrionics/abuse/exchange/fill in the blank and it truly demonstrates what happens to those who disagree with the consensus/conformity of the concept du jour.
Working in SPS was a landmine, where I work now equally so only truly racist and elitist but no one in their right mind would say a word to anyone about any of it. A culture of fear defines Education regardless of where you go.
I have worked with and for many of those acclaimed Teachers that one week are in, the next week "out" when they step on the wrong toes. And some of them are/were not good Teachers but they were great at politics which again has no place in the classroom yet Education is all about politics. Which explains why I go out of my way to avoid it.
Booker Baker Candle Maker and Chief and a jack of all trades is a master of none. I teach only the subjects of which I am trained, educated and experienced in. I teach the ages/grades that I am endorsed in. My time is spent on those subjects and grade levels, I cannot and will not offer any other time, opinion or beliefs that are my own to either my professional colleagues and especially my students. I will, however, teach them to have the critical thinking skills to find their own beliefs and opinions and respect them for whatever they are.
- Former SPS Teacher
If you are going to make a wholesale dilatory statement like this,then please provide some proof. If you are truly a teacher and you are claiming that your employer is engaging in this type of systemic illegal action, but you continue to stay employed , then you are part of the problem and really have no other option but to resign your position.
BLMS
You cannot say that it's separate. BLM is now a known group and even though every chapter has its own way of doing things, I don't see that you can separate this effort from theirs.
I'm thrilled when parents and students show up to support teachers. If teachers want to support their students and community, I think that's fair to do.
IMO
As I see it, Melissa, there are a couple of issues:
1. SEA passed a resolution, but does SEA leadership know, understand and support a few activists promoting Black Lives Matter curriculum? Has the district vetted the I would like to SEA make a statement on this issue.
I would imagine public school curriculum would include a balanced curriculum - for high school students- to involve curriculum related to both Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter.
2. Organizers decided to use a T-shirt that aligns with a political group. A different message could have been put on the t- shirt. Are organizers using our schools to promote a political agenda? Has SEA released a statement?
I will re-read the syllabus with an eye towards college level curriculum. Thanks to those that pointed-out this information, and the role of the district and OSPI.
If teacher organizers are in violation of OSPI and district guidelines, yes, I would like discipline action.
As I see it, organizers did an end-run around our board and district.
Black Lives Matter has picked up the Oct. 19th day of action. Gee, I wonder how Black Lives Matter found out the event??
http://blacklivesmatter1.com/post/5728657/seattle-teachers-supporting-black-lives-matter
This is absolutely a political event. I looked at the SEA resolution. I don't see that SEA supports SEE and organizers promoting curriculum or political activities:
"Whereas the SEA promotes equity and supports anti-racist work in our schools; and, Whereas we want to act in solidarity with our members and the community at John Muir who received threats based on their decision to wear Black Lives Matter t- shirts as part of an event with “Black Men United to Change the Narrative”; and,
Whereas the SEA and SPS promote Race and Equity teams to address institutionalized racism in our schools and offer a space for dialogue among school staff; and,
Therefore be it resolved that the SEA Representative Assembly endorse and participate in an action wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts on Wednesday, October 19,2016 with the intent of showing solidarity, promoting anti-racist practices in our schools, and creating dialogue in our schools and communities."