Caring Confrontation

This article (linked in the title) talks about how to confront injustice in a caring way. Great practical ideas.

Madison, Berkeley of the Midwest

I've been trying out the new blog for a week and so far so good. I'd welcome any feedback. I'm going on a one week hiatus while I return to what I consider the birthplace of my activist thinking. It was in graduate school at UW-Madison where I began to think in new ways, become aware of my privilege, acknowledge ways in which people are oppressed, and critique the system. And besides that, it's an awesome town. I took this picture of the terrace at the student union last time I visited. It was April....

Who Sets the Standards?

A policy brief in Education Week reports that two national organizations coordinating a push for common academic standards have named the 29 people who are deciding what math and language arts skills students will need to know and when. All but 4 states have signed on. The list of those who will write the standards is dominated by three organizations: the Washington-based Achieve Inc., which works on college- and career readiness; the New York City-based College Board, which sponsors the SAT; and ACT Inc., the Iowa City, Iowa-based organization that administers the college-entrance test of that name. The article doesn't indicate that teachers will be a part of the process. The questions that occur to me are "what counts as knowledge?" and "whose knowledge is of most worth?"

Balancing the Budget on the Backs of College Students

At a union meeting today we learned that in addition to the 10% tuition increase already approved for next year, the Chancellor plans to ask for 15-20% more. Given the likelihood of faculty layoffs and/or furloughs, this means that students could potentially pay 30% more next year for what will clearly be fewer services. This also means fewer students, especially those from low SES, will be able to attend college and fewer will choose professions with lower salaries (e.g. teaching) because their salaries (if they can even get a job) won’t be enough to pay off their student loans. I’m not sure how many students are thinking about that future predicament. Is this the way to balance the state budget?

Confirmation Hearings for Sonia Sotomayor

I've been watching the confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor. It's fascinating to see how each of the speakers does or does not construct the influence or value of identity. For some of them, it's as though race and gender are only sources of bias when you're not a white male! Some Senators talked about how she was an example of the American Dream, a person of "humble origin" becoming successful. Senator Gillibrand (NY) noted that her ethnicity and gender were just two of the many assets she brings to the Supreme Court, further diversifying the perspective of the Court as a whole. There is a big debate around the concept of empathy and should a judge have it. I couldn't help but think these hearings would be terrific fodder for classroom discussion. Race and gender (and to a certain extent, class) are forefront in civic discourse. Despite the potential ugliness, I think that's a good thing. What do you think?

Kevin Jennings appointed as Asst. Dep. Secretary of Education

The GLSEN website has posted a petition supporting Kevin Jennings who has faced anti-gay slander after his appointment as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education. Click on the title of this post to go to the petition.
From the website:

Kevin Jennings’ appointment as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for the Department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools is a tribute to his many contributions to education and his commitment to the safety and well-being of all students. Since the appointment was announced on June 1, efforts have been made by the anti-gay industry to slander Kevin’s reputation and record as GLSEN’s Founder and former Executive Director to his new colleagues at the Department of Education.


Please join us in thanking US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for Kevin’s appointment and affirming this great step forward for real school safety by signing on to our letter. We also invite you to include your own personal message of support to Secretary Duncan. GLSEN will deliver these messages to Secretary Duncan as Kevin begins his new position at the US Department of Education.

What's the Most Just Choice?

I'm currently trying to decide how to vote next week. My faculty union is being asked to vote on whether or not we'll accept a furlough of 10%. I have no problem AT ALL accepting less pay for less work. BUT, the Chancellor's office has provided no information about what this furlough will look like (e.g. how do salaried folks take a day off?), no information about how many layoffs will be prevented with a furlough, no information about what kind of cuts they (admin.) plan to take in an effort to "share the pain." Agreeing to furloughs with no information and under these conditions is simply irresponsible and puts the union in a weaker and reactive position. Given all of the circumstances I don't have room to list here, I believe that a vote against furloughs is the principled, right way to vote. However, I will make this vote from a position of privilege. I am highly unlikely to lose my job. My vote against a furlough means more people with fewer rights (e.g. lecturers) will lose their jobs. It's possible that a number of people who may lose their jobs understand the situation and would vote no as well given that it protects the bargaining power of the union and helps our ability to bargain for everyone in the long run (or know that it's just a matter of time before they are laid off anyway). But ultimately, if faculty say no to furloughs, we will be decimated in the media for refusing to give our fair share in this budget crisis. There will be few people who understand all the details of the situation, even fewer willing to take up space to print the complexity of it all, and fewer still who will read a full description of the dilemma in which faculty have found themselves. In general, the press are not friendly to education. The simple perception will be that CSU faculty are greedy and unwilling to take a small cut to save the jobs of their colleagues. I'm not really sure what to do. What would you do?