MUST+SEE+VIDEOS+2

= = = CHECK OUT THESE MUST SEE VIDEOS FOR THE WEEK OF 8/9/11! =

= MSNBC held a two-hour special, "A Stronger America: Making the Grade," on 8/14/11, aired live from the Detroit School of Arts. The show featured over a dozen education experts from across the country, including author Wes Moore and American Indian Model Schools founder Ben Chavis. Also among the guests were Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker and Patricia Ackerman, executive director of the Chalkdust Education Foundation and a blogger for The Huffington Post. Some video excerpts follow below: =

= Video 1 = =Detroit Public Schools aims to put 90 percent of its funding into student education, Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts told MSNBC Sunday.= media type="custom" key="10245017" =[|MORE]= =[|FULL STORY]=

= Video 2 = =Leaving Standardized Testing Behind= media type="custom" key="10245011" =[|MORE]=

= Video 3 = =Using Technology to Push Kids to Focus on Thier Future= media type="custom" key="10245003" =[|MORE]=

= Video 4 = =Aiming for Higher Education= media type="custom" key="10244987" =[|MORE]=

= Video 5 = =Being Optimistic About America's Education system= media type="custom" key="10244999" =[|MORE]=

= Video 6 = =Paul Krugman on How Space Aliens Could Save the Economy - Even Fake Space Aliens!= media type="youtube" key="E1Fzzs7oVaA?version=3" height="390" width="640" =[|MORE]=

= Video 7 = =The Dropout Crisis - The Real Problem with American Education= media type="custom" key="10244967" =Of all the problems this country faces in education, one of the most complicated, heart-wrenching and urgent is the dropout crisis. Nearly 1 million teenagers stop going to school every year.= =The impact of that decision is lifelong. And the statistics are stark:=
 * =The unemployment rate for people without a high school diploma is nearly twice that of the general population.=
 * =Over a lifetime, a high school dropout will earn $200,000 less than a high school graduate and almost $1 million less than a college graduate.=
 * =Dropouts are more likely to commit crimes, abuse drugs and alcohol, become teenage parents, live in poverty and commit suicide.=
 * =Dropouts cost federal and state governments hundreds of billions of dollars in lost earnings, welfare and medical costs, and billions more for dropouts who end up in prison.=

=[|NPR Investigates The Cost of Dropping Out]=

= Video 8 = =Keith Olbermann's Debt Ceiling Special Comment: 'Our Government Has Now Given Up The Concept Of Right And Wrong'= media type="custom" key="10205463" =Keith Olbermann excoriated Washington for the debt ceiling deal it struck over the weekend--and called for a protest movement to rise up against it.= ="Where is the outrage to come from?" he asked rhetorically. "From you! It will do no good to wait for the politicians to suddenly atone for their sins...it will do no good to wait for the media to suddenly remember its origins as the 'free press'...it will do no good to wait for the apolitical public to get a clue."= =He said that, without a protest movement, the "tide" that had brought the debt deal "will crush us, because those who created it are organized and unified and hell-bent. And the only response is to be organized and unified and hell-bent in return."= =He said the public "must find again the energy and the purpose of the 1960's and early 1970's and we must protest this deal and all the goddamn deals to come, in the streets."=

=**Read the full transcript here**=

= CHECK OUT THESE MUST SEE VIDEOS FOR THE WEEK OF 7/31/11! = = Special S.O.S. Washington, D.C., Rally Edition!!! =

= Video 2 = =Matt Damon Defends Teachers Against 'Sh***y' Reason.tv Cameraman= media type="youtube" key="WFHJkvEwyhk?version=3" height="390" width="640"

=Following his keynote address, actor Matt Damon took offense to a Reason.tv reporter who contended that, as opposed to the environment faced by teachers in a tenure system, the lack of job security in acting functions as an incentive for hard work.= =Here's what Damon had to say:= > = So you think job insecurity is what makes me work hard? I want to be an actor. That’s not an incentive. That’s the thing. See, you take this MBA-style thinking, right? It’s the problem with ed policy right now, this intrinsically paternalistic view of problems that are much more complex than that. It’s like saying a teacher is going to get lazy when they have tenure. A teacher wants to teach. I mean, why else would you take a shitty salary and really long hours and do that job unless you really love to do it? = =The interview got a little tense from there.=

= Video 3 = =Diane Ravitch Speaking at Save Our Schools Rally= media type="youtube" key="JI3_FkNB8Qg" height="510" width="853"

= Video 4 = = Jonathan Kozol's Speech at the Save Our Schools March On Washington, July 30, 2011 = media type="youtube" key="Sl8ESi_XPT0" height="510" width="640" media type="youtube" key="BPDLiB3J2Wc" height="510" width="640" ="High people in Washington insist to me that class size doesn't matter; and I always ask them where their own kids go to school; they usually go to very costly private schools where class size rarely rises higher than fifteen...."= ="Senators and the President send their own kids to those kinds of schools; fifteen children in a class. if very small class sizes and the individual attention this allows a teacher to devote to every child. If this is good for the children of a senator or President or corporate executive or CEO than its good for the poorest child in the poorest part of America."= ="Don't let our leaders get away w/ this hypocrisy. It cannot compensate for inequalities by putting good teachers under the sword of narrow accountability."=

= Video 5 = =Matt Damon's keynote speech at SOS March= media type="youtube" key="n0kWGsPWoiA" height="510" width="853"

= Video 6 = = Jon Stewart's Teacher Tribute For the Save Our Schools Rally = media type="youtube" key="RJxqtWh1uis" height="510" width="853"

= Video 7 = = Jose Vilson Rocks the Save Our Schools March in DC, 7/30/2011 = media type="youtube" key="fEVLkDDPByo" height="510" width="640" =Jose Vilson performs "This is Not a Test" at the Save Our Schools March.=

= Video 8 = =Education Week's Video for Teachers March on Washington= media type="youtube" key="odm3O-iPSLg" height="510" width="853" =At the "Save Our Schools" rally, teachers and others critical of standards- and test-based accountability bring their complaints to the Obama administration's front door.=

= Video 9 = =Just for fun! Goofy in "Teachers are People"= media type="youtube" key="dMdTBep3W9c" height="510" width="640" =A short film from 1952 about being a teacher.=

= CHECK OUT THESE MUST SEE VIDEOS FOR THE WEEK OF 7/24/11! =

= Video 1 = =Free learning videos go viral= media type="custom" key="10102575"

=The Khan Academy (@http://www.khanacademy.org/), created by former hedge fund manager Salman Khan, provides free on-line video lectures on a variety of topics. It is building content and tools to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Its software platform can guide independent learners from basic addition to advanced mathematics, integrating videos, exercises and analytics. Schools are beginning to use Khan Academy to liberate class time, reducing direct lecture instruction and increasing the teacher-to-student and student-to-student human interactions. It also provides teachers with data and reporting to manage a classroom where every student is working at his or her own pace.= =[|MORE]=

= Video 2 = =Why One Good Teacher Decided to Quit= media type="custom" key="10102581" =She's quitting, she said, because she can't afford to stay. Despite her years of experience, she earns $38,000. Average starting teaching salaries are $39,000, and rise with experience to an average of $54,000, according to "Closing the Talent Gap," a 2010 report by McKinsey & Company. Teacher salaries can't compete with other careers, the report said, and annual teacher turnover in the United States is 14%. At "high-needs" high schools, it is 20%. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development datafrom 2007 said the United States ranks 20th out of 29 for starting teacher salaries, and 23rd out of 29 for teacher salaries after 15 years. But it's not just the pay, DeRegnaucourt said, "It's the way we're treated."= =Her colleagues have waited until just before school starts to learn what courses they'll be teaching, she said. Uncertainty makes it impossible to prepare, hard to succeed.= =Why One Good Teacher Decided to Quit=

= Video 3 = =Rahm Emanuel's Temper Flares Over Question About Kids' Schooling= media type="custom" key="10102587" =Emanuel later confirmed that his kids would be attending the prestigious, private University of Chicago Lab School - the same institution President Obama sent his children to when he was just a Chicago senator.= =Emanuel is dedicated to fixing Chicago's public schools but wouldn't dream of sending his kids there!= =So once again we have an anti-public school politician getting upset when his hypocrisy is brought to light!= =The mayor's desire to keep his family out of the public eye is understandable, and there has been relatively little media attention on his wife and children. However, for a mayor who has made Chicago's schools a central focus of his administration, you might imagine that he would be prepared for a question about his own school choice for his children. After all, he nominated the controversial ex-Superintendent of the Rochester City School District in New York, Jean-Claude Brizard, to take the reigns of Chicago's public schools. In his old job, after pushing for increased charter schools and merit pay for teachers, Brizard received a vote of no confidence from 95 percent of the Rochester Teachers Union. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, charter school advocates in the Chicago rejoiced at Brizard taking the reins.= =Chicago Mayor Emanuel's Temper Flares Over Question About Kids' Schooling= =[|Why Do Politicians Blow Up When Asked Where They Send Their Own Kids to School?]= =In Public School Efforts, a Common Background - Private Education= =Class Bias, Class Size and Online Learning=

= Video 4 = =Will NYC Decision on Merit-Pay Become a Trend?= media type="custom" key="10102595" =Florida education advocates are calling on Governor Rick Scott to look to New York City after their teacher merit pay program was [|**abandoned Monday**].= ="I applaud New York for doing what's fiscally responsible and realizing that political ideology shouldn't set the tone for what we put into practice," said Colleen Wood, Save Duval Schools Executive Director. A Merit-Pay initiative was approved in Florida but not yet put into practice.= =Will NYC's Decision on Merit-Pay Become a Trend?=

= Video 5 = =Are We Too Strict?= media type="custom" key="10102603" =A newly released report casts doubt on whether increased suspensions and expulsions are getting the right results in Texas public schools.= =School Discipline Study Raises Fresh Questions= =Half of Texas' Students Have Been Suspended, Study Finds=

= Video 6 = =Pennsylvania's Budget Cuts to Education Invoke a Reaction From a 2-Year-Old.= media type="youtube" key="xdoOCqZIbWo" height="510" width="640" =If you're having trouble viewing this video, please click [|HERE].= =When the toddlers take to the streets, Gov. Corbett had better watch out.=

= CHECK OUT THESE MUST SEE VIDEOS FOR THE WEEK OF 7/17/11! =

= Video 1 = =Sen. Bernie Sanders: "Elections have Consequences!"= media type="youtube" key="TlTomNmi4ZM?version=3" height="390" width="640" ="One of the most important lessons in all of this is that elections have consequences. Many people now are beginning to catch on to that. It is no secret that our right-wing Republican colleagues did very well in November 2010. They captured the House of Representatives.= =If you believe that we have to start investing in America and creating the millions of jobs that this country desperately needs, elections have consequences. If you believe that we have to address the deficit crisis in a way that is responsible, in a way that asks the wealthy and large corporations also to play a role, in a way that calls for cuts in defense spending and bringing our troops home as soon as possible from Afghanistan and Iraq, you have got to be involved in the political process.= =In my view a group of people in the House whose views represent a small minority of the American people are holding this Congress hostage. It is time for the American people to stand up and say, enough is enough; the function of the United States Congress is to represent all of our people and not just the wealthy and powerful."= =Elections Have Consequences=

= Video 2 = =Oops! Someone Video taped Jonah Edelman, the founder of Stand for Children, talking about how his group pushed its anti-teacher agenda in Illinois.= media type="youtube" key="kog8g9sTDSo?version=3" height="390" width="640" =Jonah Edelman, the founder of the influential and cash-heavy education advocacy group Stand for Children,= =Edelman's talk, which he gave at the Aspen Ideas Festival on Tuesday, June 28, is a narrative of how Stand for Children systematically chose its political allies in the Illinois, invested over $600,000 in nine state legislative races, raised another $3 million, and exacted concession after concession from the state's teachers unions.= =Frank Talk About School Reform Politicking Draws Ire=

= Video 3 = =Comedian Bill Maher Compares Casey Anthony Verdict To Republican Thinking= media type="youtube" key="TEY1wXjC0S0?version=3" height="390" width="640" =On his Friday night show, Maher equated the Casey Anthony verdict with Republican policy -- with Casey Anthony as Republican politicans and voters as the jury, reports //The Daily Caller//.= =[|MORE]=

= Video 4 = ="How The Middle Class Got Screwed" - an entertaining look at history of the American middle class= media type="youtube" key="uB7jdjsFErM?version=3" height="390" width="640" =Brought to you by [|Contract For The American Dream].=

= Video 5 = ="What Have Unions Ever Done For Us?" - a humorous look at the history of labor unions.= media type="youtube" key="iObqguaNDdA?version=3" height="390" width="640" =Brought to you by [|MoveOn.org.]=

= CHECK OUT THESE MUST SEE VIDEOS FOR THE WEEK OF 7/10/11! =

= Video 1 = =Patriotic Millionaires say "TAX ME!"= media type="youtube" key="KlttMTDCDwY?version=3" height="390" width="640" =A message brought to you by [|patrioticmillionaires.org]=

= Video 2 = =Plaintiffs filed a motion on 7/5/11 and 7/6/11 asking Denver District Court to prohibit the implementation of a voucher program= media type="custom" key="10011519" =The motion for preliminary injunction was filed in two lawsuits by Americans United, the American Civil Liberties Union, Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, Taxpayers for Education, and Douglas County parents.= =The motion asks the court to preserve the status quo until a ruling can be made on the constitutionality of the reallocation of $ 3 million in state funds for 500 students to attend 19 private schools, 14 of which are religious institutions. "The Colorado constitution is clear that public funds shall not be spent on religious indoctrination, yet that is exactly what the Douglas County voucher program seeks to do," said ACLU Cooperating Counsel Matt Douglas, of Arnold & Porter LLP in a statement.= =Denver Vouchers Face Preliminary Injunction Filed In Two Lawsuits=

= Video 3 = =Atlanta Public Schools Report Widespread Cheating on Standardized Testing= media type="custom" key="10011521" =As NCLB 100% Proficiency Mandate Comes Due in 2014, such scandals are on the rise and have been reported in the last month alone from Baltimore, Norfolk, Va., Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Florida. When you run a school like a corporation, it begins to act like one.= =Atlanta Public Schools Shaken By Cheating Report=

= CHECK OUT THESE MUST SEE VIDEOS FOR THE WEEK OF 7/3/11! =

= Video 1 = =Education Secretary Arne Duncan Responds to Atlanta Cheating Scandal= media type="custom" key="9969443" =In a video interview Wednesday with 11Alive News, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he was "stunned" when he learned of the teacher cheating scandal in Atlanta Public Schools. His surprise and response has drawn attention from Twitter users, several of whom said the problems come from No Child Left Behind and leadership and policy issues.= =Atlanta Cheating Scandal - Arne Duncan 'Stunned'=

= Video 2 = =Arne Duncan, Education Secretary, Discusses Need For Reform On MSNBC= media type="custom" key="9969451" =Education Secretary Arne Duncan sat down with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell to discuss the challenges facing public schools and the need for education reform.= =13 Things the NEA Hates About Arne Duncan=

= Video 3 = =State Rep. Marc. Gergely (D-White Oak) Opposes GOP Budget= media type="youtube" key="opqVbakWQT0" height="510" width="640" =If you're having trouble viewing this video, please click [|HERE].= =Pa. state Rep. Marc Gergely opposes the Corbett-Republican 2011-12 state budget bill.. Drastic cuts for local schools have forced hundreds of teacher layoffs in Allegheny County, property tax hikes and threaten the future of the Duquesne School District.=

= Video 4 = =State Rep. Bill Kortz (D-Dravosburg) opposes Republican-backed Education Code= media type="youtube" key="0cBWXf_wIBg" height="510" width="640" =If You're Having Trouble Viewing This Video, Please Click [|HERE].= media type="youtube" key="5Ll4PROyH58" height="510" width="640" =If you're having trouble viewing this video, please click [|HERE].= =Pa. state Rep. Bill Kortz speaks on the House floor against the Republican-backed Education Code, which slashes funding for schools in the 38th Legislative District and throughout Pennsylvania.=

= Video 5 = =PCN Investigation into the Truth About School Vouchers= media type="youtube" key="CMLMF6Uti5w" height="510" width="640" =If you're having trouble viewing this video, please click [|HERE].= =Taxpayer-funded tuition-vouchers pushed by national lobbyists will leave most students behind in underfunded schools that lose state money without real cost savings. Schools will be forced to cut education programs and hike property taxes.= =[|More from PCN]=

= Video 6 = =Even as lawmakers put the final touches on [|the 2011-12 state budget], Gov. Tom Corbett launched a two-minute drill Tuesday, 6/28/11, to see if the General Assembly can push through school voucher legislation before the summer recess.= media type="custom" key="9969479" =Just Before Pa. Budget Deadline, Gov. Tom Corbett Pushes for Vouchers= =Public Opinion Polls Show Pennsylvanians Opposed to School Vouchers= =Do School Vouchers Really Improve Student Achievement?= =Debunking the Myths About Vouchers= =Top 10 Reasons Why PA Senate Bill 1 is a Terrible Idea= =More on School Vouchers=

= CHECK OUT THESE MUST SEE VIDEOS FOR THE WEEK OF 6/28/11! = = =

= Video 1 = =State Rep. Marc Gergely (D-White Oak) Fights for Duquesne School District= media type="youtube" key="FNAXOe3OWd8" height="510" width="640" =Pa. State Rep. Marc Gergely fights to stop a House GOP funding cut that threatens the future of the Duquesne School and talks about his education town hall in McKeesport. Includes footage from the Rally in the Valley and T.E.A.C.H. = =If you're having trouble viewing this video, please click [|HERE].= =Brewster, Gergely call on Republicans to honor Duquesne School agreement=

= Video 2 = =Watch PSEA's new TV ad "No More"= media type="youtube" key="TxzH8bdIqKs" height="510" width="853" =SavePASchools.org=

= Video 3 = = A Modest Proposal = =Gov. Corbett’s $1.1 billion K-12 budget cut means lower student achievement – and higher property taxes. And poorer districts, which depend more on state aid, are expected to see the biggest cuts.= =That got at least one legislator thinking about innovative solutions in these tough budget times.= media type="custom" key="9927829" =With Delaware County’s Chester-Upland School District facing a $20 million budget cut, State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland (D-159) threatened to file a lawsuit that would close Chester’s high schools and “allow the 2,700 students entering grades 9-12 to attend any other public high school in Delaware County.” He made his announcement at nearby Springfield School District - a school represented by the House GOP budget chairman state Rep. William Adolph (R-165). In other words, if you don't fund education at the state's poorer districts, we'll seek court action to allow them to attend the richer schools not receiving as massive cuts and thereby forcing increases in local property taxes at such districts. = =[|MORE ON THIS STORY]=

= Video 4 = =Comical Video about the Failure of No Child Left Behind= media type="youtube" key="8dAujuqCo7s?version=3" height="390" width="640" =Brought to you by [|RheeFirst].= =Why the School Voucher System in Washington, D.C., has been a Failure=

= Video 5 = = Here's to the Teachers! SOS March and National Call to Action July 30 at Washington, D.C. = media type="youtube" key="w8zkjH8pGNk" height="510" width="640" =The rally will officially begin at **noon** at the **Ellipse**, **but arrive early** to enjoy performances, art, and more!= =**At noon, Diane Ravitch, Jonathan Kozol, José Vilson, Deborah Meier, Monty Neill, Angela Valenzuela, and other speakers, musicians, performance poets, and more** will encourage, educate, and support this movement and the Save Our Schools March [|demands].= =At **two p.m.,** we will **march to the Department of Education**, where the demands will be read, we’ll chant, and engage in a call for **continued action to reclaim schools as places of learning, joy, and democracy**.= =**If you can’t make it to DC, follow the site to find out more about ways to participate in or plan actions** [|**in your local area**]**!**= =Frustrated Educators Aim to Build Grassroots Movement= =**[|More Info]**=

= Video 6 = =The Truth about the Economy in 2 Minutes= media type="youtube" key="JTzMqm2TwgE?version=3" height="390" width="640" =Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said he could explain the problems with the economy in less than 2 minutes, 15 seconds—and he did it (with illustrations to boot). It’s great! Check it out. Who knew he could draw?! Originally submitted by [|MoveOn.org].=

=MUST SEE VIDEOS= =home=