It’s all about the kids?/NYT: Teachers Wonder/ WAPO: My name is Luke and I refuse to take your test

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It’s all about the kids, but we’ll gladly accept the $850M too, as long as there are no strings attached.

The Voucher bill approved by the Senate Education Committee this week goes light years beyond Senator Williams' stated goal of providing options for poor minority students trapped in failing schools. 

At the Senate Education Committee meeting on March 1^st, Minority Chairman Andy Dinniman noted a “conservative estimate” that SB1 would cost $850 million in year three, when SB1 would provide vouchers to any poor student, even if they are already attending a private or parochial school and even if they happen to be living in Upper Saint Clair, Mount Lebanon, Lower Merion, Radnor or Tredyffrin Easttown, arguably the top school districts in the state.

Under SB 1, voucher recipient schools would reap the benefits of public tax dollars diverted from local school districts without any of the burden of public accountability or regulation.

Voucher proponents are already busy planning their intensive lobbying efforts with the Senate Appropriations Committee:

REACH Foundation

PA Catholic Conference

Commonwealth Foundation

BAEO

Keystone Christian Education Association

If you have not already contacted your State Senator and State Representative regarding SB1 please consider doing so today.

Link to Senate Appropriations Committee Member information:

SB1 will next be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee.  If your senator is on the committee please consider contacting them.

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/cteeInfo.cfm?cde=3&body=S

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Teachers Wonder, Why the Scorn?

New York Times

By TRIP GABRIEL, Published: March 2, 2011

The jabs Erin Parker has heard about her job have stunned her. Oh you pathetic teachers, read the online comments and placards of counterdemonstrators. You are glorified baby sitters who leave work at 3 p.m. You deserve minimum wage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/education/03teacher.html?_r=1&ref=tripgabriel

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 03/ 2/2011

March Madness: 'My name is Luke and I refuse to take your test'

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog, By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Timothy D. Slekar, head of the Division of Education, Human Development and Social Sciences at Penn State Altoona, and a parent. This appeared on The Huffington Post.

By Timothy D. Slekar

"I'm inviting you to join a real conspiracy, call it an open conspiracy, with real consequences on millions of real lives. I know that sounds megalomaniacal, but be patient. If we pull this off, a great many will bless us, although the school industry few will curse us. This is about a project to destroy the standardized testing industry... This adventure is called 'The Bartleby Project.'" John Taylor Gatto. (Weapons of Mass Instruction, New Society Publishers 2008)

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/guest-bloggers/a-father-agonizes-should-his-s.html