The Best and Worst: Stories and Videos that stunned the senses!

As usual, there's just to much to cover and so little time. As a result, here are a few short hits and relevant video clips that should not be missed.

Adam Schiff Shoots Back and Embarrasses Giggling Juvenile Republicans...a moment that summed up what I thought we were all supposed to investigating:

McConnell vs Reagan: Just about everyone has seen this making the Twitter rounds. Finally the truth is revealed and the talking point blown up?:




How Republicans really feel about Voters...This moment should never be forgotten:

McConnell says bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday is a ‘power grab’ by Democrats

McConnell is refusing to even allow a vote on the House bill in the Senate and has denounced it as “half-baked socialism.”

Corporate and Wealthy Tax Cuts paid for by Cutting Special Olympics: Sure Trump is taking it all back now, but that doesn't erase what he and Betsy DeVos tried to do with no acceptable explanation. Wisconsin's own Rep. Mark Pocan pulled this curtain back...:



Meuller Report...scratch that, Barr Report was celebrated by Trump worshippers with this surreal piece of eye candy. You'll wretch, you'll cry:



The Trump Enemies List: You knew there was one, right, there had to be, and Trump alone couldn't keep track of the growing list of perceived enemies:

Sanders posted a March Madness-eque bracket attacking members of the press and Trump critics.

Character Assassination 101: Attack Early and a lot: AOC is already perceived by Trump supporters as dumb, just the opposite of reality...but who's surprised by that? The result? They won't even begin to listen to a word she says. Keep 'em stupid should be the GOP chant:

DeVos DeBacle

Betsy DeVos has made her elitist career out of repeating a few school privatization concepts that now seem like they're based on actual facts. Like these...

1. The framework for pulling public educations much-needed funding from administrators and teachers is based on the falsehood "schools are failing."

2. The idea that competition from private schools will make public schools better? Ridiculous since district schools have been competing with each other for as long as I can remember. It's one reason families buy houses near the best schools or in the best school districts. 

Ideological Bubble Wrap: Education Sec. Betsy DeVos was not allowed to get away with wildly general talking points trashing public education. The facts made her squirm. Here's a line that couldn't be more conceptually crazy:

DeVos: "We should be funding and investing in students, not in school buildings, not in institutions, not in systems..."

Bullshit. News Flash!!! Students go to "buildings" filled with teachers, technology, and ideas. So behold the Republican style of government and their buyer beware fantasy vision of America. DeVos is another Republican victim of her own bad ideas that predictably, resulted in threats requiring armed security. She could end the threats by rethinking her positions and compromising but not Republicans:

  

Secretary Devos has cherry picked her data. She is correct that U.S. test scores are stagnant on PIRLS and PISA. They are decidedly not stagnant on TIMSS, NAEP long-term trends, and main NAEP. She is incorrect when she asserts that on international tests “we have continued to be middle of the pack at best” (in each of the international assessments there are many more countries that score below than above the U.S.). It is important for the Secretary get the facts of these matters straight.

Message to Betsy DeVos: No, parents aren't "forcing" their kids into college!

Speaking only about the states that refuse to treat our schools with respect, only trying to improve them, Betsy DeVos may be unaware of the school/business relationships developing nationwide to prepare kids for specialized jobs that are currently experiencing shortages. The collaboration is something businesses should have been pushing for decades after they gave up their own apprenticeship programs. They stopped waiting around for the government to come in and spend taxpayer money instead.

  

DeVos, behind the curve, as usual, is now jumping on board. EdWeek: 

DeVos has broadened her message, talking about issues like apprenticeships and alternatives to traditional four-year college.

Brilliant. We’re already doing that and expanding on the idea, try and keep up DeVos.

But worse, DeVos continues to push the idiotic idea that we’re somehow “forcing kids into believing” college is the solution. As a parent, I’m pushing, but I know that the final decision will be up to my own kid, college or tech school, or nothing. We don’t “push” or “force” our kids into…whatever. It’s a myth, a villain DeVos:

"We need to stop forcing kids into believing a traditional four-year degree is the only pathway to success," she said this month at the first meeting of the White House Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion … help set up some incentives through the pending reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

Job training in high school doesn’t, in my opinion, give my kid broader options, later on, to retrain or more easily continue with his education, after 4 years of college. DeVos unconsciously made my case for me:

DeVos told a roomful of CEOs in Washington this month that many students aren't mastering the skills they need to be prepared for the careers of the future. She argued that 65 percent of today's kindergartners will end up in jobs that haven't even been conceived yet. Businesspeople, she said, have told her that students need to be able to think critically, know how to collaborate, communicate clearly, and be creative. "My observation is a lot of students today are not having their needs met to be prepared in those areas," DeVos said

School choice always sounds “empowering,” but really, it just plays to the fears of parents that they’re not doing enough.

And since choice and vouchers have a more spotty record than public schools, is it any wonder states don’t go full choice?

But she said no state has ever gone truly big with choice, offering it to every single student.  "We haven't had a state that tried it with everyone."

National educational standard the key to improved education?

We could call it the lost years, where Trump's Dept. of Education Sec. Betsy DeVos took the nation off on a wild uncharted ride into an educational fantasy land, where parents feel good about knowing "what's best for the child," and schools equate religion with science.

We could also call it a national ideological experiment, where kids are used to prove a conservative theory. If the experiment fails, not one of those kids will be able to make up for their lost years.

The overarching point of the following report emphasizes a national standard, that allows for innovation at a local level while maintaining a set high standard. That's much different than the DeVos plan that does away with a national standard (Common Core) and accountability, letting education do whatever it wants, with no way to duplicated what works or discontinue what doesn't. 

Note: As you read the report from Ed Week below about the US PISA score, keep this important statement from the Economic Policy Institute in mind:

Conclusions like these (PISA score), which are often drawn from international test comparisons, are oversimplified, frequently exaggerated, and misleading. They ignore the complexity of test results and may lead policymakers to pursue inappropriate and even harmful reforms. A re-estimated U.S. average PISA score that adjusted for a student population in the United States that is more disadvantaged than populations in otherwise similar post-industrial countries, and for the over-sampling of students from the most-disadvantaged schools in a recent U.S. international assessment sample, finds that the U.S. average score in both reading and mathematics would be higher than official reports indicate (in the case of mathematics, substantially higher). This re-estimate would also improve the U.S. place in the international ranking of all OECD countries, bringing the U.S. average score to sixth in reading and 13th in math. 

Here's the Ed Week article:

The lead article in our current Center for International Education Benchmarking newsletter, on Germany's rise in the PISA league tables.  

In December 2001, German 15-year-olds performed well below the average of OECD countries, ranking 27th out of 30 countries in reading, 28th in mathematics, and 25th in science. Moreover, the results were highly inequitable; the gap between the highest performers and the lowest performers was higher than in any other industrialized country.

The “PISA shock,” as it was known, spurred policymakers into action. They adopted a sweeping series of reforms, including; 1. Vastly expanding early childhood education, including making early education and care an entitlement for all children age 1 and older; 2. Providing more autonomy to schools; 3. And creating national standards for student performance—a first in a country where education was the responsibility of the states. The ministers of education of the German states worked together to create their own "common core" state standards for student performance. The results were dramatic. In a few short years, Germany climbed to the top of the international rankings on PISA, and it has remained there. The plan was coherent and powerful.

The United States quarreled about standards and tests, blamed its poorly paid teachers for the poor performance of the schools and placed a lot of faith in choice as a school improvement strategy.

What is so striking about this story is that Germany and the U.S. were actually performing at virtually the same level on the 2000 PISA survey.  What was different was the national reaction to that performance. One is as likely to hear people talk about the evils of interstate standards as the need for them. There are bitter controversies among supporters of charter schools who think they should be regulated for quality and those who don't, but neither side seems to argue that charters would vault the United States into the ranks of the countries with the world's best education systems. There are the usual math wars, but there seems to be virtually no interest whatsoever in learning how more than 30 countries are outperforming the United States in mathematics.

click to enlarge

DeVos says Education unchanged since 1970's? Maybe in private schools.

If you want to know just how out of touch Trump's education secretary Betsy DeVos is, and you'll know what I mean if you've ever met your kids teachers, this comment makes it very clear. EdWeek:

In DeVos' view, education hasn't changed much over the past five decades or so. That's left many kids stuck in a "mundane malaise," she said.

Really, hasn't changed since I was in school, in the 1970's? Stunning and wrong beyond words.

And how about one of the first lessons in English, don't end sentences with a preposition. She has no idea "where its at..."

Food same as 1960's too?

She thinks there are some schools operating in a "wide-range of settings [using] unique and creative ways to really meet students where they are at.

and...

"I take this as another really excellent example of schools that are specifically meeting the needs of students where they are at."

DeVos removes competition with Single Student Loan Collector, removes mandates to help borrowers in Delinquency or reminders for reenrollment Deadlines.

Apparently, Education Sec. Betsy DeVos doesn't see the importance of history, or she would not commit to repeating this past failure: 

The Education Department said Friday that it will select one company to collect student debt payments on its behalf, rather than the nine contractors that currently handle the federal government’s $1.2 trillion portfolio of education loans.

The new plan is a return to the way student loans used to be collected by ACS Education Services, a role that critics of the company said led to widespread failures in customer service and loan consolidations. 

Robert Shireman, a former deputy undersecretary of education recalls the department being frustrated by the amount of power ACS held as the only servicer. “We felt we had little leverage because the whole system was operated by them, and they knew it would be such a huge endeavor to change that, so they didn’t have to be responsive,” said Shireman. “There was a move to add at least a couple servicers so you’d have competition and the department wouldn’t be stuck in that situation again.”

Just as bad, this “single” collection service can subcontract its work, so it won’t be so “single” after all:

And while there will only be one primary servicer, the department will permit that company to hire subcontractors to lighten the load. 

Going back to the failed system before is irresponsible and reckless, but DeVos is also going to set students up for failure, on purpose:

The new contract will strip out mandates aimed at helping borrowers who fall behind on payments and people enrolled in income-driven plans. The servicer would no longer be required to have specialists on hand to aid people in delinquency, nor would the company have to remind borrowers to reenroll in income-driven repayment weeks before the deadline. Removing those sorts of mandate reduces some of the bureaucracy of servicing but could also prove detrimental to keeping borrowers from defaulting. 

Trump/DeVos plan to make Public Schools look bad just so they can sell choice to private-for-profits and religious schools.

Well, a big congratulation to Trump voters who thought, what the heck, let’s take a chance.

Those voters who believed millionaire Trump would help the little people…well, you’re about to get socked with higher education costs. There goes Scott Walker's tax savings, and more. No free lunch.

Public schools are on the outs and private unaccountable for-profit schools will be squeezing every dollar out you soon. Moyers and Company: 

Trump’s Education Budget Feeds School Privatization at The Expense of Students: The Post reports, deep spending cuts — a net $9.2 billion or 13.6 percent — for many “long-standing programs” that largely serve children and youth from low-income households.

At the same time, more money would go to incentivize “alternatives to traditional public schools” at the K-12 level and increase the costs of college loans, a federal program with significant ties to the financial services industry.

Why is Trump and DeVos doing this? 

(It) cuts programs that make public schools attractive options for parents, especially in low-income communities, while boosting federal support for “school choice” that incentivizes parents to turn to charter schools and private schools instead.

1. $1.2 billion for after-school programs would be eliminated,

2. (Eliminate) $2.1 billion for teacher training programs that lead to class-size reductions in schools.

3. Funding that supports arts education, international studies and foreign languages get the axe.

4. Federal help for educating Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students and gifted students are killed.

5. A $400 million fund to pay for an array of school-enriching services and academics — such as mental-health support, anti-bullying programs and advanced courses — gets zero.

6. Even money for Special Olympics education programs would be gone.

7. Schools would get a lot less money from the federal government for technical education, adult basic literacy instruction.

8. Trump and DeVos would take $1 billion out of the federal government’s Title I funds — money sent to the states to support educating poor children — to a new grant program that incentivizes those states to fund the competitive privately operated schools such as charters and religious schools. The grant program is called Furthering Options for Children to Unlock Success (FOCUS) that only goes to school districts that “agree to allow students to choose which public school they attend — and take their federal, state and local dollars with them.”

9. The proposed budget provides “$500 million for charter schools, up 50 percent over current funding.” 

Trump and DeVos aren't done yet reaching into your pockets, hurting the economy and stuffing your hard earned cash into the pockets of billionaire bankers...

10. The “reshaping” includes cutting loans and work-study programs for disadvantaged students and ending subsidized loans for students still in schools and the program that forgives college loans for students who eventually take jobs in the public sector. Eliminating these student loan programs means “the government could eventually make more money off of student loans” 

But not only is it ethically problematic for our government to treat college students like cash cows; it’s also just another way to ensure more money for education is directed to the immense financial empire that profits off servicing those loans, refinancing the debt and collecting on loans that go into default.

Yea, Trump is gonna take care of the disenfranchised. Suckers. 

And here's a tricky one...

$250 million for grants that would ”pay for expanding and studying the impacts of vouchers for private and religious schools.

As the Post reporters explain, “It’s not clear how much would be spent on research versus the vouchers themselves.” But what’s also unclear is how one studies the “impacts” of an initiative simultaneously as it rolls out. Rather than a research endeavor, this additional money sounds more like it’s for a marketing program.

Shredding college affordability so banks can make more money is spelled out in this Post report sidebar.

Republican Budget Bill Bans Gold-Standard studies for Vouchers!!!

Donald Trump’s secretary of Education Betsy DeVos now has an open field when it comes to selling the miracle of school vouchers. In the next four years, voucher schools can print up almost any claim they want, since the Gold-Standard of voucher evaluations has been BANNED! EdWeek:

Congress Budget Deal Bans New Gold-Standard Studies of Federal Vouchers: As part of a fiscal 2017 budget deal, Congress plans to forbid the use of randomized, controlled trials in new evaluations of the only federal school voucher program.

Banning the “Gold-Standard” studies of the voucher program blows up any suggestion Republicans want to get rid of wasteful ineffective programs.

And there’s a reason why the Gold-Standard was forbidden:

The move comes a week after an experimental-design study found negative results for students who accepted vouchers compared to students who applied but were not chosen for the program. The change in future methods may have ripple effects … for states and districts trying to work out how to identify successful programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Mark Dynarski, the lead author in the most recent evaluation of the voucher program, said "ESSA is pretty clear about the role of evidence and experiments, and this does muddy the water."

Proof once again, vouchers were never meant to improve a child’s education, they were meant to make some people and investors lots of money:

Under ESSA, randomized, controlled trials are considered the "gold standard" and the strongest tier of evidence to identify effective programs. This is the first time since the law was passed that Congress has specifically requested a less-rigorous evaluation method for a program.

What makes this the Gold-Standard?

The federal voucher program, which awards students based on a lottery of applicants, is uniquely suited to use a comparison group of students who applied for the scholarship but didn't get it. Doing so removes the potential for selection bias, as students and families who put forth the effort to apply for a voucher may differ from those who don't.

I don’t know why we have to resort to sounding “impartial” when the intent of Republican lawmakers is to ban evaluations that prove how bad the whole vouchers program is, but we do:

"Considering the topic in question, and in the context of having used strong scientific methods for the previous study and the current one, it's at least unclear why now is the time to swap out strong methods and swap in weaker ones." 

No, it's not unclear.

Evers defends Public Education from another right wing Privateer, Holtz.

With almost no fanfare whatsoever, there was an important debate in Wisconsin yesterday:

Incumbent Superintendent Tony Evers and challenger Lowell Holtz, sparred over Wisconsin’s teacher shortage and the effect of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would have on the state’s professional development Tuesday in Milwaukee.

Evers once again defended the teaching profession, which is a really odd thing to have to do if you just think about it:

Evers blamed the state's shrinking teacher supply on Act 10. Evers said a key to refilling the teacher pipeline is making sure high school students understand the importance of the profession.

"We have to change the rhetoric. We have to honor the profession. We have to make sure that our teachers are elevated in the right place. We have lost a generation of young people going into the profession. We can change that and I think we have to pay our teachers more."

Holtz had already said that instead of working with the 400 school district that have adopted Common Core, he would work with the legislature, an anti-education body that has for years tried to break up public education.

Now he said he backs Trump's plans for choice...

Holtz, who has courted conservative support, argued the GOP-backed Act 10 is not the problem ... teachers' frustrations with the state's evaluation system ... and that he didn't have many reservations about President Trump's proposed budget.

But Trump's proposed budget should have raised concerns, big time reservations, over the departments budget cuts. EdWeek: 

Private and charter schools were considered the big winners in President Donald Trump's budget blueprint, which sought new money to expand student options, while slashing other K-12 spending. Private and charter schools would be squeezed by the proposed cuts, just like regular public schools.

The Trump administration's budget blueprint would include $1.4 billion in new money for school choice, but it would get rid of Title II, the $2.3 billion main federal program for improving teacher quality, and the 21st Century Community Learning Center program, a $1.1 billion program which helps finance afterschool and extended-day programs. Private and charter schools receive funding, or at least services, from both programs. Here's a breakdown of how that works: 

Private Schools: Private schools benefit from federal dollars, particularly Title II, although the process is a bit more complicated … Here's how it works: District receive money from Title II—which can be used for class-size reduction, professional development, retention bonuses and more. But private schools with high-poverty populations are supposed to be able to take advantage of the dollars too. And districts have to consult with private schools in their area about how they want the dollars used—they can't just make the decision for them.

And the amount of Title II funding going to private schools isn't chump change, at least in places that have embraced school choice in a big way. In Wisconsin, for example, home to a long-standing voucher program, nearly 25 percent of the state's roughly $25 million in Title II funding goes to private and parochial schools, or about $5 million total, said Tony Evers, the state chief.

The cuts, particularly to Title II funding would hit private schools the same way it would hit public schools.

Charter Schools: Some states treat charter schools or networks of charters as separate school districts. That means, if they qualify for federal grants, like Title I, Title II, career and technical education money, or something else, they get it, under the same set of rules as traditional public schools.

The share of Title II dollars going to charters isn't trivial. In California, for example, it's about 10 percent of funding, or an estimated $23 million of the state's roughly $234 million in Title II funding. The newly passed Every Student Succeeds Act which passed in 2015, puts a special focus on using the money to replicate high-performing charters. If the new dollars are approved by Congress and directed to those efforts, existing charters might not see much of it.

DeVos on Historically Black Colleges and University's: "...real pioneers when it comes to choice."

Education Sec. Betsy DeVos, who never went to a public school, proved how bad that choice was with this bumbling voucher choice sales pitch using historically black colleges and university's:

DeVos linked black colleges to the issue of school choice -- a cause for which she is an advocate.

"HBCUs are real pioneers when it comes to school choice. They are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and greater quality. Their success has shown that more options help students flourish."

That resulted in a few incredibly controlled responses:

Slate ran a column last night with the headline: "Insane Betsy DeVos Press Release Celebrates Jim Crow Education System as Pioneer of 'School Choice.'"

DeVos on Public Teachers: "They're waiting to be told what they have to do..."

Public schools are about to get dismantled under Trump, and Betsy DeVos isn't wasting one minute. Perhaps she didn't like the protesters that greeted her as she visit her first public school? I'm writing this because this is one hell of a way to start out...

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had a hard time getting inside the District’s Jefferson Middle School Academy last week when protesters briefly blocked her from entering. But at the end of her visit, (she said) teachers at Jefferson were sincere, genuine and dedicated, (but) they seemed to be in “receive mode.”

“They’re waiting to be told what they have to do, and that’s not going to bring success to an individual child,” DeVos told a columnist for the conservative online publication Townhall. “You have to have teachers who are empowered to facilitate great teaching.”

Of course DeVos would notice something like this, having never been in any of our public schools:

Jefferson teacher Caroline Hunt said, “I find it very interesting that the chancellor saw teachers that were pushing rigorous learning, students asking each other high-level questions and cultivating high-level responses, and teachers who take initiative and give their lives to the education of these children. DeVos saw something so different. … Maybe if DeVos knew more about education she would realize just how amazing the students, teachers and staff are.”

Jefferson is one of the fastest-improving schools in the city’s public school system. While fewer than half of students are meeting or approaching grade-level expectations, according to new Common Core tests, the school’s growth has won it classification as a “rising” D.C. school.

DeVos trashes Protesters: The public continues to get in the way of our new authoritarian masters who are hell bent on destroying public education so they can "save" it with "change and new ideas" through privatization:

DeVos kicked off her first public speech by casting the protestors who sought to block her from visiting a Washington, D.C., middle school last week as part of a divisive opposition that's resistant to fresh ideas.

"By keeping kids in and new thinking out, Friday's incident demonstrates just how hostile some people are to change and to new ideas.” 

Magnet Schools praised, But on GOP Hit List for Elimination: GOP policy chaos can be found in their educational contradictions:

DeVos praised magnet schools, which are public schools organized around a particular subject area such as arts or technology, as "the original school choice option."

The House Appropriations Committee, though, is seeking to eliminate funding for the program altogether in its fiscal year 2017 spending bill. Magnet schools lag behind charter schools federal funding ... currently receiving about $96 million a year, compared to charters, which get about $333 million from the feds. 

Religion via Taxpayer Funding: DeVos' "change and new ideas" includes finding every way possible to publically fund religion by gaming the First Amendment:

A policy manifesto from the influential conservative group Council for National Policy, with ties to the Trump administration, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Stephen Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, urges the dismantling of the Education Department and bringing God into American classrooms … a “restoration of education in America” that would minimize the federal role, promote religious schools and home schooling and enshrine “historic Judeo-Christian principles” as a basis for instruction.

DeVos’ mother, Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, was named on the council’s board of governors. Her father-in-law, Amway founder Richard DeVos Sr., twice served as president.

So yea, we've got a serious problem looming ahead.

DeLusional DeVos DeVoid of DeSmarts.

Well, I guess we can finally put the last nail in the coffin when it comes to the myth of “fiscal conservatism.” That’s just so much bullshit.

Trump’s education pick of Betsy DeVos proved that point beyond words. Oddly, it was Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska that said it best last week when she announced her opposition:

“I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of education who has been so involved in one side of the equation, so immersed in the push for vouchers, that she may be unaware of what actually is successful within the public schools, and also what is broken and how to fix them.”

Ya think? What sane person, or even Trump voter, would back putting someone in a position this important, with absolutely no experience whatsoever? For all the years DeVos opposed public schools, you'd think she would have researched the topic:

She has never run, taught in, attended or sent a child to an American public school, and her confirmation hearings laid bare her ignorance of education policy and scorn for public education itself. 

In her Senate hearing, Ms. DeVos appeared largely ignorant of challenges facing college students, as well. She indicated that she was skeptical of Education Department policies to prevent fraud by for-profit colleges — a position favored, no doubt, by Mr. Trump, who just settled a fraud case against his so-called Trump University for $25 million. It was not clear that she understood how various student loan and aid programs worked, or could distinguish between them.

(DeVos) lobbied to shut down the troubled Detroit public school system and channel the money to charter, private or religious schools, regardless of their performance. She also favors online private schools, an alternative that most leading educators reject as destructive to younger children’s need to develop peer relationships, and an industry prone to scams.

Trump voters have exposed their own scam; it's not government they hate, they hate not having power. So now they're suddenly okay with taxpayers funding religious schools and throwing money into unaccountable private black holes because anecdotal stories affirm their agenda. I remember one survey that showed parental satisfaction wasn't based on grades, which were lower, but on the feeling they did something, their kids were safer, and their child happier. Their kids didn't feel that way in the survey at all, just the opposite.  

"Choice" is just another manipulation, to appeal to every parents insecurity over doing the right thing for their kid:

"Why School Vouchers Don't Matter" by Kevin Carey in the Chronicle Review laid out what I consider one of the best arguments against voucher schools:“The D.C. voucher program does none of these things. No new schools have been built as a result, no groundbreaking programs created, competition spurred, or innovators attracted…
 …there remains the point that some parents among the lower classes do not understand educational opportunities when they are presented to them. Nor would they be able to make informed choices on their children’s behalf. For instance, just tonight I had a heated discussion with my working class mother about my nephew being admitted into a program for gifted youngsters at his public elementary school. She thought it would be a waste of time.

 Some studies suggest that a similar attitude becomes more common the lower down the economic ladder we look. To ignore this obstacle, and pretend every parent has the capacity to make the same informed decision a college- or law school-educated person can make, remains one abiding problem with the voucher system. Choice does not automatically level the playing field if the choosers have different backgrounds informing those choices.— Cassandra