I Love Neal McCluskey's Observations on Twitter

As seen on Twitter:

@NealMcCluskey Neal McCluskey

When's my "off-the-record chat" with Arne Duncan? http://t.co/Klp4oii I blog, and I'm interested in "clever" waivers:http://t.co/O2oSXnB

McCluskey's remarks remind me of the Educational Roundtable Talks this year with Claire McCaskill.

I guess parents and taxpayers shouldn't take it personally. It's our totalitarian democracy at its finest.

University of Missouri Student Lecture: "Capitalism is the Systemic Problem in America" from Communist Party Representative

The Washington Post reports more labor-friendly lectures at a University of Missouri campus. This time it was not a professor:

Tony Pecinovsky, a Communist Party USA representative who is serving as the Communications Workers of America Secretary and Treasurer in St. Louis, spoke to students at the University of Missouri in St. Louis.

Pecinovsky (left) spoke about how important it is support candidates that share the same values as the Communist party. Who has he supported in the past in Missouri elections? Congressman Russ Carnahan and Senator Claire McCaskill.

This is not the first time CPUSA has addressed the University of Missouri. In 2008, CPUSA's Vice Chairman spoke to students about the election of Barack Obama:

"He's only the beginning," Tyner said. "I think he's a transitional president. I think somebody else is going to come in and take it even further."

Pecinovsky was explicit discussing the tenents of the party's beliefs in the St Louis area campus:

• The idea of the American flag is racist
• America is the "belly of the beast"
• Internationalism is defined how the party can effectively isolate and defeat the ultra-right...comrades in other countries want to defeat the ultra-right"
  
• The progressive wing is uniting to defeat America at home and abroad
• The progressive movement is part of a “larger movement." (He states): “Almost every member of our (communist) organization is a member of a union, is a member of a coalition, is a member of neighborhood association. Is a member of a peace organization.”
• It is important to infiltrate groups already in existence; in fact, the party believes it is necessary to work even in "conservative and reactionary" trade unions
• The systemic problem in America is capitalism. Capitalism is the ultimate enemy
• The main focus of the CPUSA is to build coalitions with organizations that have broad bases and memberships and money such as "Jobs with Justice" and the unions

An important distinction Pecinovsky makes between CPUSA and other Marxist organizations is this: CPUSA does not have the same nuanced view of politics that the other organizations have; CPUSA understands the necessity of not just working against the state but working within the state.

Is that called "gaming the system"? Are politicians such as Carnahan and McCaskill pawns to an end? It might be a good idea to call their offices to determine how connected they are with the Communist Party agenda. You also might ask them if they would make an official statement distancing themselves from this rhetoric.

While you are calling Carnahan and McCaskill, you also might want to call the office of Representative Clem Smith (pictured above on the right). CPUSA certainly has accomplished its goal of electing officials with union ties...who have connections to the Communist Party. Does Representative Smith believe that capitalism is the ultimate enemy? I wonder what the business owners in his district (as well as Carnahan's district) think about this CPUSA belief? Here is a brief description of the party Smith and (now) retired State Representative Rita Heard Day attended last year sponsored by the Missouri Communist Party:

The Missouri Communist Party’s Friends of the People’s World hosted their 18th annual ‘Hershel Walker Peace and Justice Awards Breakfast’ Saturday, May 8, 2010, at the CWA Local 6300 Union Hall, 2258 Grissom Drive , St. Louis.

Newspaper Guild International President Bernie Lunzer was the main speaker for the event.

The honorees were:

• Tony Harris, President American Postal Workers Union (labor)
• Martin Rafanan, Ex. Director Gateway Homeless Services (community)
• State Senator Rita Heard Days, D-14 (public service)
• Clem Smith, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (civil rights)

Missouri Communist Party leader Tony Pecinovsky worked on Clem Smith’s successful 2010 campaign – a service he has personally performed for several other Missouri elected officials.


You can call Pecinovsky yourself if you have any questions about his goals for the party and his vision for America. Check out the 6:42 mark on video 6. He gives his phone number and email address.

This administration insists we have education that will make us "globally competitive". Will speakers from the Communist Party that call for the destruction of capitalism accomplish that goal?

Do we have any politicians in Jefferson City that will start an investigation on why a Communist party official is speaking in a public university lecture class for the purpose of destroying our capitalistic system? Why are taxpayers paying for this indoctrination that furthers a political agenda?

McCaskill's "Invitational Only" Roundtable Discussion in the Ft. Zumwalt District

Regular citizens aren't invited to this week's roundtable education discussions held by Senator Claire McCaskill. The press was allowed a question and answer period after the meeting, however, and you can read about her meeting in O'Fallon here from the St. Louis Beacon about the discussion.

I found this paragraph particularly interesting:

In an interview after the hour-long roundtable discussion, McCaskill said she thinks Washington's role in education should primarily be one of support, while main decisions are best left to local communities. Noting that federal financing for education is not likely to grow any time soon, given the recent emphasis on cutting the budget and the deficit, she said whatever dollars come from Washington have to be used in the wisest way. (emphasis added)

It sounds good, right? Main decisions are best left to local communities while the Federal government pays for those local decisions. Does anyone think this is really happening? Common core standards allow NO local decisions, or even state decisions. We are now in a consortia that will be making standards and assessment decisions and the Federal government is busy crafting a national curriculum framework.

If states did not sign onto Common Core standards, the Federal government threatened states' Title I money could be withheld. How's that for local control? Does that sound like a support role...or coercion by the Federal branch? McCaskill says money received by the districts should be used in the wisest way. How can districts use money in that way when stimulus money given to schools was prescribed by the Federal government for specific projects determined by the Feds? Was the senator aware that the monies did not go to schools based on what the school needed, but what was ordered by the DOE?

More from the Beacon:

The meeting came on the first day of a four-day education tour of the state that McCaskill is doing while the Senate is in recess, as part of what her office called an "opportunity to gather common-sense ideas on a variety of education-related topics to bring back to Washington."

I'm thrilled she wants to gather "common-sense ideas on education-related topics". I would suggest she ask for common-sense ideas from regular parents who have to pay the taxes and supply the children for the system she wants to improve. Perhaps she should expand her "invitation only" list to include all concerned parents from all districts.

If the Senator would hold another town hall meeting as she did last year, she would hear from the "average" parent who has no lobbying or special interest ties....you know, a "regular" American taxpayer. It is this group of people, the "regular" American taxpayers, who are paying for these educators and federal officials making decisions for their children and pocketbook. And again, this group has limited or no voice.

The "Trigger Option"...on its Face, it's a Beauty. Look Deeper and You'll Find Bill Gates.

My emails have been exploding about the "Trigger Option". Have you heard about the newest educational tool to close underperforming schools? This was started in California; it is a way parents can force the closing of failing schools. Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal explaining how the trigger option works and the Journal is very supportive of placing the option in parents' hands.

On its face, this seems as if this is a fabulous idea on how to deal with underperforming schools. Parents can close schools that don't reach Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for four consecutive years. If at least 51% of the parents sign a petition, they can shut a school down, shake up its administration, or invite a charter operator to take over. Charters that open as a result of parent triggers must accept all students from the original school.

This sounds great, doesn't it? What would you think if I told you only 25% of Missouri school districts made the AYP goals this past year? You can access this link on the DESE website to check your own district's failing or passing grade. My district, Kirkwood VII District, has not met AYP goals for four years. Kirkwood VII has the highest paid superintendent in the state. Should I mount a campaign to ask my district to go to charters, scrap the administration and start over? Why are we paying a premium for an administrative head for a district that can't pass AYP goals?

The majority of Kirkwood students go on to college. So what's the disconnect between AYP and actual performance of the majority of the students? Here's a layman's definition of AYP. These goals are practically impossible for any school district to meet. High performing and high paying districts in my area very rarely can meet AYP goals. Why? Testing is broken down into subgroups (free lunch, minority, IEP student, etc.). A entire school can do well on the testing, but if one subgroup does not meet proficiency, the entire building fails on AYP for the year. This happened in one Missouri school last year; it had the highest math and reading scores in the district, but since the IEP students did NOT meet the AYP goals, the entire building failed. Entire districts fail based on the subgroup performance.

Be careful what you wish for. And ask yourself, who is behind the "parent trigger option"? Would it surprise you to discover that would be none other than Bill Gates? Read this article from "School Matters". It has not been a parent driven movement for the trigger option; it has been Bill Gates and his charter school buddies pushing this idea. If parents can become so enraged as to demand the closure of their school based on AYP data and demand charter schools, who immediately benefits? Those who are funding the charter schools will stand to make a fortune and this seems often to come back ultimately to Bill Gates.

Are there some schools who are performing badly? Absolutely. Should some be closed? Yes. But I get a bit uneasy when I see Gates' fingerprints all over this reform in terms of charters and common core standards. Read our blog on how Bill Gates is behind legislative writing of educational policy. It's not legislators driving legislation, it's special interest groups. No wonder I get concerned when Gates' name pops up in the Trigger Option as well.

As this administration has said, "Never waste a crisis". And a failing school is a crisis. It pits parents against teachers and teachers against parents. The teachers' unions finally get broken when it comes to disbanding a failing school and students are placed in charter schools. Just be sure before you celebrate this option you do your research and find out who is funding the charters and why.

And one more thought: if the charters are operating under the same standards as the public schools, and they are being graded in the same way (via subgroup testing protocol), will there be much difference in results? Instead of disbanding underperforming schools, perhaps more scrutiny should be given to the onerous mandates given to the states by the Federal Government and the way they are graded. Just wait for common core standards and assessments; they will be even worse and time consuming than No Child Left Behind. Claire McCaskill may be correct. Parents should get their pitchforks and demonstrate if their child is stuck in a failing school. But who are they demonstrating against? Are they demonstrating against failing teachers or a deeper systemic problem? Who is benefiting from all this unrest?