28 July 2009

Rouge Forum Update--July 28--from Rich

Dear Friends,

Health and work delayed the update of the Rouge Forum No Blood For Oil web page at www.rougeforum.org. There you will find those good-for-the-rest-your-life nifty No Blood For Oil posters on sale and more. Plus, you will get a chance to see The Great Parade at the End of the Rouge Forum Conference in Ypsilanti this year: http://richgibson.com/rouge_forum/2009/Parade.mov

On the Education for Irrationalism Front: In a death by a thousand cuts, some one or some place may have to be first. It could be Detroit where between 1/3 and 1/4 of the teaching staff was notified that they had three days to find a new job in the school system as they were "reconstituted" by test scores. This announcement came from Bob Bobb, appointed Czar of the school system by the Democratic governor. What did the Detroit Federation of Teachers do? Less than nothing. They called a building rep meeting (not a mass meeting, too risky) for tomorrow, Tuesday, and then threatened a small group of teachers who tried to take up a petition opposing the firings, saying the petition had nothing to do with the DFT. This may be the end of what was once the finest school system in the western world. The end of the schools would mean, literally, the end of Detroit. DPS Vacates 2600 Jobs, Schools Reconstituted: http://www.detnews.com/article/20090722/SCHOOLS/907220369/DPS-vacates-2-600-jobs-at-41-schools

The Obamagogue's Stimulus Money for Schools is Merit Pay: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teachers24-2009jul24,0,6767455.story

How Will the UC Survive? http://laprensa-sandiego.org/editorial-and-commentary/how-will-the-university-of-california-survive/

California Faculty Association's Narrow Vote For Furlough/Concessions: http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/24/us-california-university-cuts-072409/?dsq=13291864#comment-13291864

The American Federation of Teachers Sees Charters as a Cash Cow; NEA Next?http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/education/27charter.html?hp

Calpers/Sters Lose $100 Billion: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-calpers22-2009jul22,0,5416427.story

On the War They Are Not Going to Win (Long supply lines, difficult communications, no moral standing, huge country to invade--can anyone remember the US Revo?) Front: Payoff For War Crimes:

New Gi Bill: http://www.detnews.com/article/20090721/SCHOOLS/907210345/1409/METRO/A-surge-from-bunker-to-dorm--New-GI-Bill-takes-battle-out-of-higher-ed

Hedges: We are Losing the AFPAK Wars: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090720_war_without_purpose/

On The Hoo-boy There Goes the Economy Again Front: Wall Street Jacks up Pay After Bailouts: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/07/22/AR2009072203687.html

But US Manufacturing at 2/3 Capacity: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/72485.html

And, of course, people fight back, even if we have to look for them at a distance: In France: More Bossnappings: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009517317_apeufranceworkerunrest.html

In China, Steel Workers, Angered by Inequality and Layoffs, Demonstrate and Kill a Boss: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE56P09620090726

Remember, nominations for the Rouge Forum Steering Committee close August 15.

We note with sadness the death of Ken Macrorie, an honorable man, a great teacher and writer: http://www.webfh.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=254464&fh_id=11112

Thanks to Susan H and O, Amber, Kelly, Sandra, Sally, Joan, Donna, Eric, Carol, Sherry, Peter M, Don A, Bill A, Terry Schaeffer, Ramona, Sharon, Ken, Echo, Beau, Daniella, Candace, Bob, and Della.

Good luck to us,
every one.
r

Rouge Forum Update--July 20--from Rich

Dear Friends,

The Rouge Forum No Blood For Oil page is up and updated at www.rougeforum.org.

Remember, nominations for the Rouge Forum Steering Committee can be made to Community Coordinator Adam Renner by August 15 (arenner@bellarmine.edu)

On the Capitalist Education for War and Inequality Front:Obama to Schools: Change Tenure Laws or Else: The Ed Stim is Merit Pay: http://gothamschools.org/2009/07/09/obama-official-to-new-york-change-your-tenure-law-or-else/comment-page-1/#comment-154665

UC System Demands 9% Tuition Hike and 8% Pay Cut While Class Size Boomshttp://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/15/bn15uc-budget-cuts/?california

CSU Boss Wants 20% Tuition Hike: http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2033136.html

Substance News carries the wrap up of the National Education Association Rep Assembly: www.substancenews.net

Linda Chavez, a top aide to the American Federation of Teachers' Albert Shanker, testifies against Sotomayor: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR2009071603124.html

On "The Depression can only be a passing fancy" Front: Paul Craig Roberts: "This should tell even the most dimwitted patriot who “their” government represents." http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts07162009.html

Rolling Stone on Goldman Sachs and the Great American Bubble Machine: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/28816321/the_great_american_bubble_machine/print

#Chart on the Waves of California Jobs Lost: http://www.sacbee.com/1232/rich_media/2022115.html

Reuters: Foreclosures Hit Record High: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE56F0XK20090716

The International War of the Rich on the Poor Front: The Bushamagogue Assassination Schemes http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-scahill/the-democrats-selective-a_b_233708.html

Michael Klare's Shocker: Iraq as the New Oil Pump http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175095

And the Resistance (bad example/good example) Front: So Long EFCA: Union Bosses Can Deliver---nothing: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/business/17union.html. UK Public Worker Strikes Rise http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/newspid=20601087&sid=aw6B8IQyUQME

The many crises grow around us apace. Unemployment and foreclosures mean an eradicated tax base, meaning more demands for cuts on education and services, increased taxation of those who have a little, more pr to crush hope in the sense that nothing can be done, more police activity to raise funds and tamp down resistance, and more spectacles. On the war front, more war---for oil, regional control, that is, profits, using the children of the poor to fight the children of the poor on behalf of the rich in their homelands. What stops the madness? Understanding that the core issue of our time is the relationship of rising color-coded inequality to the potential of mass class-conscious resistance. That has been the project of the Rouge Forum, connection reason to power, for more than a decade.

Please join us and help lead the fight-backs that will come.

Thanks to Bob, Al, Sean, Amber, Tony, Kino, Marisol, the Dean, Candace, Sally, Sheri, Barb and Ken (yes, that is right), Donna, Brian, Adam and Gina, Koli, Jesus, Ashwana, Bill, Joe, Dariah, the Susans, and Ann.

Good luck to us,
every one.
r

20 July 2009

Critical Education: New journal to officially launch in early 2010

Critical Education is a new international peer-reviewed journal, which seeks manuscripts that critically examine contemporary education contexts and practices. Critical Education is interested in theoretical and empirical research as well as articles that advance educational practices that challenge the existing state of affairs in society, schools, and informal education.

Critical Education is an open access journal and uses the Open Journal Systems management and publication platform, which was developed by the Public Knowledge Project at Simon Fraser University to expand and improve access to research.

Critical Education is hosted by the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia and edited by Sandra Mathison, E. Wayne Ross and Adam Renner.

Mathison, Ross, and Renner have extensive experience as educators, researchers, and academic journal editors in the United States and Canada.

Mathison is currently Editor-in-Chief of New Directions in Evaluation. She is also editor and author of several books including Encyclopedia of Evaluation, The Nature and Limits of Standards-Based Reform and Assessment, Battleground Schools and most recently Researching Children's Experiences.

Ross co-edits Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor and Cultural Logic and is former editor of Theory and Research in Social Education. His books include Neoliberalism and Education Reform (winner of the 2009 Critics' Choice Award from the the American Educational Studies Association), Education Under the Security State, The Social Studies Curriculum, and Image and Education, among others.

Renner is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. As well, he serves as the Director of the Interdisciplinary Core in the Bellarmine College of Arts and Sciences. Once a high school math teacher, Renner received his Ph.D from the University of Tennessee in Cultural Studies. He teaches courses on social difference, social justice, globalization, international service learning, and general pedagogy.

Renner's research interests are tightly connected to the courses he teaches. He has published in such venues as the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, Educational Studies, the International Journal of Learning, and Intercultural Education, among others. He is the editor of The Rouge Forum News.

Additionally, among many invited lectures, he has delivered more than forty papers at professional conferences in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Jamaica. Since 1998, Adam has coordinated an international partnership which pairs students and faculty from the US with educational and health workers in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

In the coming weeks and months Critical Education will be announcing additional members of the Editorial Team as well as members of the Editorial Collective.

Our aim is to officially launch the journal in early 2010.

For more information visit the journal's website.

14 July 2009

Rouge Forum Update: Call for Steering Committee

Dear Friends,

Below is a call for nominations for the Rouge Forum Steering Committee from Community Coordinator Adam Renner--and below that more resources on the system of capital vs education, including analyses of the National Education Association Representative Assembly.

The Rouge Forum a group of educators, students, and parents seeking a democratic society. We are concerned with questions like: How can we teach against racism, nationalism and sexism in an increasingly authoritarian and undemocratic society? How can we gain enough real power to keep our ideals AND teach? Whose interests do schools serve in a society that is ever more unequal? We want to learn about equality, democracy and social justice as we simultaneously struggle to bring those into practice.

Needless to say, work toward these goals in the spirit of justice, demands organization. The Rouge Forum is now more than 10 years old. Over the first decade of its existence, members have built an international network of around 4500 professors, teachers, students, artists, and other social service workers. We have engaged in actions, put on conferences, written papers, and built the capacity of our community. We have done these things with no attachment to any hierarchy or any official organizing strategies. Wanting to keep the horizontal nature of such a network while also desiring to better coordinate our actions, the RF is currently accepting nominations for the 09-10 Steering Committee.

Members of the Steering Committee will be expected to actively promote the 2010 conference and attend where possible, help develop and actively participate in Regional RF Chapters, attend the Fall Steering Committee retreat, promote the RF at other conferences, seek out like-minded people and organizations to link the RF with, provide essays for the Rouge Forum News where possible, and build the capacity of our community by support of its members.

In particular this steering committee will be crucial toward the formation of Regional Chapters, mentioned in the list above. We would like to see regular meetings of the regional chapters and work toward some type of coordinated action (e.g., a one day freedom school, a teach-in, a one-day retreat for teachers, an evening panel/speaker on a coordinated topic, a protest action, etc. as a lead up to the 2010 conference and as a preview of more focused, coordinated, and regular actions in the future). Perhaps in organizing more locally/regionally, we can spend more time face to face, as well as enacting nation/world - wide coordinated actions. Please send your nomination to Adam Renner at arenner@bellarmine.edu by August 15, 2009.

"On the Education for Liberation Front: Two great, censored, photos of Arne Duncan, teaching: http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.html?id=601

Detroit Schools May File Bankruptcy, Could Void Contracts--Using the GM Model: http://www.freep.com/article/20090709/NEWS01/90709050/Bankruptcy-considered-for-DPS

If a bankruptcy judge allows this unprecedented school bankruptcy, it could mean wages slashed in half, pensions and health benefits gutted. If it happens in Detroit, it sets the stage for many others. Substance News on the Wrap-up of the National Education Association Conference: http://www.substancenews.net/

Vote: Should 11,000 CSU Faculty (all of them signed a loyalty oath) take a 10% Pay Cut? The Union Bosses don't know. "NOTE: The CFA Board did not take a position on how members should vote." http://www.calfac.org/furloughvoteinfo.html

The State of US Unionism:Union Hacks Slug it Out--Solidarity Forever: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/business/09labor.html?em but nothing will stop them from uniting for a free lunch with The Obmagogue: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/union-leaders-to-meet-with-obama-next-week/?scp=1&sq=van%20roekel%20obama%20stern&st=cse

The International Scene:Mediations, a left journal from South Africa, with many fascinating critiqueshttp://www.mediationsjournal.org/

Parenti on Obama and the coup in Honduras which sparked a nation-wide school strike: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/07/08-3

Obamagogue (of the AIG, Madoff, Enron, Martha Stewart, etc, USA) lectures Africans on Corruption:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-obama-africa12-2009jul12,0,7755225.story

Stiglitz on Auditing the $3 Trillion Wars: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/07/auditing_the_iraq_war_and_its.html

Thanks to Amber, Brian, George and Sharon, Susan O and H, Joe, Mark, Jesus, Donna, Candace, Lance, Sheri, Ken, Barb, Matthew, Bill, Jane W and friends, Mike L and A, Perry, Kathryn, TC, Tony H, Hilda, Marisol, Brit, Della, and Bill.

Good luck to us,
every one.
r

07 July 2009

Rouge Forum Update -- 7-5-09 -- from Rich

On the Madness and Boredom Front:
Substance News is carrying reports from the National Education Association's Representative Assembly, running through Monday, here:
http://www.substancenews.net/

On the Educational Miracles Front:
Substance has exposed the Chicago Miracle, the reason Arne Duncan holds his position as Ed Boss, for years. However, here is another expose, from an unexpected source:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/downloads/CPS.pdf

On the What Do You Mean We Had Something to Do With that Coup and What Do We Know About the School of the Americas Front:
http://www.soaw.org/

On the Everyone Can Make it in America Front, the Jobless Rate Hits a
26 Year High:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jul/02/us-unemployment-june-467000

On the Someone is Actually Doing Something About all of This Front:
The San Francisco Freedom School is open for summer:
http://educationanddemocracy.org/SFFS/2009program.html

Russian Students are Resisting:
http://www.rferl.org/content/Russias_New_Standardized_Exams_Fail_The_Public_Test/1761799.html

You can do something too. There is one organization in North America, rooted in education, that connects the wars, unemployment, de-industrialization, class struggle, and the crises in schools: The Rouge Forum. Next week we will circulate a call for nominees for this year's Rouge Forum Steering Committee. We urge you to join us. Please spread the word.

Thanks to all the courageous delegates at the NEA RA who spoke to me and gave me so much information. You'll see it in print in the coming days. If you are still at the RA and we have not met, please email me asap, or we can talk when you get home.

Thanks too to Amber, Wayne, Adam, Bob, Colleen, Tammy, Christina, Katie and Greg, Bill, Joe, Sally, Sue, Donna, Kathy Y and E, Gil, Tony, Jill, Eric, Marcie, Isabella, Victoria, Donnie, Tally, Shawndre, Teeyah, Pete, and Doug.

Good luck to us, every one.

r