Volume 11 Issue 3 June 2014
FROM
MARYLIN
By Marilyn Plansky,
President
The morning session featured a panel of
three legislators who addressed several
major challenges facing public education in Wisconsin. Of concern is the
lack of respect from state officials for public schools and unionized employees
who are characterized as public enemy #1. A disconnect between the
public and the legislators who praise themselves for cutting educational
funding and lowering taxes clearly exists when community referenda must be
passed to compensate for losses from the state. Such is the myth of tax
cuts. Unfortunately, an improved economy has not resulted in investing in
per-pupil spending for public schools. Only vouchers have
benefited.
On the matter of testing, the legislators
expressed the need for a common national standard, but they insisted that
results should be used to improve education, not to rate schools or teachers.
As for our retirement system, the remark
was made—and agreed to by the panel—that if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
It’s healthy, and we need to keep it that way.
The importance of knowing your legislators
was stressed. Because legislators
receive so much daily correspondence, correspondence needs to come from within
their districts to get their attention. The panel observed that there are
good people on both sides of the aisle, but redistricting has created
ultra-safe seats, which have supported representatives with more extreme views
funded by special interest money, the greatest threat to us as educators.
It was refreshing to hear from Wisconsin
legislators who are supportive of public education and its employees.
The afternoon session was devoted to
legislative training. The importance of grassroots-level strength was
stressed and, again, the need to contact your area legislators. If
several members make contacts, we will have more strength as a whole. Bringing
issues to our legislators prior to the lobbying efforts by WREA is also crucial.
The role of WREA as a lobbying entity drew
numerous comments. The overall feeling was that we need to become more
politically active and less passive than the non-partisan historical practice
of the state organization. Many young retirees are not willing to
compromise. It is necessary to be more aggressive in supporting our public
schools and staff. With this in mind, the WREA Educational Issues
Committee is launching an initiative to support public educators. Our unit
plans are to look at ways to follow through with this initiative.
Both Ethel and I have attended numerous
district level meetings and we agree that this one was excellent.
Our 2014 RFArea Scholarships were awarded to Caitlin Feneis from New
Richmond and Micheala Slind from Baldwin-Woodville. Caitlin plans to
attend Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College and obtain an associate nursing
degree. Micheala has been accepted into the School of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at UW-Madison and will major in biological systems engineering.
RFAREA MINUTES FOR THE
APRIL 16, 2014 MEETING
The meeting was called to order by President Marylin Plansky. The secretary's report was accepted as printed in the newsletter. The treasurer's report was accepted and filed for audit.
Doug Johnson informed the group that Ray Anderson had passed away and his funeral would be May 4th at the Unitarian Church. The time will be announced later.
Committee
reports followed. Larry Harred, Legislative Chair, said he would hold his
report until state reports were available.
Ruth
Wood, Program Chair, announced that the June meeting would be a picnic at
Hoffman Park followed by an Antique Show. There were meetings at the
River Falls Library of interest to our group. On May 14, 10:30 a.m., the
book Reign of Error would be
discussed in the Library Board Room. Nick Bean, High School Principal,
would share his insights on how public education is going.
The
scholarship report was given by Marylin Plansky in the absence of Naomi
Brandt. Two recipients for next year's scholarship have been
selected. One student is from New Richmond and the other one from
Baldwin. Names were suggested for someone to present scholarships and will be
shared with Naomi Brandt.
Laura
Zlogar is actively working to recruit new members. Evelyn Klein gave a report on Educational
Issues. The following names were
suggested by the Nominating Committee as
officers for the next two years: Jane Harred, Secretary; Laura Zlogar,
Treasurer; Larry Harred, Legislative
Chair, (finishing two year term); not selected, President. Nominations can be made from the floor.
OLD BUSINESS: Laura Zlogar passed out directories. Bernie Brohaugh presented two proposed amendment changes to the Constitution. The change was to Bylaw IV, no. 1 and 2. The changes can be voted on at the next meeting. In the meantime, we will go by the old wording.
NEW BUSINESS: Marylin Plansky and Ethel Johnson will attend the District Meeting at Rice Lake on May 7th. Evelyn Johnson was presented with a certificate for having the most volunteer hours from our unit for the past year.
The meeting was adjourned.
OLD BUSINESS: Laura Zlogar passed out directories. Bernie Brohaugh presented two proposed amendment changes to the Constitution. The change was to Bylaw IV, no. 1 and 2. The changes can be voted on at the next meeting. In the meantime, we will go by the old wording.
NEW BUSINESS: Marylin Plansky and Ethel Johnson will attend the District Meeting at Rice Lake on May 7th. Evelyn Johnson was presented with a certificate for having the most volunteer hours from our unit for the past year.
The meeting was adjourned.
HAS PUBLIC EDUCATION REALLY FAILED?
By
Bernie Brohaugh
How little we
know ourselves. Often I am amused to
hear a complainer criticize someone else for displaying the very faults that
the complainer him-/herself possesses—engaging in what psychologists call
“projection.” I used to have a friend
who repeatedly grumbled that this or that person was “judgmental.” She didn’t realize that her comment, uttered
with such frequency, reflected the same characteristic in herself. She was, in fact, one of the most judgmental
people I have ever known.
But she had
nothing on today’s politicians. The fact
that the majority of them are incompetent—conspicuously suggested by
astonishingly low approval ratings (less than 10 per cent)--doesn’t stop them
from harping on perceived inadequacies in others. Much of this grousing and griping is, of
course, political posturing, but much of it, unfortunately, is sincere, and
among the favorite whipping boys/girls these days are public school
teachers. Politicians from both parties
maintain that many, if not most, teachers are not doing their jobs and should
be fired. This comes from probably the
most hopeless, most do-nothing, most non–legislating gaggle of
quasi-legislators our nation has ever seen.
Indeed, there are faults in education, bad teaching being
one of them, just as there are faults in government and business. All other faults everywhere pale, for
instance, beside the banking fiasco of 2008 caused by incompetent and
unscrupulous management But, yes, we
know there are faults in education that some of us have discovered from
extensive personal observation, and, yes, teachers are sometimes to blame. We know, also, however, that the public has
been deluged with lies alleging that public education in the U. S. has failed
completely and needs to be privatized (but paid for in large measure, of
course, by tax dollars). Bombarded with
lies for the past few decades, why should anyone question this verdict?
Surprisingly,
a few people have, including, notably, Diane Ravitch, former U. S Assistant
Secretary of Education. In her new book,
Reign
of Error, which some of us met recently to discuss, she debunks most of
the vilification of K-12 education that naïve politicians and so-called
“experts” have been misinforming us with for more than 50 years. Two assertions that have been the most perverse—because
most of us have believed them--are that U. S. students are falling further and
further behind students in many other countries and that their test stores
within the U. S. itself are deteriorating steadily. Both are false. Ironically, the first is false because our
students never have done well in international competition, so current teaching
cannot be blamed for a development that hasn’t really happened. The second assertion is flat out wrong. The only standardized test that has any value,
the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), says Ravitch, shows
students’ scores in reading and math improving continually since 1992.
But the lies will go on because huge
fortunes await those who can market new methods of learning, new software
programs, new hardware, and so on, to replace traditional methods. If students benefit, so much the better, but
if not, who cares? The main thing is to
sell your ideas, to sell your stuff.
Focus on the bottom line.
A current popular substitute for traditional education is
charter schools—both public and private.
Guess what? They get no better
results than public schools, in spite of fewer restrictions and more
privileges. Were they prevented from
turning away students with learning problems, were they forced to measure
student performance as assiduously as public schools must, were they honest
about their accomplishments, they would almost certainly have far fewer
supporters than they have now—especially if it became widely known that more and
more of their classrooms are being run by people with only five weeks of
teacher training. The more that one
learns about charter schools and certain other alternatives to traditional
public and private education systems, the likelier it is that one will discover
what is really behind this frenzy to jump out of the frying pan into the fire:
Greed. I’ll say it again: Greeeed--with taxpayers still footing the bill.
RFAREA
KICKS OFF ITS INAUGURAL BOOK DISCUSSION
The RFArea Wisconsin
Retired Educators' Association kicked off its book discussion group on
Wednesday, May 14, 2014, at the River Falls Public Library. The focus of
the discussion was Diane Ravitch's most recent book entitled Reign of
Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's
Public Schools. Nick Been, Vice Principal at River Falls High School
(and Ruth Wood's former student), joined the conversation, providing
interesting local perspectives on standardized testing, Wisconsin educational
mandates and initiatives, and the politicization of education. Marylin Plansky observed that “it was fun to
get together and discuss issues affecting public schools today,” and Ethel
Johnson expressed appreciation of being made aware of new books such as
Ravitch’s. She also found Been’s
perspectives on area education interesting and informative.
The next book discussion
will be held in August. It was agreed that a good summertime read will be
Richard Rodriguez's The Hunger of
Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. Not only is
Rodriguez an excellent writer, but his memoir provides wonderful insights about
the challenges of English language learners navigating American education, the
"cost" of education to immigrant children, and other educational
issues. It's a great book. The exact time and place will be
announced on the Blog and elsewhere.
RFAREA
KICKS OFF ITS INAUGURAL BOOK DISCUSSION
The RFArea Wisconsin
Retired Educators' Association kicked off its book discussion group on
Wednesday, May 14, 2014, at the River Falls Public Library. The focus of
the discussion was Diane Ravitch's most recent book entitled Reign of
Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's
Public Schools. Nick Been, Vice Principal at River Falls High School
(and Ruth Wood's former student), joined the conversation, providing
interesting local perspectives on standardized testing, Wisconsin educational
mandates and initiatives, and the politicization of education. Marylin Plansky observed that “it was fun to
get together and discuss issues affecting public schools today,” and Ethel
Johnson expressed appreciation of being made aware of new books such as
Ravitch’s. She also found Been’s
perspectives on area education interesting and informative.
 |
| Members Bernie Brohaugh and Ruth Wood with River Falls High School Principal Nick Been |
 |
| Members Larry Harred, Jane Harred, Ethel Johnson, Marylin Plansky, and Ruth Wood at the River Falls Public Library for the book discussion. |
The next book discussion
will be held in August. It was agreed that a good summertime read will be
Richard Rodriguez's The Hunger of
Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. Not only is
Rodriguez an excellent writer, but his memoir provides wonderful insights about
the challenges of English language learners navigating American education, the
"cost" of education to immigrant children, and other educational
issues. It's a great book. The exact time and place will be
announced.
REPORT
FROM DISTRICT III MEETING
Ruth Wood and Laura Zlogar
attended the District III meeting in Stratford where more than 60 members from
17 counties were in attendance. Keynote speaker John Gaier, Superintendent of
the Neillsville School District, focused on issues challenging Wisconsin’s
public schools, including increased accountability (standardized testing), the
Common Core, vouchers, special needs, and equity in funding of public
education. Gaier called for all of us to
keep education a local pursuit, reflecting local culture, having locally
elected school boards who are accountable to local citizens. His admonition was for all of us to stay
informed, to work for equitable funding across the state, and to engage in
grass-roots efforts to support public education, especially in light of the
$100 million of out-of-state money given in the last election to candidates
supporting vouchers. We need to be advocates
for public education and to serve as a voice for our schools, teachers, and
students.
WREA Executive Director Dave
Bennett also spoke at the District III meeting.
He stated that a priority for WREA is to increase communication with
educators in our communities and to work in a more coordinated way to influence
state legislation. WREA is providing
$100 seed money for each unit’s project to help local schools in some way. This is the first step in the organization’s
effort to reach out to local schools and to find ways we can help teachers and
the schools. The Legislative Committee
will be working with local units to become more effective and stronger.
PROFESSOR RAY ANDERSON DIES AT 91
Our
good friend and loyal member of the River Falls Area WREA passed away on May 10th
from complications resulting from a fall.
A professor of political science for 41 years, he taught for 27 of those
years at UWRF, much of that time serving as head of his department. He also served on the Pierce County Board of
Supervisors for 26 years and was a registered lobbyist who represented
Cooperative Extension. During World War
II, he fought in some of the fiercest battles in the South Pacific.
A passionate liberal, Ray
wrote many letters on political and social issues to editors of several papers
in the area. He was a conservationist,
an extraordinarily talented gardener, and a maker of flavorful wines.
He is survived by Zora, his
wife of more than 60 years, and by two daughters and a son.
BAKE
SALE AND SCHOLARSHIP DRIVE
A hearty
thank you goes out to everyone who contributed money and baked goods to the
April scholarship fundraiser. Royal
Neighbors also deserves our gratitude for its willingness to support this endeavor. We were able to add $959 to our scholarship
fund. Congratulations!
WE NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU
After going through two hours of training, we now have access
to membership information through WREA’s online database. We have discovered that we know a lot less
than we thought we knew about each other!
Please provide 1) The school district, university, or technical college
where you spent most of your career or from which you retired; 2) your email
address. Please send that information to
Laura Zlogar at laura.w.zlogar@gmail.com,, call her at
715-425-0468, or send a note to 729 River Ridge Ct., River Falls 54022.
MONTHLY
MEETINGS FOR 2014-15
Since the matter of monthly
meetings has come up several times in our discussions this year, the Board
agreed by consensus that the RFArea WREA will meet once a month from August to
June next year on the third Wednesday of every month (except for an earlier
date in December). These meetings will
alternate between business and socializing one month and programming the next
month. As our February meeting on
teaching in rural and one-room schools showed us, we have many people in our
local unit with vast and varied experiences and interests that should be
shared. Having more meetings with less
formal agendas will give us an opportunity to become better acquainted.
New
Program Chair Ruth Wood is already planning some discussions and presentations
that will appeal both to new and continuing members. Already in the works are a panel discussion
by newly retired teachers about the current state of public schools in our
area; a pre-election discussion of issues affecting public education and
candidates’ positions on those issues; a presentation on effective and
strategic communication to promote public education and retired educators; and
volunteering. If you have other ideas
for programming, please contact Ruth at rwoodrf@gmail.com.
MEMBERSHIP
DRIVE AND PROGRAMMING
At
last our new membership campaign is coming into shape. The RFArea Board agreed that a wine and
cheese reception for potential new members to our local unit should be held in
late August (when newly retired educators are thinking about not returning to
school and realizing how much more time they now have). It was agreed that this sort of informal
occasion, introducing new and recent retirees to WREA and our RFArea local
chapter, is just what we need. Date,
time, and location will be announced.
Laura
Zlogar has completed training and now has direct electronic access to all WREA
membership records, making it much easier to track not only current members but
also past and potential members. The
Membership Committee will be presenting
ways all of us can become more involved in building our RFArea local unit.
