Alan K. Henderson's Weblog

“Since a teacher’s working conditions are a child’s learning conditions, attacking teachers is the same as attacking children.” – Randy Mousley, president of United Teachers of Wichita. (February 9 Wichita Eagle)

...'The massive grey walls of the Temples rise from the heart of every Federation city. I Have always been awed by them, to think that every single facet of every life is regulated And directed from within! Our books, our music, our work and play are all looked after by The benevolent wisdom of the priests...'

Quote of the Week. “I don’t think they should sit on the sidelines. I think they should do what they do when they give to the Lyric Opera. They don’t go to the Lyric Opera, give money and then tell the singers how to sing. Give your money and walk away, buddies.” – Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, when asked what the backers of Mayor Emanuel’s school reform agenda should do. (November 20 Chicago Sun-Times)

Um, they may not tell the singers how to sing, but they have a big say in what they sing, don’t they?

"President Obama not only won this election, but so did his ideas and his values. The American people want fairness. They want everyone to pay their fair share…. But what we also have to do is to make sure that the corporations who earn billions of dollars pay some tax, and now they're paying none." – Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, a $1.6 billion tax-exempt organization.

"If you want to divide that $240,000 into the amount of hours spent, I think you would find that the per hour was probably not much at all, considering the work that had to be done." - Former National Education Association President Reg Weaver, explaining why he deserves his $242,657 annual pension from the state of Illinois. (October 23 Chicago Tribune)

Calls for the escalation and manipulation of violent rioting have long been central to Piven’s strategy. Her 1977 book with Cloward, Poor People’s Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail, detailed the rationale behind the infamous crisis strategy of a decade before. The core argument is that the poor and unemployed are so isolated from the levers of power in America that their greatest potential impact is to withhold “quiescence in civil life: they can riot.”

In her December 2010 Nation column, Piven wrote: “Local protests have to accumulate and spread — and become more disruptive — to create pressures on national politicians. An effective movement of the unemployed will have to look something like the strikes and riots that have spread across Greece. . . .” Given Piven’s strategic stance, it’s clear that she and The Nation are in fact calling for violence. Her denial of this lacks all credibility. Similarly, when The Nation’s editors defend Piven by referring to her support for “civil disobedience” and “street protest,” they are attempting to create the impression that Piven is a virtual disciple of Martin Luther King Jr., when in fact her longstanding strategy has little if anything to do with nonviolence.

"You will literally be fired, whoever you are. You must spend this money." - Maura Policelli, U.S. Department of Education's senior advisor for external affairs, describing what will happen to school officials who don't spend their stimulus money by the end of next year. (July 27 Thompson)

Quote of the Week. "I am unabashedly pro-teacher. I believe in collective bargaining. But what you see up here is a broken system... The most powerful defenders of that broken system, without a question, is the teachers' union." - Los Angeles Mayor (and former teacher union organizer) Antonio Villaraigosa. (October 5 Sacramento Press)