Category: Education

Importance of Progressives Rallying in Support of Teachers Is Heightened

This Friday the 13th of May, over 2000 teachers, students, parents and local labor activists are rallying down at the Embarcadero from 4 to 6, in what’s being called a State of Emergency Rally.

Now, it turns out the San Diego’s right-wing, in the form of the Koch brothers’ sponsored Americans for Prosperity, conservative activists from the Republican right and local tea parties will be counter-demonstrating at the same place and roughly the same time.

Come stand with San Diego’s community college students, teachers, and their community allies this Friday, May 13th at 9:00 AM at Assembly Member Nathan Fletcher’s office at 9909 Mira Mesa Boulevard to send a message to Fletcher and his Republican allies that they can’t hold the future of education in California hostage.

Embarcadero Marina Park North
500 Kettner Blvd, San Diego

More than 2,000 educators, students, parents, union members, business and community leaders – arriving by car, trolley, bus and train from throughout San Diego, Imperial, and southern Orange and Riverside counties – will participate in a huge rally between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. at San Diego’s Embarcadero Marina Park North, 500 Kettner Blvd.

It’s tension time for the students, parents, and faculty at High Tech High, Point Loma’s well-known charter high school, as they await word whether President Obama will give their graduation speech this Spring.

At the beginning of the city council budget hearing on libraries on May 5th, every city council member proclaimed his or her support for libraries and expressed a personal commitment to restore the funds which the mayor has proposed to rip from the library budget- 7.4 million dollars. They emphasized that libraries are core city services! Peace has broken out my friends! But…

If you are not at the table you are on the menu.

Tomorrow, Thursday May 5th, the San Diego City Council will listen to public testimony about the library budget. This hearing, at 10:30 am in the commission chambers, will be the only opportunity to provide input solely on the library issue. Even if you signed a petition, attended a rally or called your councilmember, it is important to attend this hearing!

Mayor Sanders has proposed gutting the branch libraries by reducing branch hours to 18.5 hours a week. That means branches would be open two short days and alternate Saturdays. At last week’s rally in OB, Obceans clearly saw this as an attempt to close their library and they were not buying it.

May 4, 1970: Four students murdered, nine wounded by National Guardsmen, on the campus of Kent State in Kent, Ohio.

Allison Krause, William Schroeder, Jefferey Miller and Sandra Scheuer were killed in the 13 second fusillade of 67 shots fired by the Guardsmen, after an order to fire was given.

(Originally posted May 4, 2010)
I was sitting on my porch this afternoon pondering the meaning of Kent State. I had more tears last year when I wrote a post about it. Yet – here it is – the 40th anniversary. Kent State, hmmm, OB, hmmmm. Something was there.

And then I figured it out! I figured out how Ocean Beach is connected to the Kent State massacre of May 4th, 1970. Or vice versa.

I was in college when it happened. I was attending UCSD and in my senior-year when it all came down. I had been involved in the campus anti-Vietnam movement and was deeply affected by Kent State,

I was just thinking about all the nice moments I’ve enjoyed in life and a little time I spent in Tucson last week ranks up there among the mellower of the refreshing respites from the troubles of the world I’ve had the pleasure of taking part in.

First of all I was in my hometown and that’s always enjoyable, not to mention that I was there for a very special event, wearing the lofty title of “guest speaker,” which I took to mean I was to have a good time so that’s what I did. Why not, I was around some of my favorite people: a bunch of folks wearing sunny smiles…

The Office of Independent Budget Analysis (IBA) came out with their 179 page analysis of the mayor’s proposed budget. As you know, the mayor has proposed to rip over 7 million dollars out of the library department budget by pairing libraries which will only be open 18.5 hours per week. This is the severest percentage cut of all general fund departments.

Here are the library options which the IBA has presented to the city council, which will vote to accept or reject the mayor’s budget. This is the option that we must demand that Councilman Faulconer and all other council members support:

Option 1. FULLY RESTORE BRANCH LIBRARY HOURS TO CURRENT SERVICE LEVELS.

Posing in a picture on the desktop of my iMac are some of the most brilliant people I’ve ever known, members of MEChA, a Chicano student organization at Mission Bay High led by Luis Villanueva, a remarkable educator who constantly seeks ways to create learning experiences that are relevant to their lives. Each of them is a budding community leader and exemplary American citizen.

By Lowell Waxman

In a recent New York Times story, Rx: Read to Your Baby we are reminded that “[i]ncreasingly, research has supported the idea that children should be exposed to a language-rich environment as soon as they are born because it can significantly improve cognitive and language development and readiness for school.

Remarkably, we also learn that some pediatricians in New York City are now writing prescriptions for books for parents to read to their babies “because … pediatricians know that one of the most important things they can do to impact the long-term health of their patients is to make sure their patients are literate.”