UFT Claws "DEM" Ed "Reformers". It's a first.

[Smarmie Doofus]

Signifying... I'm not sure what. Leadership waking up, at long last? Can't hurt to hope.

This uncharacteristically blunt treatment of the Bad Guys in White Hats appeared prominently in the hard copy version of the official house organ, The New York Teacher, and is reprised in the union blog here:

http://www.edwize.org/who-are-democrats-for-education-reform


Some pretty tough talk. Perhaps the Weingarten era is really over. Again: can't hurt to hope.

Philanthropy, my ass.

Enjoy.


Who are Democrats for Education Reform?

Dec. 16, 2010
4:22 pm
by Michael Hirsch

And why do they keep bashing public schools and unions?


There’s a political action committee called Democrats for Education Reform. A great name, but I heard that they only support nonunion charter schools, bash unions and get subsidized by Wall Street hedge-fund managers. What’s up with that?
You heard right. They’re like other public school bashers, except they call themselves Democrats. Democrats for Education Reform claims that it “leads efforts to frame the fight that is playing out within the Democratic Party on education issues.” It tries to accomplish that by pushing aside teacher unions as education spokespeople or even as informed practitioners. The organization advocates for nonunion charter schools, vouchers, merit pay, test-based teacher evaluations, curbs on tenure and removing teacher unions from almost any role in shaping curriculum or determining working conditions.
In just three years, DFER directed more than $17 million into political and grassroots advocacy for its version of education reform and for what Joe Williams, the group’s executive director and a former Daily News education reporter, credits as “creating momentum which has the potential to dominate education policymaking for years to come.”

Joe Williams heads Democrats for Education Reform and its sister organization, Education Reform Now.


DFER advisory board member Joel Greenblatt is a protégé of fallen junk-bond icon Michael Milken.


Hedge-fund manager John Petry, a DFER board member, co-founded the Harlem Success Academy Charter School with Eva Moskowitz.


Board member Whitney Tilson is chief of T2 Partners and Tilson Funds and vice chair of New York’s KIPP Academy Charter Schools.


David Einhorn, another hedge-funder on DFER’s advisory board, is president of Greenlight Capital, LLC.
DFER calls Barack Obama “the first ever Democratic president elected without significant support of teachers’ unions” — a shocker to those UFT members who went to toss-up state Pennsylvania to stump for Obama and to AFT and NEA members nationwide who campaigned for the candidate in 2008.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Very interesting indeed

I friended AFT on Facebook. Also am on their activist email list. And I am noticing a LOT of talk back. Members are PISSED. Have the fearless leaders finally started listening?

[Reader Rabbit]

2. The most recent NEA magazine was on fire.

I plan to write and thank them, then encourage them to start preaching to someone besides the choir. Could we be seeing the beginning of a move to finally fight back?

[adnelson60087]

3. Is there a link somewhere for this?

[Reader Rabbit]

4. I'll look, but I don't think so.

What I was describing is the monthly magazine they send to their members. I'll look for links, though.