Author Archives: Thomas J. Mertz
Quotes of the Day: Martin Luther King & Kaleem Caire
If you will judge anything here in this struggle, you’re commanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we overlook the worth and significance of those who are not in professional jobs, or those who are … Continue reading
Filed under Accountability, Best Practices, Budget, Contracts, education, Gimme Some Truth, Local News
What Madison Prep Doesn’t Want You to See
Bill Withers, “Ain’t No Sunshine” (click to listen or download) Earlier this week The Urban League of Greater Madison (ULGM) provided the Madison Metropolitan School District with new, draft documents, a “Business Plan” and another Budget. I learned of these … Continue reading
Filed under "education finance", Accountability, Best Practices, Budget, education, Equity, Gimme Some Truth, Local News
Some Truth About Urban Prep and Why It Matters
The Undisputed Truth – ” Smiling Faces” (click to listen or download) Introduction To bolster their case and push their agendas, advocates for market-based education reform and market-based policies in general tout “miracle schools” that have supposedly produced amazing results … Continue reading
Madison Prep – 1,2,3 Yellow Light (updated)
The Talking Heads, “1,2,3 Red Light” (live, 1977 — click to listen or download). [Update — I forgot a huge issue: Waivers. ULGM had previously asked for a blanket waiver of all MMSD policies and some state laws. There has … Continue reading
Madison Prep and the Attack on Public Education
Mission Of Burma – “Academy Fight Song” (click to listen or download). [Note; This post is adapted from an article I wrote over a week ago for the Progressive Dane Newsletter (as of this writing PD has not taken a … Continue reading
Is it “all about the kids” (and what that might mean)? — Take Two (in relation to ULGM and Madison Prep)
Frankie Beverly & Maze, “Joy and Pain” (click to listen or download) This is Take Two in a series. Take One, with a fuller introduction, can be found here. Briefly, the idea of the series is to counter anti-teacher and … Continue reading
Is it “all about the kids” (and what that might mean)? — Take One (in relation to ULGM and Madison Prep)
Sir Mack Rice “Money Talks” (click to listen or download) My training as a historian has taught me that all knowledge is tentative and that this is especially true when it comes to assigning motives to people’s actions. It has … Continue reading
How to Destroy Public Education — Lesson One
The Soft Boys – “I Wanna Destroy You” (click to listen or download) One of the tactics employed by the enemies of public education is to undermine confidence in our schools in order to weaken financial and other support and … Continue reading
Filed under Best Practices, education, Equity, Gimme Some Truth, National News, nclb, No Child Left Behind
Of two minds and no sense in Two Rivers
There is an editorial in the Herald Times Reporter on the Two Rivers school budget that presents contradictory ideas and ultimately makes no sense. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll find more that doesn’t make sense. The editorial titled … Continue reading
So you want to be my Senator?
Tammy Baldwin is running for the US Senate. I’ve been pleased to have her as my Congressperson, but her record on education is undistinguished and unlike Russ Fiengold she rarely — if ever — has stood in opposition to the … Continue reading
