Really? "EdReformies – Rockin' Reform Revue"? Led by charter advocates?

[madfloridian]

There really is a rock group dedicated to honoring education reformers?

It seems like an arrogant kind of joke to me.


EdReformies

New Orleans Education Leader to Perform at National Education Celebration

Jonas Chartock, CEO, Leading Educators, former director, Charter Schools Institute of the State University of New York, founder and former CEO, Charter School Policy Institute (CSPI) and Teach for America alum, will join a select group of nationally known education reformers performing at the EdReformies – Rockin' Reform Revue on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, at the W Washington, D.C. Hotel, announced today by the Center for Education Reform (CER).

..."Every few years CER celebrates with a night dedicated to honoring distinguished leaders who have been integral in creating and expanding quality educational opportunities for children. This year, CER has created its own musical ensemble, The Reformers (education reformers with talent), the only rock group solely committed to celebrating education reform.

The Reformers will be paying tribute to eight individuals whose collective accomplishments span almost all states and represent several million new opportunities for children. The 2011 EdReformies will be awarded to John Boehner, Katherine Bradley, Kevin Chavous, John Fisher, Steve Klinsky, John Legend, Eva Moskowitz and Brian Williams.

Dubious honor for a news anchor, Mr. Brian Williams.

Other members of The Reformers include:

Bob Bowdon, Director, "The Cartel" and Founder, Choice MediaDerrell Bradford, Executive Director, Better Education for Kids, Inc. (B4K)Kenneth Campbell, President, Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO)Dawn Chavous, Executive Director, Students First PAPaul Powell, Founding Principal, Uncommon Schools-Troy Prep Mickey Revenaugh, Executive Vice President, Connections LearningJoe Williams, Executive Director, Democrats for Education Reform (DFER)Caprice Young, CEO & President, EnCorps, Inc.

Here is the website of the EdReformies.

"EdReformies – Rockin' Reform Revue"

Here are their listed sponsors:

Our Sponsors

K12, Inc.

Broad Foundation

Building Hope

Friendship Public Charter Schools

Avenues

Anthony E. Meyer

Half a Million Virtual Charter Students

Imagine Schools

Here the various levels of sponsorship done in a supposedly humorous frame.

I say "supposedly" humorous because as a retired public school teacher...I see it as near contempt of public schools. There is nothing funny about the reform movement.

Here are just two of them.

Shoot Me Like the Paparazzi - $9,000
Receive ten tickets to our Gala Celebration and also sponsor our very own paparazzi that will capture the evening’s events so well, you’ll wish you could smash their camera like a rock star. You will receive a quarter-page ad in the Gala program, and acknowledgement on CER’s award-winning website throughout the year.

Ride the Hog - $3,000
There are two types of education reformers. Those that ride and those that wish they did. Be a Rebel and sponsor our motorcycle photo backdrop and be the greaser you’ve always wanted to be with special recognition at the photo area. You will also receive two tickets to the celebration.

There is to me something of arrogance in this kind of humor.

[Starry Messenger]

1. What a bunch of douchebags.

k&r

[madfloridian]

2. Yep, this is odd stuff.

I thought it was a joke when I first read it. They are looking down their elite noses at the rest of us.

[KamaAina]

3. "Don't know much about history..."

"Don't know much biology..."

[madfloridian]

9. Remember when Eli Broad said they don't know......

much about education?

He actually said his group did not know "anything about how to teach or reading curriculum or any of that."

"Speaking at the 92nd Street Y in New York City last year, Broad summarized his approach: “We don’t know anything about how to teach or reading curriculum or any of that. But what we do know about is management and governance.”

[madfloridian]

4. Don't see Arne listed as an honoree of the Rockin Reform.

Wonder why? He has been a leading advocate for them.

[Spike89]

5. It's what happens at educators gatherings

I'm no fan of the reform movement in any way, however, this is pretty typical behavior at educational conferences. I work for a non-profit educational technology organization that puts on a large conference every year--ad hoc educator "rock groups" are almost a cliche' (flash mobs and any other pop fad are also popular--educators are very strongly influenced by the fads their students pursue). I also think it's important for many teachers to feel hip and "with it" when they gather--it is difficult to spend most days being the authoritarian "old person" when you're maybe only in your 30s or 40s. Anyway, I think there is a lot wrong with the reform movement, but that they seem to cater to their demographic isn't surprising or even wrong.
On a slight tangent...our marketing department has a brand new (about 4 months here) marketing manager. She is a young hotshot from outside the education world. She recently put together a new booth set (for when we exhibit at other conferences). The centerpiece of the set is a large photo of a dude in the classic superman pose (ripping his dress shirt open to reveal a superman logo. Needless to say, those of us connected to educators were aghast! She'd never heard of Waiting for Superman, had no idea that the vast majority of our members would be hostile to the reference.
The point there is that even as blatantly wrong as that image is for our organization, it was totally inadvertent. Not everything is tied to an agenda--never underestimate incompetence, inexperience, and sheer ignorance.

[madfloridian]

8. I have seen teachers perform for students in talent shows.

There is a difference.

You say your group is putting on performances as a "non-profit educational technology organization that puts on a large conference every year"

There is a difference.

You say those "fads" are popular among teachers. I say teachers must go along with them or be labeled troublemaker. I saw it happen often before I retired.

When Jeb became governor all the cutesy stuff started. Teachers usually don't like it, they usually don't have a choice.

[Erose999]

6. Will the musical entertainment for the evening be Hank Jr. Ted Nugent and Toby Keith?

[madfloridian]

11. ....

:-)

Not much difference.

[madfloridian]

7. Based on school reform in the UK?

From a link in the OP, more about the leaders of this kind of "reform."

http://www.leadingeducators.org/aboutus

"The widening achievement gap in open enrollment urban public schools has been acknowledged for over 20 years. Research in the U.K. finds that the answer requires more than merely the leadership capabilities of principals and that improvements are more likely when leadership is instructionally focused in the classroom. Teacher leadership has been recognized as very promising for sustaining school improvement in high-needs schools, but is not systematically developed in the U.S. The teacher-leader role is difficult and complex. Without high-quality training and support, teacher-leaders are under prepared to do this complex work effectively.

In 2008, Leading Educators and Teaching Leaders in the U.K. launched programs to better serve and develop mid-tier teacher-leaders. With promising results in its pilot program, Leading Educators is developing two high-impact service lines for high-needs schools across the U.S.: an enhanced version of its Leading Educators Fellowship and Strategic Support Initiatives designed for school systems to maximize the potential of teacher leadership.

Our ambitious growth plan will directly serve and improve 12 regions across the U.S. by 2016; specifically, increasing the skillfulness of 2,500 mid-level teacher-leaders over the next 6 years and in the process, impacting nearly 100,000 students across high-needs schools through Leading Educators Fellows and the teachers they mentor"

And here is their team, which thinks that having "EdReformies" is so clever.

http://www.leadingeducators.org/team

[madfloridian]

10. One of the honorees has charters that don't respect special ed kids.

At Moskowitz charters disability an ugly word.

"At Harlem Success, disability is a dirty word. “I’m not a big believer in special ed,” Fucaloro says. For many children who arrive with individualized education programs, or IEPs, he goes on, the real issues are “maturity and undoing what the parents allow the kids to do in the house—usually mama—and I reverse that right away.” When remediation falls short, according to sources in and around the network, families are counseled out. “Eva told us that the school is not a social-service agency,” says the Harlem Success teacher. “That was an actual quote.”