More Red than Ed

By Larry Sand
01/07/2020
Radical teacher’s movement picks up some steam in 2019 and national unions join in. #RedforED began as a grassroots teachers’ movement that was organized on Facebook in early 2018. Cooked up by Noah Karvelis, a 24-year-old music teacher and socialist from Arizona, its raison-d’etre is ultimately class warfare. Karvelis’ own words are ripped from The...

TAGS: #RedforED, American Federation of Teachers, Bernie Sanders, California Federation of Teachers, Indoctrination, Larry Sand, Prop. 13, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Democratic POTUS candidates must choose between parents and unions

By Larry Sand
12/03/2019
Sanders stands firm on the issues; Warren and Booker are chameleon-like; Biden is meh. As I wrote in May, several of the Democratic presidential hopefuls were tripping over each other in an effort to secure the endorsement of the teachers unions. These candidates were most pointed in criticizing any form of school choice. Bernie Sanders...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Gillum, Bernie Sanders, Charter schools, Corey DeAngelis, Cory Booker, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Next, Elizabeth Warren, Howard Fuller, Joe Biden, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, Ron DeSantis, school choice, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, vouchers

Carrying for the kids

By Larry Sand
11/12/2019
An analysis of school shootings by the U.S. Secret Service doesn’t really tell us anything new. A report released last week by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center on “targeted school violence” doesn’t add much to what we already knew. Nearly every attacker “experienced negative home life factors.” Most were victims of bullying...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, NRA, Parkland, Randi Weingarten, Sandy Hook, teachers union

Will UTLA endorse socialist Bernie Sanders?

By Larry Sand
11/05/2019
The L.A. teachers union may officially support Bernie Sanders for president next week. Back in September, the United Teachers of Los Angeles board of directors began a process to endorse Bernie Sanders for president, and on November 14th there will be a formal vote by the union’s House of Representatives. UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl is...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Bernie Sanders, Charter schools, education spending, Elizabeth Warren, James Agresti, Just Facts, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, socialism, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Elizabeth Warren’s “No Teachers Union Left behind” Campaign

By Larry Sand
10/30/2019
Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren used to be a Republican, a Native American and pro-school choice. Now she is a Democrat, a Caucasian and anti-choice teacher union suck-up. As I wrote back in May, the Democratic presidential contenders were battling each other fiercely to score the endorsement of the nation’s teachers unions. The anointment comes with...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Charter Schools Association, Center for Education Reform, Charter schools, Chris Stewart, education spending, Elizabeth Warren, Jeanne Allen, Larry Sand, Myrna Castrejón, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union, Thomas Kane

The Teacher Shortage Data Shortage

By Larry Sand
08/27/2019
“The false cry that there is no teacher shortage must not go unchallenged.” In recent times, one cannot go far without hearing piercing screams emanating from the education cognoscenti and teacher union poohbahs about the national teacher shortage. But, then again, this hysteria is hardly new. The above quote came from The Journal of the...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Cato Institute, Economic Policy Institute, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Council on Teacher Quality, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Readin’, writin’, and proselytizin’

By Larry Sand
08/20/2019
More than ever, parents must be vigilant regarding what goes on in their child’s school. It is officially “back to school” season and, thusly, a time to remind parents that they must be very aware of what their kids are learning in school. Though I have written about this subject many times, it cannot be...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Poll Dancing

By Larry Sand
08/13/2019
The latest PDK poll is useless, as are most. The latest yearly poll from Phi Delta Kappa, an organization whose mission is to “activate educators and other stakeholders to elevate the discourse around teaching and learning….” has just been released, and I don’t see any elevation. In fact, the poll is ultimately meaningless, although that didn’t...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Education Next, James Agresti, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, teacher pay, teachers union

How some teacher unionistas spent their summer vacation

By Larry Sand
08/06/2019
The “Red for Ed” movement is becoming redder by the day. At a time when most U.S. citizens have benefited from the Trump tax cuts, the American Federation of Teachers joined up with a motley assemblage of leftwing organizations over the summer on what was billed as the “Tax the Rich Bus Tour.” The road...

TAGS: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American Federation of Teachers, International Socialist Organization, Janus ruling, Jesse Sharkey, Larry Sand, Measure EE, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The teachers unions’ spotty progressivism

By Larry Sand
07/30/2019
When it comes to public charter schools and any meaningful education reform, the teachers unions are staunch reactionaries. In the political arena, teachers unions are far to the left. However, when it comes to serious education reform and any kind of school choice, they are committed to maintaining the all-too-often failing status quo. At its...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Ben Austin, Bill de Blasio, California Charter Schools Association, California Teachers Association, Charter schools, Eva Moskowitz, Larry Sand, Myrna Castrejón, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Education Association, Nina Rees, Parent Revolution, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union