Dear Commons Community,

As has been mentioned on this blog, New York City is accepting bids from major universities to build a new college of engineering on Roosevelt Island.  Yesterday,  Stanford University and the City University of New York anounced that they would establish a collaborative engineering program on the grounds of CUNY’s City College as a precursor to Stanford’s bid. Prior to this it was  thought that CUNY would be submitting a proposal (s) in partnership with New York University and/or possibly Columbia University in response to the City’s request for bids.

This all seems very interesting and exciting for the City and for CUNY.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Occupy Wall Street fueled by members of unions staged a “Millionaire’s March” through the Upper East Side yesterday afternoon.  Participants protested outside the homes of Rupert Murdoch (Fox News, Wall Street Journal),  Jamie Dimon (CHASE Bank)  and the industrialist David H. Koch.

The major focus of this march was to pressure state legislators not to let the state’s tax on millionaires expire at the end of this year.  It is estimated that this tax yields $5 billion in revenue yearly.

All was peaceful.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

New York Magazine did a brief poll of 100 Occupy Wall Street Protesters.  We can assume it is not a random sample.  Regardless, the results of some of the questions are interesting.  See below.

Tony

Are you …
Male: 66%
Female: 30%
“Other”: 4%

How old are you?
Under 20: 10
20–29: 50
30-39: 15
40-49: 9
Over 50: 2

Pick one: Capitalism …
Isn’t fundamentally evil; it just needs to be regulated: 46
Can’t be saved; it’s inherently immoral: 37
Didn’t answer: 17

What do you think of Obama?
I believed in him, and he let me down: 40
He’s doing great: 1
I never believed in him: 27
He’s doing the best he can: 22

Did you vote in the 2010 midterm elections?
Yes: 39
No: 55
No, but only because I wasn’t 18: 5

Rank yourself on the following Scale of Liberalism:.
Not liberal at all: 6
Liberal but fairly mainstream (i.e., Barack Obama): 3
Strongly liberal (i.e., Paul Krugman): 12
Fed up with Democrats, believe country needs overhaul (i.e., Ralph Nader): 41
Convinced the U.S. government is no better than, say, Al Qaeda (i.e., Noam Chomsky): 34

Has the occupation been a success so far?
79: “Yes. We’re still here.”
13: “No. We’re still here.”

Dear Commons Community,

Bill Keller in his NY times column today asks an interesting question:  Is the Tea Party Over? at least as far as the Republican presidential primary is concerned.   Assuming that the Tea Party could never really support Mitt Romney, he casts barbs at the candidates of the month who could possibly be endorsed by the Tea Party:

“In a spectacle about as deliberative as speed-dating, candidate after candidate tried out for the role of Not Mitt Romney — including, at times, Mitt Romney. We had the Sarah Palin tease, replaced by the short-lived Michele Bachmann infatuation, after which everyone swooned, briefly, for Rick Perry. Herman Cain is having a little fling now, though even voters who like his style don’t think he can win. Rick Santorum, who is in some ways the moralizing social conscience of the Tea Party, and Ron Paul, who plays its geeky libertarian id, have settled into single digits and bit parts as debate foils. Newt Gingrich is the class cutup, blowing raspberries at journalists.”

And with a shot to the media:

“To be fair, some of this unedifying scramble can indeed be blamed on the press corps. Special props go to the hyperactive political news sites that crave a fresh narrative every 15 minutes, even if it’s a sitcom like Donald Trump. And a hat tip to Fox News, which has helped trivialize the campaign by offering a platform to one not-ready-for-prime-time Republican semi-celebrity after another. On behalf of journalism, sincerest apologies for wasting so much of your time.”

His conclusion is that don’t underestimate Rick Perry and that he can possibly win the Tea Party endorsement (probably begrudgingly), the Republican nomination (not likely) and the presidency (we might as well move to Canada).  The comments in parentheses in the above sentence are mine.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The NY Times has an extensive article today on the way instructional software development companies inflate and overhype their products.  Using Carnegie Learning, a software development company started by faculty at Carnegie Mellon but now owned by the Apollo Group, the same company that owns the University of Phoenix, the article reviews claims made at the company’s website about its most popular product, Cognitive Tutor, and compares same to results reported by independent evaluations.  Looking at the company’s website, one would assume that Cognitive Tutor is the real deal and could make a difference in student achievement. The reality is that no such evaluation and testing has been done or is in fact conclusive.  The evaluations that have been done generally show no significant difference in student achievement as measured by student test scores.

Another  part of the article  reviews a federal study of field trials of instructional software  in 132 schools in 2009.

“Karen Billings, a vice president of the Software and Information Industry Association — a trade group representing many education companies — said the problem was not that companies overpromise, but that schools often do not properly deploy the products or train teachers to use them. Ms. Billings’s group helped design the field trials, in 132 schools, for the landmark 2009 government study of 10 software products, which was ordered by Congress and cost $15 million.

Then came the deflating results [essentially no significant difference]. The industry “became very hostile,” recalled Grover  Whitehurst, director of education policy at the Brookings Institution. “It seems to me,” he added, “ ‘hypocrisy’ is the right word for loving something until the results are not what you expect.”

Lastly, there is reference to: “Karen Cator, a former Apple executive who directs the Office of Educational Technology at the US Department of Education, said the clearinghouse reports on software should be “taken with a grain of salt” because they rely on standardized test scores. Those tests, Ms. Cator said, cannot gauge some skills that technology teaches, like collaboration, multimedia and research. “

I agree with her but it is the US Department of Education, her employer, that has put unbridled emphasis on standardized testing for the past ten years starting with No Child Left Behind and continuing with Race to the Top programs.   I would also question why she as a “former Apple executive” who has also served  on the board of the Software and Information Industry Association, holds the position she does.  It is a prime example of the educational industrial complex that exists in this country where  representatives of the for-profit providers of educational products and services end up in positions of great influence in shaping education policy.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

On Friday, Mayor Bloomberg is quoted in the NY Times as stating that the Wall Street protesters are not productive and as “trying to destroy the jobs of working people in this city.”   With all due respect, I do not see it the same way.  The Occupy Wall Street movement is trying to bring attention to the fact that there are many people out of work and hurting in our city and in our country.   The federal government in catering to moneyed interests, found it necessary to bail out the financial services and banking industry to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars but has not done the same for the common  “Joe” or “Jane” who does not have a job, cannot pay the mortgage and has to go on food stamps to feed their children.  Furthermore, the CEOs of too many of our companies have now decided that rather than invest in America by hiring more workers, they will sit on their stashes of cash and wait at least until the next election to see if a president more friendly (i.e., Romney, Perry, Cain) to their economic interests is elected.  It is my opinion that a good part of the recession that we are in is manufactured by big business and their refusal to invest in America by hiring more workers.  So I would ask you Mr. Bloomberg when you next meet with your billionaire friends and fellow CEOs such as Gates, Murdoch, Scaife, and the Koch brothers, please ask them to use their wealth to hire more workers and to stop using it to control people’s lives.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The CUNY Graduate Center hosted the Defending Public Higher Education Conference today.  Sponsored by the PSC, it was a well-attended event (about 200 participants) with a host of speakers (Gary Rhoades, Barbara Bowen, Frank Mauro, Frances Fox Piven) who provided evidence and insight into the issue of funding for public higher education in this country.  Connections were made to the need for a unified effort on the part of the entire CUNY community and for building collaboration with the Occupy Wall Street movement.  An excellent day all around and made one proud to be part of this great university of the people.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Last night at the Occupy Wall Street March, CUNY, the PSC,  and the Graduate Center were well represented.  I was especially proud to see so many colleagues (faculty and students) from our Ph.D. Program in Urban Education.  Enjoy the photos.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Today the Occupy Wall Street protesters will be joined by city labor unions in what some are terming an “historic march”.   Without a doubt today will likely be the biggest turnout of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Barbara Bowen, president of the PSC has forwarded these directions for any CUNY faculty or students wishing to join the march:

“It will begin at Foley Square (between Duane Street and Centre Street)…We will gather at the intersection of Broadway and Warren Street at 4:15 PM, then at 4:30 we will march together to join the demonstration at Foley Square, a few blocks away.”

Tony