Obviously it’s a real story. Parents are stressed, especially the parents of younger children, with schooling, job loss, medical issues, older parents, and on and on. So why highlight as a typical parent someone who is head of not one but two conservative political organizations?
The “typical” parent in question is Keri Rodrigues, president of Massachusetts Parents United and National Parents Union. Massachusetts Parents United presents as Grassroots but is really AstroTurf, as was Families for Excellent Schools, the corporate education reform operation which Rodrigues also headed in Massachusetts. MPU got $366,000 from the Waltons in 2017 and $500,000 in 2018, the last year for which records are available. Other donors include the Barr Foundation, Longfield Foundation, Mifflin Foundation, and Boston Foundation. Here’s the 2018 contribution, from the Walton Family Foundation’s annual report:
Then there is the typical salary paid to a typical Boston area parent, from Massachusetts Parents United’s 2018 Form 990, Part VII:
Since Rodrigues Lorenzo is also one of three Directors of Massachusetts Parents United (as well as of Massachusetts Parents Action) one would assume she has a role in determining salaries. She is also one of six Directors of the National Parents Union and is also president. National Parents Union is also Walton funded and since Charles Koch has a proxy on the board one would assume he has some investment too.
Epidemiologists work on how Coronavirus gets transmitted but I’m a political scientist so I try to figure out how interest groups get their positions transmitted. In this case Globe reporter Stephanie Ebbert seems to have picked up the notion of Rodrigues as a typical parent from a piece Rodrigues wrote for CommonWealth Magazine. I thought the presentation that parents are now the school superintendent was a well done device. But then Rodrigues diverted off to a rant about unions which is fine, it’s what the Waltons pay her for, but it should have been a tipoff.
Rarely does one see a story on Massachusetts Parents United or National Parents Union that identifies their funders. I call this the Politics of Pretending. It’s too bad because readers should know who pulls the strings when interest groups are active.
“In the darkness of secrecy, sinister interest and evil in every shape, have full swing. . . . Publicity is the very soul of justice.”—Jeremy Bentham
[Full disclosure: as an educator in the UMass system, I am a union member. I write about dark money, not education.]
This reply to Keri Rodrigues on Commonwealth from a real teacher was spot on:
http://disq.us/p/28kd0zv
Zoe Morosini • 5 days ago
April 12, 2020
Dear Ms. Rodrigues:
You are not a superintendent, and your home is not a district. District superintendents are in charge of multiple schools, hundreds of staff and communicate with school boards at almost every turn. You are a parent. Of three. Try having just a class of twenty-five, or thirty in your house at one time, keeping them on-task, engaged, focused, and learning. No “snow days”. No excuses. Now multiply that by one hundred, at least.
The “radio silence” from teachers was probably due to the district not giving them any guidance whatsoever. They cannot demand anything from parents without being given that guidance. Union input is also important to make sure work requirements are reasonable. Many, if not most, educators are unfamiliar with online learning. Did you even bother to ask any teachers about that? Then when they DO get guidance, you’re upset that they’re overwhelming you. Teachers are human, too. It’s a learning curve for everyone.
No, they can’t call you. They have thirty, if not more, parents to keep in touch with. Email just makes the most sense. Share your number in an email and ask for a call. Give a specific time you’re available.
No one expects your children to remember all usernames and passwords. Email the teacher and ask, then WRITE THEM DOWN yourself. Have your kids regularly practice accessing them. It’s a skill worth developing.
It’s great that you’re finding academic and non-academic things for your children to do while school is closed. That’s called parenting.
I’m very sorry that your special-needs son has only you now to be his support system. His teachers would do more if they could, I’m sure. Are you going to follow his IEP? Or even look at it so you know what they were doing for him before the closure? Make sure you follow it to the letter.
I’m glad you are doing what you can for your children. They deserve it. Teachers would do more if we could. I am available to my students from 8am-8pm five days a week via email, text, and phone. I wish my students and their parents were more responsive. I’m frustrated by the closures, too.
Schools are also struggling to get work to students, getting supports to their families, and feeding those in need.
Because teachers cannot maintain regular contact with students, we cannot practice for MCAS testing. Surely you can see that suspending testing for now is the right idea. It is not a power grab by unions. Neither is advocating for the end of high-stakes testing. High-stakes testing has, in many respects, reduced true classroom learning to test prep. Do you want that for your children? For others’ children? I sure don’t.
“It’s time to reconnect with reality.” High-stakes testing data doesn’t effectively inform teachers about their students’ true needs. Time in the classroom and daily/weekly/monthly in-class assessments do. I think curriculum planning and implementation is paramount, not testing. Especially when testing and publishing companies are the ones reaping the rewards.
Yours,
Zoe E. Morosini
veteran educator
Dear Ms Morosini,
Thank you for your service and letter,
The teachers in our schools for decades have been as much of a backbone , aka, super-structure, so-to-say, for the values of e.g. ‘e pluribus unum’ [ out of many, one]. Those values make our country a beacon of hope for our citizens and perhaps, still throughout the globe. One of the masterpieces of cinema, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ shows what true leadership is for the challenges ahead under the most dire of circumstances [war]. And, the captain, played by Tom Hanks, is a…teacher. That was no accident.
The cheap hits that teachers are subject, too; it aught stop. Colleagues who work in classes are everyday, unsung hero’s. And, they don’t all have be a ‘Mr. Chips’ to help so many students academically, and as importantly, socially, emotionally and behaviorally. That’s the many ‘hats’ classroom colleagues wear, everyday in a classroom. It’s a wonderful orchestration and collaboration that teachers lead through their expertise and experiences. Of course there are missteps; it’s life!
So, some perspective can go a long way, e.g. “The perfect is the enemy of the good”. Talking with vs at teachers; they’re, ready and able to help in this ‘virtual’ experiment. It’s a new way that they’re educating…at least for the time-being. Their contributions are both invaluable and irreplaceable.
Thank you for all the students, and families you serve now and in the future.
john lestino, ma lpc
school psychologist