Brookline Educators Union

  • Home
    • About the BEU
    • Leadership
      • Officers
      • Consultants / Committee Chairs
      • Executive Board
      • Grievance Team
      • Building Representative Council
      • Health & Safety Committee
    • Contact
  • Negotiations Blog
  • News
    • BEU Newsletter
    • Solidarity Bulletins
    • Outside Press
    • Galleries
  • Parents & Community
    • Information
    • Allies
    • Community Events
  • Member Discussion
  • Documents
    • Contracts
    • Member Information and Forms
    • BEU Bylaws
  • First-Time Login?

Rally for Public Education

May 15, 2017

PublicEdRally_Flyer_prf9

Filed Under: Community, Featured News, Upcoming BEU Activity Tagged With: Rally

What the Alliance and our candidates believe

April 12, 2017

As part of the Alliance for Brookline Schools, the BEU endorses Suzanne Federspiel and Paul Harris for Brookline School Committee.  For more info and to sign up to help: www.ourbrooklineschools.org 
Suzanne and Paul share many key ideas and values that they will bring to their work on the Brookline School Committee. This is a summary of their platform.

Teachers must have the time, support, and freedom to teach the whole child.

During public comment at school committee meetings over the past two years, teachers and paraprofessionals have shared eloquent testimony about the way increasing demands for data collection and testing are negatively affecting teaching and learning in our community. Many Brookline educators have described how top-down mandates and an intense, misguided focus on data collection and processing that do not help them teach, have affected morale and robbed them of time to do what they know is in the best interests of their students. Suzanne and Paul want to bring back a more balanced and sensible approach to assessment. They know such an approach can increase engagement in learning, keep student and teacher anxiety from rising to unhealthy levels and still provide truly useful information about our students and schools.

Brookline recently lost a beloved teacher, David Weinstein, who would have continued his career if not for the way testing and data collection were getting in the way. In a WBUR interview, David said, “[Teaching is] a much more pressure-packed kind of job than it used to be. And it’s challenging. The pace is intense and I feel for kids, because they’re rushed. …You only get to be a child once. And you don’t get to enjoy childhood when you’re constantly being rushed from this place to that place to this, and being assessed in this way…What becomes problematic is when an outside party is asking you to collect data which isn’t tremendously useful to my tailoring instruction to children. And that — that becomes frustrating to me as an educator, when I’m spending the limited time that I have each day collecting data, as opposed to developing lessons and working with children.

Here’s the full interview by Brookline parent Sharon Brody.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Finland ranks at or near the top in international education comparisons but has taken a radically different approach to education reform from the U.S. Finnish students take far fewer tests, have little homework and young students have plenty of time for play. In addition, “teachers in Finland have time to work together with their colleagues during the school day. According to the most recent data provided by the [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] the average teaching load of junior high school teachers in Finland is about half what it is in the United States. That enables teachers to build professional networks, share ideas and best practices. This is an important condition to enhancing teaching quality.” And “education in the United States is too much defined by testing and data.”
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/06/opinion/sahlberg-finland-education/

Racial justice and equity must be a central focus of programming and decision making.

Suzanne and Paul understand that structural racism exists in the Public Schools of Brookline as well as in our town, state and country.  As white people, they are committed to using their privilege to examine how structural racism impacts all Brookline students negatively.  They realize that at Brookline High School (where students of color are 43% of enrollment) structural racism has led to increased segregation and an over-representation of White and Asian students in Honors and AP and of Black and Latino kids in Standard and Basic courses. They know the problems are complex and the solutions must be as well. They are committed to honoring Black, Latino and anti-racism voices of educators and students, and parents of color and to changing policies, practices and procedures. They know that this requires that time be opened up for students and educators to do pragmatic, ongoing anti-racist work in the schools. Suzanne and Paul will join with others  to support using an anti-racism framework in their work on The Brookline School Committee.

The educator and scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings wrote in “From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt: Understanding Achievement in U.S. Schools”: “I want to use this opportunity to call into question the wisdom of focusing on the achievement gap as a way of explaining and understanding the persistent inequality that exists (and has always existed) in our nation’s schools. I want to argue that this all-out focus on the “Achievement Gap” moves us toward short-term solutions that are unlikely to address the long-term underlying problem.”

 

The School Committee must be a transparent and democratically engaged participant in our community.

The endless collection of data vision of schools is a dreary, anti-human vision, and certainly not what made Brookline public schools great in the first place. Suzanne and Paul have a different vision. They believe that the school committee must be a transparent and responsive body that represents the interests of parents and students. Their vision puts the teacher and the student at the center of education. Teachers need to be  free in the classroom so that they can be a living example of critical thinking, creativity and autonomy. Our children need critical thinking so they can understand what’s real, solve problems, explore the world, and participate fully in our democracy.\

Brookline parents Katherine and Matthew Stewart wrote in a Brookline Tab commentary, “Do we want a version of the top-down, standardized-testing, blame-the-teachers, consultant-driven, privatization strategy that has demoralized educators and damaged school systems around the country? Or do we want a system of the kind that places the highest priority on the teacher-student experience—the kind of system that has long been the source of Brookline’s reputation for excellence in public education? No doubt there is room for debate. But let’s have it in the open.”

Brookline should be a leader in opposing state and federal mandates that are harmful to children.

Brookline has long been widely recognized for excellent teaching and high-quality schools. All the more reason our school policymakers can and should be leaders when it comes to advocating for quality and equitable public schools in Brookline and across Massachusetts. They can and should also speak out against state and federal policies that do more harm than good.  Suzanne and Paul are proud of what Brookline schools have accomplished and are ready to advocate for home-grown innovations and against policies that hinder learning or divert scarce funding from publicly accountable schools to privately managed ones.

For example, did you know that Massachusetts is one of just 13 states that still use standardized tests in this way? “In the last few years, 10 states have repealed or delayed high school exit exams. California, Georgia, South Carolina, and Arizona even decided to issue diplomas retroactively to thousands of students denied them due to scores on discontinued tests. Although 13 states still use exit testing for diplomas and policies are in flux in several others, the number is down from a high of 27 states during the testing craze promoted by No Child Left Behind (NCLB).”

 

Want to know more, or have specific questions? Suzanne and Paul would love to hear from you!

suzanne4schoolcommittee@gmail.com

paulharrisbrookline@gmail.comSuzanne & Paul photos

Filed Under: Community, Featured News, Upcoming BEU Activity Tagged With:

March 15 Community Forum in 3 Minutes

March 29, 2017

Watch Brookline Interactive’s 3 minute story HERE

Filed Under: BEU Activity, Community, Featured News, Member News, Upcoming BEU Activity Tagged With:

National Journal Covers the BEU’s Work

March 28, 2017

See the article in Jacobin here

Filed Under: BEU Activity, Member News, Outside Press, Uncategorized, Upcoming BEU Activity Tagged With:

March 15: Join us!

February 19, 2017

RSVP:  tiny.cc/rsvpforum2

FIN_Brookline_Forum_Flyer (3)

Filed Under: BEU Activity, Community, Contract Campaign News, Member News, Upcoming BEU Activity Tagged With:

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 8
  • Next Page »

Log In


Lost your password?

Need Help Signing In

You can retrieve your password by following this link Retrieve Password

BEU Calendar

« May 2023 » loading...
S M T W T F S
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3

MTA Info

Slideshow

71572985_10156527182556481_2961474637441007616_n
75340992_10156527182486481_5197738364710682624_n
75610779_10156527182431481_7222238012191539200_n
76705093_10156527182361481_580951325294985216_n
77200154_10156527182296481_2095998504928280576_n
75299781_10156527182241481_4811008913694523392_n
75627614_10156527182181481_4009689993332129792_n
78319007_10156527182086481_2934541198175502336_n
76779615_10156527182006481_4600587200164265984_n
78179402_10156527181926481_6567703352971362304_n
78045864_10156527181821481_7340512297602777088_n
75464267_10156527181751481_1819895600297017344_n
77318258_10156527181666481_4888432674231812096_n
77276017_10156527181611481_8390125678233649152_n
76647963_10156527181511481_4822376360687173632_n
75439241_10156527181426481_2614144089662160896_n
75569719_10156527181366481_7217270594750906368_n
75453544_10156527181311481_1311577609405988864_n
75394814_10156527181261481_6034144964563173376_n
78202874_10156527181176481_6314301665486831616_n
75593855_10156527181031481_4933908049954865152_n
77387958_10156527180966481_9190925324165054464_n
76695181_10156527180921481_6518092580872257536_n
75552940_10156527180771481_4429132496549969920_n
74328752_10156527180721481_7089642738152374272_n
73106913_10156527180641481_721401527582851072_n
77095163_10156527180566481_5310595171648274432_n
74989167_10156527180506481_8603826809747800064_n
76602147_10156527180416481_6754796595151110144_n
74185994_10156527180341481_1371592158095605760_n
74604757_10156527180196481_5602870573769162752_n
74169784_10156527180131481_8881237153963573248_n
75572083_10156527180061481_2332243301303844864_n
76686447_10156527179986481_338396586306437120_n
75380335_10156527179921481_8217248386961637376_n
75402150_10156527179841481_8823101730775367680_n
76697317_10156527179776481_4637793715870498816_n
75486021_10156527179706481_6981821080289673216_n
76756802_10156527179626481_7435463257034326016_n
77362202_10156527179541481_4601157086489870336_n
75472913_10156527179481481_1033752457248768000_n
76635068_10156527179276481_7071649878903881728_n
75102848_10156527179211481_3946248649150824448_n
73458832_10156527179161481_3635898341021188096_n
76710902_10156527179106481_4160953548881788928_n
75278253_10156527179051481_7460698023849361408_n
76697338_10156527179001481_8706999612189179904_n
75497654_10156527178911481_5192524471981834240_n
77015067_10156527178866481_4799429260957712384_n
75439500_10156527178781481_4959225082573488128_n
76654340_10156527178716481_1592310935458938880_n
76613075_10156527178631481_1142714385978884096_n
75271485_10156527178581481_5183944600498208768_n
73399913_10156527178516481_7474916663406624768_n
77380332_10156527178441481_790633273658179584_n
74505859_10156527178356481_6070150246636191744_n
75282174_10156527178276481_2620985903845212160_n
76769694_10156527178216481_246958549345763328_n
76602207_10156527178106481_106235659584274432_n
76195570_10156527178061481_4728173563083751424_n
77173198_10156527177961481_4228313969116315648_n
75341177_10156527177926481_6816645769185984512_n
77086468_10156527177861481_2482849572238393344_n
78549613_10156527177821481_1522192828392800256_n
76771526_10156527177691481_5267226760851750912_n
78228830_10156527177621481_8046835449139822592_n
76765485_10156527177541481_7603655834203062272_n
76905575_10156527177496481_1331044991056740352_n
72650894_10156527177446481_426676447915016192_n
75439387_10156529791796481_7605026216533295104_n
74906685_10156529791711481_4507321195057643520_n
75472800_10156529791621481_8273844695734419456_n
78324959_10156529791546481_4421978292215611392_n
76200953_10156529791461481_7810043851887869952_n
76604994_10156529791346481_7297806789238587392_n
76184068_10156529791251481_407966642660704256_n
76702356_10156529791141481_7145824419372335104_n
77050195_10156529791071481_6171278326817095680_n
76262118_10156529790946481_1521840576650018816_n
76646858_10156529790816481_7354573844436221952_n
76654443_10156529790711481_3955329172087242752_n
75653344_10156529790616481_8802692329652617216_n
77429104_10156529790511481_7189871576735547392_n
78378284_10156529790386481_7367155251050184704_n
77223478_10156529790331481_4072090100001931264_n
75540050_10156529790256481_2804853917643440128_n
75388427_10156529790171481_9131014529000407040_n
74458866_10156529790111481_5162929256799404032_n
76638469_10156529789951481_6601920893562126336_n
75594549_10156529789851481_2305702984689909760_n
78282726_10156529789681481_7478362043221803008_n
75594656_10156529789581481_411080395166056448_n
75429550_10156529789446481_7820025536272400384_n
78077156_10156529789326481_2266808070094979072_n
75302638_10156529789251481_1403549777089527808_n
75341222_10156529789091481_2310894792696922112_n
76640157_10156529788896481_5187039085780271104_n
74638368_10156529788741481_2188673874722291712_n
75310395_10156529788646481_155301962974232576_n
76204363_10156529788536481_5335884725066137600_n
77019497_10156529788476481_5122369432491917312_n
76605039_677150779359738_1323139730086297600_o-1
73513511_677150702693079_7154439286249488384_o
75543579_677150726026410_1967170754726330368_o-1
76757017_677150712693078_1666987196827041792_o
75439479_677152486026234_8272101604732174336_o-1
76652219_677151109359705_9001966794868523008_o-1
75424699_677151762692973_6641199739578613760_o-1
78104674_677152879359528_4127313814536323072_o-1
78156053_677153036026179_5985210482309464064_o-1
76901297_677150822693067_1623452734004920320_o-1
76769616_677151392693010_6148900232944943104_o-1
75594484_677151002693049_3594900335560228864_o
75580222_677151459359670_9125232089975750656_o-1
75449997_677152402692909_8725789007482454016_o
75485989_677151679359648_8845943724065161216_o-1
77317549_677151639359652_1249825755035074560_o-1
74522905_677152276026255_3648899829796438016_o
75462303_677151902692959_1485568976539877376_o
74649831_677152732692876_8738859679590907904_o-1
75627592_677152499359566_922905609106358272_o-1
75220761_677152439359572_2063443309954596864_o-1
75418843_677151629359653_1948648334600175616_o-1
77271149_677150926026390_1942882027472683008_o-1
77092671_677151212693028_3350264903960100864_o-1
75311432_677151326026350_646064824798674944_o-1
76258126_677151972692952_5463950530889908224_o-1
75323307_677152259359590_5835573615558393856_o-1
77426044_677151579359658_3781059156065124352_o-1
77303019_677151082693041_7258404497272078336_o-1
76622735_677151052693044_2451552738257928192_o-1
76693193_677151302693019_1328326912413532160_o-1
76695115_677151406026342_3487830601917005824_o-1
75317334_677150902693059_6471376011140268032_o-1
75398228_677153009359515_6207596827970109440_o-1
75349034_677151912692958_6976518741299298304_o-1
76993623_677152322692917_1402407135400165376_o-1
75299806_677152766026206_3274224732777480192_o-1
75481736_677151126026370_7359079823475474432_o-1
72473196_677152129359603_8274354491172585472_o-1
76197817_677152839359532_7247743241687138304_o-1
75576364_677152616026221_1383416542363910144_o-1
76720817_677151496026333_6749275161289031680_o-1
78058586_677151546026328_4808466159911305216_o-1
73250462_677152866026196_4072139462061064192_o-1
76972165_677152139359602_3188504963735093248_o-1
76756947_677151832692966_4240348420235067392_o-1
75231815_677152626026220_6538212453954617344_o-1
76967208_677152186026264_6984797290762338304_o-1
76267355_677152756026207_43375828205043712_o-1
77261230_677152602692889_6164321721043124224_o-1
75534259_677150932693056_5577135288645320704_o-1
76898914_677152369359579_5248627134393483264_o-1
69855955_677153019359514_8036579247625601024_o-1
76913759_677151282693021_5167290113188691968_o-1
76620889_677151786026304_8675767237077893120_o-1
78606874_677151029359713_2293491220141309952_o-1
76686507_10219715883508795_442342207983190016_o-1
IMG_1595
IMG_1594
IMG_1591
IMG_1592
IMG_1596
IMG_1597
IMG_1600
IMG_1598
IMG_1601
IMG_1603
IMG_1604
IMG_1605
IMG_1608
IMG_1609
IMG_1610
IMG_1611
IMG_1613
IMG_1614
IMG_1615
IMG_1616
IMG_1617
IMG_1621
IMG_1619
IMG_1622
IMG_1623
IMG_1627
IMG_1629
IMG_1630
IMG_1631
IMG_1632
IMG_1633

Categories

Archives

Latest Local Union News

  • 700+ educators sign in support of K8 World Language teachers
  • Join Us! Please register!
  • The Fundamental Four
  • BACK TO SCHOOL!

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

BEU Latest Tweets

  • Heather McGhee & Nick Juravich are coming to Brookline for what promises to be a wonderfully inspiring event. Pleas… https://t.co/7pC07wH95e May 25, 2023 1:53 am
  • Congrats to BEU member & Brookline Middle School Science teacher Mark Goldner! @BrooklinePublic @BeuBrookline https://t.co/kH91JdejG3 March 25, 2023 11:15 pm
  • I just signed a @theactionnet petition: Support Malden's Public School Educators. Sign here: https://t.co/5Z69rUhic9 September 16, 2022 11:09 am

RSS MTA News

  • Union News: Unmasking Tales of Liberation and Oppression May 23, 2023
  • MTA members and their families are invited to our Juneteenth event May 18, 2023
  • Union News: Building Our Union Power, Victories Across Locals May 16, 2023

RSS MTA Events

  • Executive Committee
  • ESP Committee Meeting
  • ESP Committee Meeting

Copyright (C) 2023 · Brookline Educators Union · Part of the MTASITES NETWORK