APSCUF-KU April 2016 Newsletter

April 2016

Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

Executive Committee: President – Paul Quinn; Vice President – Helen Bieber; Secretary – James Jackson; Treasurer – Kenneth Ehrensal; Delegates – Lisa Frye, Dina Hayduk, Jason Lanter, Viviana Lucabeche, Kevin Mahoney, Glenn Richardson, Thomas Stewart; Alternate Delegates – Helen Bieber, Denise Darrah, Kenneth Ehrensal, Carolyn Gardner, James Jackson, Timothy O’Boyle, Angelo Rodriguez; Senate Representative – Robert L. Smith; Health & Welfare – Dina Hayduk, Grievance Co-Chairs – Ruth Perkins, Viviana Lucabeche

Today I stand before you prouder than ever to represent the approximately 5,500 faculty and coaches who are at the core of the 14 great universities comprising the State System.

Last month, your faculty and coaches watched with bewilderment and anger as Chancellor Brogan and others represented the System in front of the House and Senate. The comments and questions, particularly in the Senate hearings, we felt demonstrated a shocking ignorance of the workings of the System and displayed a palpable disdain for your KU Pride

Appropriations Hearing

Share in the exciting accomplishments of our KU community members!

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If you do not have a seat at the table, you are probably on the menu.

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News & Good Reads Catch up with all your favorite stories! What’s Walker doing now???

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faculty and coaches. On the bright side of that, we were defended at the Senate hearing by one current member of this board and afterward by one former member of this Board.

More frustrating even than several senators’ posture was the fact that these unwarranted attacks went unanswered and, in several instances, were fueled by the State System’s responses. While we empathize with the difficulties surrounding giving testimony at a legislative hearing, and I personally sympathize with those difficulties, nevertheless your faculty and your coaches deserve better. Further, our students and our alumni deserve better.

I don’t think anyone should be surprised that hearing one of our colleagues referred to as an “old dinosaur” would be viewed as hostile. I don’t think anyone should be surprised at our frustration when stories are made up about meetings that took place. I don’t think anyone should be shocked to learn that when senators say faculty work only 17 hours a week that we would be irate and that we would expect to be defended. Those comments disparaged my colleagues — Pennsylvania citizens and taxpayers — and the fact that they went unanswered is inexplicable.

The same calculus that leads to the conclusion that faculty work 17 hours a week would be the same that would lead someone to assert that a senator works only on the relatively few session days in a year. However, we know better. We know the job of a senator includes committee work, preparation, constituent service, public speaking, etc.,of class time and Five required office hours. Our work includes countless scholarly endeavors, committee work, advising, that everyone in this and overseeing extracurricular activities.

It includes the type of mentoring in the sciences room applauded yesterday. In fact, there is a report filed each year that shows that my faculty colleagues work more than 50 hours a week.

Similarly, a point was made to “educate” a student that a coach made $400,000 last year.

That was not education; it was misinformation. The System knows full well that the coach does not make $400,000 a year. That money was the result of an arbitration award spanning years, and it was a one-time award. It happened to go to a coach who runs a summer program that brings thousands of young people to campus and has made his university millions of dollars in the process. So it is that someone’s hard work is ridiculed.

More typical than this coach is the one coach who approached me last week at one of our universities in the western part of the Commonwealth. That coach told me that because of cuts to his program, he was now paying out of his pocket for recruiting trips. Coaches scrambling for money for referees, for scholarship money, for the basic needs of their sports and going the extra mile for their student athletes — Continued on page 10

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“Why Teachers Should Be Involved In Politics” Congratulations!

-Geology major Ryan Higgins presented the geophysical results of a PASSHE-funded study of Utah mud volcanoes at the Symposium on the application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (SAGEEP) in Denver, CO last month.

-Congratulations to Avalanche, who won the Mascot Madness Championship against Slippery Rock’s mascot, Rocky.

Gets Pre-Service Teachers Thinking Critically Teachers today face a myriad of issues at the policy level that affect students and their families.

Becoming a teacher means becoming knowledgeable about and engaged with such topics.

On March 31, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) , two student clubs affiliated with national organizations, cohosted a well-attended panel discussion that took on hot button issues such as public school funding, allocation of public funds to charter schools, standardized testing and use of testing data for teacher evaluation. The panelists included KU professors Dr. Kathy Stanfa (Special Education) and Dr. Ron Grapsy

(Communication Studies), Kutztown Public Schools Superintendent Kathy Metrick, Kutztown Public Schools board member Dr. Al Darion, Centennial School Director and Lehigh University professor Dr. Michael George, and KU Student Government president Joe Scoboria.The panel was introduced by CEC advisor Dr. Wendy Rogers (Special Education) and moderated by student NAME members Lauren Sobczak (Secondary Education/Special Education) and Joycelyn Parker (Secondary Education) and CEC and NAME advisor, Dr. Tabetha Bernstein-Danis (Special Education).

-The Department of Geography presented Carrie Babb Presentation Awards to geography majors Christopher Madden, Shana Rose and geography minor Analyse Gaspich.

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Congratulations!

April 2016

Eighth Graders “GEAR Up” for College at KU

-Dr. Bill Donner (Anthropology/Sociolo gy) published a new book, Serious Nonsense: Groundhog Lodges, Versammlinge and Pennsylvania German Heritage, which addresses the private cultural practices of the Pennsylvania German community.

On March 1 and 22, the Kutztown University GEAR UP Program (www.PAGearUp.org) hosted 8th grade students from the Allentown School District for a campus visit focused on the visual and performing arts. Professor Kevin McCloskey along with Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder and her art education students worked together to teach a special art workshop on graphic novels. Visiting 8th grade students also had the opportunity to play theater games with Kutztown University’s student group, Actors Creating Theater, as -Kutztown University well as tour the campus and eat in the South Dining football player Ryan Baron will receive the Hall. The GEAR UP Program thanks the Departments of American Red Cross Communication Design and Art Education and Craft, Berks County Adult Good Samaritan Heroes and encourages other departments to partner with GEAR UP to provide experimental learning Award at the American Red Cross Berks opportunities for our visiting students. Faculty County Heroes stipends and program planning support are available; Breakfast on Thursday, please contact Peter Bond at May 12, 2016.

PBond@Kutztown.edu or 610-683-4424 for more -On April 5, the TAU information.

Chapter of Chi Sigma Alpha Student Affairs Peter Bond, regional manager, Pa. State GEAR Honor Society inducted UP-3 its new members. Ms. Kerri Gardi, an alum (1997) of the program and Director of the KU Career Development Center, was this year’s featured speaker and alumni inductee.

Congratulations to Ms. Gardi and all the students and recent graduates who were inducted!

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Hot Button Issue: Pre-service Teacher Exams

The Hidden Costs of Becoming a Teacher: Something About the Pre-service Teacher Exams Does Not Add Up Few would argue against establishing measures that can determine whether or not pre-service teachers can solve mathematical problems, read complex texts with understanding, and write effectively to communicate ideas. After all, these are skills they will be expected to develop in their students. However, as a professional in the field of special education, I have always been acutely aware that not everyone can demonstrate what they know in the same manner. When I taught middle school special education, I always sought multiple ways of measuring my students’ learning and as a professor of special education I continue to provide my students, future teachers themselves, with multiple ways of demonstrating what they’ve learned and how well they’ve learned it. I try to emphasize that they will someday need to do the same with their own students if they are genuinely interested in assessing what their students are truly able to do.

Subsequently, the way our pre-service teachers are assessed at the state level stands in stark contrast to all I know and believe about the multiple different ways in which learning can be communicated. To become a teacher in Pennsylvania, a preservice teacher candidate must first pass a battery of timed standardized tests intended to measure literacy and math skills. The current tests pre-service teachers are guided to take are the ETS CORE Academic Skills for Educators Reading, Writing, and Mathematics exams. These three tests, together usually referred to as simply the “ETS CORE,” are the exams most of my students take. (Alternately pre-service teachers can take the Pre-Service Academic Performance Assessment, which has a lower pass rate, or qualifying scores on the SAT or ACT exam.) These standardized tests are not only required for teacher certification, but are also required for pre-service teachers currently doing their undergraduate degrees to take their upper level education courses. Without passing these exams, by their junior year our pre-service teachers find themselves scrambling for courses they can take and must choose to either relinquish the dream of becoming a teacher or spend additional time and money trying to obtain their bachelor’s degree.

So what are the costs of simply taking the ETS Core itself, setting aside the costs of spending additional time in school? This is where the costs of become a teacher become much more complicated. Taking the three tests (Reading, Writing, and Math) together in one session costs $150. However, many pre-service teachers would prefer to take one test at a time to avoid fatigue and increase their chances of getting a good score. Now let us test our basic math skills. Three tests together are 5

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Hot Button Issue: Preservice Teacher Exams

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April 2016

$150. If you divide that by three, the cost per test should be $50, correct? However, the math for the ETS CORE doesn’t work that way. The cost for each individual test is $90. That is $270 for three tests if you take them separately but $150 to take all three at once. Why give the discount? Well, I don’t have the exact statistics in front of me, but as an advisor and professor to students who have to take this exam, I can offer my observations that students who take all three at the same time usually fail to reach the cut off score in each area the first time. This means they must go back and retake at least one of those exams – at $90 per test.

Now let’s try another basic math problem. The qualifying score for the reading exam is 156, for writing it is 162, and for math it is 150. You also need to achieve a composite score across all three tests. Add together 156, 162, and 150 and you end up with 468. However, the minimum composite score is 475. So you could pay $150, take the three exams at once, reach the qualifying score for each, and still end up needed to retake at least one exam at $90 a test to earn at least six points above and beyond the qualifying score to achieve the minimum composite. And you will also need to wait 21 days before retaking that exam. That 21 day wait can seem like a lifetime when you are watching your required courses fill up and know that you cannot get in until you pass the exams with both qualifying scores for each test and the overall composite. Meanwhile, you can purchase a practice exam for the test you want to improve for $19.95, but there is only one practice exam for each test, with the same questions in the same order, so your hope for improvement relies upon taking the same practice test over and over again. For this reason, we encourage students to take the pre-service teacher exams as first year students or even before they enter the university. We encourage them to retake their SAT or ACT exams if possible, as that is often a less expensive solution. If these exams are intended to ensure that pre-service teachers have sufficient knowledge to effectively teach their own students in turn, it would stand to reason that they be afforded with enough time to develop those skills rather than be tested on what they “should have learned in high school.” If that were the case, then why do we require our preservice teachers to take general education courses that extend their knowledge in literature and composition, mathematics, the sciences, and the arts? Surely it is because we believe that at least a substantial portion of that foundational knowledge is established in college. In that case, why do we expect that they will have already mastered the basic skills necessary to be a teacher when they are still in high school?

This has put undue stress on students with extreme test anxiety, learning and other disabilities, and those with limited funds available to them. Again, I am not against 64 establishing that pre-service teachers have basic skills in reading, writing, and

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Hot Button Issue: Preservice Teacher Exams

Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

April 2016

mathematics, but couldn’t we offer alternative ways to determine this for students who cannot best demonstrate their knowledge on a high-pressure, timed, standardized test? What about coursework? If a student has a B or better in English language arts, writing, and mathematics courses that cover the same content as the standardized exams, is it really necessary to also prove the ability to show that knowledge on a timed test? Does this in any way correlate with knowing the material in a manner that will better equip the person to teach it to others? I would like to see evidence that standardized testing is the most effective way to determine if someone has the academic skills to become a teacher first before we force every pre-service teacher to spend inordinate amounts of time and money on demonstrating their knowledge in this particular way.

Even if there were hard evidence showing that demonstrating basic skills on a standardized test was the most effective way to identify who might go on to best teach these skills, I would still argue against a pricing structure that seems inherently designed to profit the testing service at the expense of our mostly working and middle class pre-service teachers who find themselves falling deeper and deeper into debt in effort to pursue what should be an attainable dream. At a time when public universities are becoming increasingly cost prohibitive and the majority of students must turn to loans to pay their way through school, does it make sense to add an additional and substantial financial burdens to our preservice teacher candidates? And how do those increased financial burdens contribute to teacher quality? Or are we simply discouraging potentially strong educators from entering the field at all? With dropping enrollments in pre-service teacher education programs and several sources suggesting that a teacher shortage may be on the horizon in Pennsylvania in the near future, these are the questions that we really do need to ask.

Tabetha Bernstein-Danis, Special Education Department

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My passion to become a teacher is immeasurable but frustrations exist in the fact current GPA that I hold reflects the dedication to my studies here at Kutztown University. Throughout my student tenure starting from high school, I have struggled with taking standardized tests. After genetic testing of my parents, it has been discovered that I have a genetic disorder and as a result, the genetic testing

Preservice Teacher Exams

Hot Button Issue: Student Perspectives

that the required ETS Core test is holding me back from fulfilling my dream. The

identifies me as a carrier of the Fragile X Gene which is just one of the reasons why I struggle with standardized testing. Anxiety is also something that I deal with daily and it overwhelms me especially during the taking of the required ETS Core test because I feel that there is not enough time for me to comprehend and answer the questions along with the amount of pressure that is placed on me to pass these tests. Currently I am a junior at Kutztown University and will not be graduating on time due to the fact that I have not yet passed the ETS Core tests that enable me to obtain teacher candidacy. Next semester I will need to take courses to fill in the semesters where I should be out in the field, which is very frustrating. I fully understand that teachers must meet requirements and standards to become as qualified as possible, but these tests should not hold a potential teacher candidate back from continuing their teacher courses and education. These tests in no way shape or form measure the quality of the type of teacher that I will be and the constant set back of having to wait to continue my education to become a certified teacher is very disheartening because these tests measure if you are a good test taker or not, not the type of educator I am more than capable of being.

Sincerely, Amanda Purcell , 3rd year Special Education Major

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CAP: THE POLITICAL VOICE OF APSCUF

Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

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April 2016

APSCUF's Committee for Action through Politics (APSCUF/CAP) is the political voice for APSCUF faculty and coaches. Since its inception in 1981, CAP has assisted faculty and coaches in making informed political decisions. CAP is a nonpartisan organization that supports candidates who will advocate for APSCUF's goals and priorities. To find out more about APSCUF/CAP, download the CAP brochure.

Visit APSCUF's member's forum (login required) to view APSCUF/CAP's recommendations for the 2016 primary election.

Wondering why you should donate to CAP? When you contribute to APSCUF/CAP, you become involved in the political process.

Your CAP donations support candidates for state office who will advocate for public higher education and have strong records on labor, education, and budget issues.

APSCUF/CAP members have the opportunity to: Attend fundraising events.

Build relationships with policymakers.

Make important endorsement decisions.

Assist candidates who support APSCUF goals.

Participate in golf outings to support candidates. http://apscuf.org/members/cap http://www.apscuf.org/forum/

WHAT CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION DURING THE BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS HEARING

PUTTING IT ALL ON THE TABLE: COMMUNISM, SOCIALISM, OLD DINOSAURS, YOUR 17-HOUR WORKWEEK, STRUGGLING UNIVERSITIES AND SUPERMARKETS, APSCUF BASHING, PER-CREDIT TUITION, AND MORE “I will remind all of us, not just you (the chancellor), that everybody has to be part of the conversation,“ she said. “And we can rail against certain entities or groups, but they’ve got to be part of this because they are a key factor in making sure that our students get the education that they need. … you look at a Cheyney or you look at a Millersville or you look at, for example, Kutztown. They are vital parts of our community. They are great economic contributors, but they’re also a part of the institution, too. So those entities also have to be involved in this conversation as well.” ~ Senator Schwank House: http://apscuf.org/blog/item/362-what-caught-our-attention-during-the-house-budgetappropriations-hearings Senate: http://apscuf.org/blog/item/363-what-caught-our-attention-during-the-senate-budgetappropriations-hearing 9

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these are the common and accurate stories of our system, and they

were not told.

We were upset to hear, by implication, Cheyney University compared to a failing supermarket. It was a truly unfortunate analogy. But we were equally concerned by a response that pinned Cheyney’s trouble on a lack of enrollment. That Cheyney’s enrollment is too low is common knowledge. But a truer response would be that a long list of public officials and this Board are culpable for Cheyney’s woes. For decades, this Board substituted stage whispers and scorn for scrutiny. Things were allowed to occur at Cheyney that would never would have been allowed to occur to at any other university. Students at Cheyney have been deprived of the resources that would have been demanded at other universities. And, frankly, the other universities of this System, benefitted for years from that deprivation of resources. To hear concerns raised now about having to “subsidize” Cheyney ignores a past that was discriminatory and inexcusable.

Further, any suggestion that Cheyney should be closed proposes a disservice to the hundreds, if not thousands, of potential students in the Philadelphia area not only could be potentially served by Cheyney, but who need the type of community and alumni network that only Cheyney can provide. The time has come to stop beating up on that university. It is time to build it up. It is time to provide access.

Speaking of access, a question was raised about why my association opposes the per-credit tuition plans. I call them plans and not pilots because, in the academic world, they would not be considered a “pilot.” We oppose those plans — some may argue counter to our combined self interest — because we believe in public higher education. We believe in our legislatively mandated mission to provide a quality education at an affordable cost.

Stripped of the false advertising, these pilots amount to substantial tuition increases.

One does not have to be a mathematician to do the simple arithmetic — it takes 120 credits minimum to graduate. Over the course of eight semesters, that is 15 credits a semester.

Charging per credit means a 16, 25 or even a 50 percent tuition increase for our students.

At one time, the Commonwealth subsidized 75 percent of a student’s education. Now it is less than 25 percent. What will it be after these plans? At a time when the issue of student debt is a matter of national debate, our universities will be substantially increasing that debt. How many students will be priced out of their universities? We have now heard several administrators talk about how their universities could lose students but still bring in more money. Somebody has the notion of public higher education terribly wrong, and I don’t think it is my association.

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Rather than preventing students from “grazing the academic vineyard” these plans are likely to discourage double majors, push students to drop out, discourage them from taking difficult courses that they may not do well in, and for them avoid major disciplines that require additional credits.

I could continue on about the tone, the attacks, the failures to respond about issues, but I know I have already taken some time.

Next year will be the 80th anniversary of APSCUF’s existence. Throughout those years, my association has been partners with the legislators, governors, and administrators in turning normal schools into colleges and then into great universities. It seems the reward for that endeavor is now to demean our work and to ridicule our members. It seems we can expect no adequate defense from our System.

We have been working without a contract for nearly a year. We were surprised to learn of the System’s concerns with our contract expressed during the hearings — items that have never been raised during this past year of bargaining.

This weekend, delegates from each of our universities will be attending our legislative assembly. We will learn together what steps my Association may be willing to take in reaction to the lack of respect demonstrated toward our members.

Thank you for your attention.

Ken Mash, 7 April 2016

Read APSCUF’s positions on Degrees of Value report, per-credit tuition Degrees of Value report

APSCUF’s complete response

“At this point, the purpose of the Degrees of Value document appears to be an indictment of not only the liberal arts majors but also a signal that proposed changes are on the way,” the statement concludes. “The document is a leverage tool.

All faculty should familiarize themselves with the report and be prepared to respond.”

Per-Credit Tuition

APSCUF position statement

“These pilot programs come at a time when the average Pennsylvania student already graduates from the State System with over $30,000 in debt,” the 2015 resolution reads. “From a national perspective, Pennsylvania ranks third-highest in student loan debt. Nearly 80 percent of PASSHE students accept some form of financial aid. These tuition increases will place an even greater financial burden on students and their families.”

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OUT OF CONCERN FOR STUDENTS, APSCUF PUTS OFF JOB-ACTION VOTE UNTIL NEXT DELEGATE ASSEMBLY After two hours of heated debate that featured anger and frustration at the lack of progress at the negotiations table and disrespect shown to faculty and coaches at last month’s appropriations hearings in the General Assembly, delegates at the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties’ legislative assembly today determined they would not take a job action this academic year, which ends this May. Instead, delegates voted to take a strikeauthorization vote at either an emergency legislative assembly in the summer or at their regularly scheduled September meeting, should there be no progress at the negotiations table.

“There was palpable outrage in the room, and for most of the debate, it seemed certain we would move toward a strike,” said Dr. Kenneth M. Mash, APSCUF’s president.

“However, in the end, my colleagues believed that a strike at the very end of the semester would unfairly burden students and their families. Uncertainty about the budget, and

the complications of tuition increases have made this a very stressful semester for students. My colleagues wanted to make it clear that their frustration lies with the State System administration and not with the students.

“However, everyone has their limits, and it is clear the delegates are close to theirs. If no progress is made soon, there will certainly be a job action in the future.”

One delegate wanted to make certain that the State System got the message clearly, and his pronouncement, “talk or we walk,” was met with thunderous applause.

APSCUF members have been working under an expired contract for almost a year, and APSCUF was never offered the type of one-year deal signed

by Pennsylvania’s other public-sector workers.

The most recent negotiations session was Jan. 8, and the next negotiations session is slated for April 28. Neither the faculty nor the coaches at the State System universities have ever been on strike.

Part-time and poorly paid on campus Corporate America's favorite paper is scaremongering about adjuncts unionizing, writes Tyler Zimmer, a philosophy instructor at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.

“History proves that strikes and collective militancy can, in a very brief period of time, change living standards and working conditions from abysmal to relatively decent. For this reason, we should celebrate the unionization success at Duke and seek to emulate it elsewhere--and not succumb to the scare tactics of the very people responsible for driving down our living standards.” http://socialistworker.org/2016/04/06/part-time-and-poorly-paid-on-campus

Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. ~ Frederick Douglass 12 12

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Wisconsin The End Of Research In Wisconsin, Slate.com

News Round Up

“This past June, American academia went into an uproar over Gov. Scott Walker’s new budget in Wisconsin, which not only cut $250 million from higher education, but also severely weakened shared faculty governance and effectively destroyed professor tenure at state universities. Specifically, any professor in the system— tenured or not—could be dismissed or laid off by the 18-member Board of Regents using maddeningly vague criteria: “when such an action is deemed necessary due to a budget or program decision requiring program discontinuance, curtailment, modification or redirection.” This, when combined with the faculty’s diminished role in governing the university—and thus determining such things as which programs should continue, be curtailed, or get modified—basically meant that these regents—16 of whom were appointed by Walker—could fire anyone, at any time, for any reason.”

Rebecca Schuman, March 21, 2016 Massachusetts Boston University faculty members vote to unionize, boston.com The vote came in a 4-to-1 margin. Allison Pohle, April 6, 2016 “They join 800 unionized adjunct colleagues at Boston University, as well as faculty on the Northeastern, Tufts, Lesley, Bentley and Brandeis campuses in the union.”

Seattle Civic knowledge and engagement are critical to our republic, The Seattle Times “An engaged, informed citizenry was among the goals of the Founding Fathers in establishing free public schools. A renewed commitment to their goal must begin in those schools, restoring civic education alongside the three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic).”

George R. Nethercutt Jr., March 14 2016 Harper’s Save Our Public Universities: In defense of America's Best Idea, Harper's Mag “From the perspective of many today, the great public universities (and many of them are very great) are like beached vessels of unknown origin and intention, decked out preposterously with relics and treasures that are ripe for looting, insofar as they would find a market, or condemned to neglect and decay, insofar as their cash value is not obvious to the most stringent calculation.”

Marilynne Robinson, March 2016 13

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Good Reads

Labor Studies Journal, Volume 34 Number 4, December 2009 485-506 © 2009 UALE, 10.1177/0160449X08324738, http://lsj.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com A Little Help from Our Friends: Exploring and Understanding when Labor-Community Coalitions Are Likely to Form, Amanda Tattersall, University of Sydney “Union renewal and coalition unionism are widely considered necessary; however, the reasons why a union might participate in a coalition is undertheorized. This article considers six factors that help explain when a union is likely to form a coalition with a community organization, which are explored in a case study comparison of two coalitions in Australia and Canada. Preexisting union identities, common interest, and decentralized union structures make coalition formation more likely and shape the degree of union member participation in coalitions. Unions are likely to engage in coalitions when there is a coincidence of crisis and perceived opportunity for coalition practice, while noting that the depth of union engagement is greatly affected by the type of union actors that initiate coalition participation (whether leaders, organizers, or stewards). Different passages for coalition unionism are possible, and they can originate inside unions or be provoked externally by community organizations.”

Crawford-Garrett, K. & Riley, K. (2016). Inquiry, Policy, and Teacher Communities: Counter Mandates and Teacher Resistance in an Urban School District. Workplace, 26, 34-49.

Inquiry, Policy, and Teacher Communities: Counter mandates and teacher resistance in an urban school district http://ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/workplace/issue/view/182552 “This paper offers windows into two teacher inquiry communities that met regularly in Philadelphia during the 2010-2011 school year at a time when the school district was implementing a series of top-down mandates aimed at improving student achievement in low-income, low-performing schools. We document how teachers in both inquiry communities collectively grappled with neoliberal reforms and deprofessionalizing initiatives and consider how these spaces offered opportunities for teachers to draw upon their own “counter-mandates” which included personal histories; their commitments to social justice; and the expertise of educators and scholars who informed their philosophies and practices. The paper concludes with implications for those working with teachers, especially ones in urban centers, in which neoliberal reform initiatives are increasingly shaping policy and informing teachers’ experiences.”

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Giroux, H. (2002). The corporate war against higher education. Workplace, 9, 103117. ISSN 1715-0094

Good Reads

http://ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/workplace/article/view/184051/183878 “Struggling for democracy is both a political and educational task. Fundamental to the rise of a vibrant democratic culture is the recognition that education must be treated as a public good—as a crucial site where students gain a public voice and come to grips with their own power as individual and social agents. Public and higher education cannot be viewed merely as sites for commercial investment or for affirming a notion of the private good based exclusively on the fulfillment of individual needs. Reducing higher education to the handmaiden of corporate culture works against the critical social imperative of educating citizens who can sustain and develop inclusive democratic public spheres. There is a long tradition extending from Thomas Jefferson to C. Wright Mills that extols the importance of education as essential for a democratic public life. This legacy of public discourse appears to have faded as the American university reinvents itself by giving way to the demands of the marketplace. In the age of money and profit, academic disciplines gain stature almost exclusively through their exchange value on the market, and students now rush to take courses and receive professional credentials that provide them with the cache they need to sell themselves to the highest bidder. As the line between for-profit and not-for-profit institutions of higher education collapse, John Palattela observes that many "schools now serve as personal offices for corporations." Educational consultants all over America now call upon educational institutions to "advise their clients in the name of efficiency to act like corporations selling products and seek 'market niches' to save themselves," and meet the challenges of the new world order.

Within this corporatized discourse, management models of decision-making align human initiative and learning with business interests, making issues of social responsibility and public accountability irrelevant as the goals of higher education are increasingly fashioned in the language of debits and credits, cost analyses, and the bottom line. Not surprisingly, students are now referred to as "customers" and "consumers," while faculty are now defined less through their scholarship than through their ability to secure funds and grants from foundations, corporations, and other external sources. Instead of concentrating on critical teaching and research aimed at the public good, faculty are now urged to focus in on corporate largesse.

Rather than being esteemed as engaged teachers and rigorous researchers, faculty are now valued as multinational operatives and increasingly reduced to contract employees.�

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"It is an object of vast magnitude that systems of education should be adopted and pursued which may not only diffuse a knowledge of the sciences but may implant in the minds of the American youth the principles of virtue and of liberty and inspire them with just and liberal ideas of government and with an inviolable attachment to their own country." ~ Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America I write this for all my past professors, and after earning three degrees in three different areas of study, that is quite a few. At Kutztown University I earned my BA in Philosophy, and my Master of Public Administration during which time I was the Graduate Assistant for the Biology department. I have become the person I am because of all of you. I effect positive change through every facet of who I am: thinker, maker, mother, activist, caregiver, daughter, sister, wife. I am greater than a dollar sign, and each of you do more for your students than meet them in a classroom and an office. Each of you help students become greater than they would have been without you.

A Letter To Faculty

I Thank You For: The hours of extra lecture time you spent with me outside of class. You deconstructed concepts down to their skeletal structure with me, and you expanded the world in breadth and width during the process.

Your encouragement and assistance as I prepared myself and my materials for conferences and speaking engagements. I became a stronger person after each experience.

Your attention and thoughtful comments on each assignment. I became a greater thinker and crafter with each one.

Your thoughtfulness and insight for each prepared syllabi. You opened your mind to me. You presented me with materials and guided me through intellectual explorations. You expanded my perspective as you helped me refine my own during the process.

For being here. Each of us take a different path, and I am grateful that ours crossed. I have become the person I am with help from each of you.

I am here because I have always believed that public education is the cornerstone of a strong society. I am here because I want to help you create a strong society.

I have attended private and public institutions of both primary and higher education. My greatest experiences have all been within public institutions of education. They afforded me intellectual and personal freedom, and allowed me to take my greatest intellectual risks.

Academic freedom is one of the great strengths of public education. That freedom is the result of all citizens supporting education as our institution. As a people, we are impoverished when the intrinsic value of liberal arts education is supplanted by degrees of value.

We live in interesting times. The charge to privatize public education has been rolling across our country for the past few decades. Our current Pennsylvania legislative body has many members who would like nothing better than to see our historic public institutions of higher education restructured as private for-profit industry, aligned with private production interests.

We must not let that come to pass. Too much is at stake.

"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, (A)nd if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power." ~Thomas Jefferson Colleen C. Fitzgerald 16

; Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

April 2016

Pg.1 Senate: http://www.apscuf.org/blog/item/363-what-caught-our-attention-during-the-senate-budgetappropriations-hearing Pg. 2 reffered to as an old dinosaur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waIh6ymvIJU&feature=youtu.be&t=1h7m15s Pg. 9 (APSCUF/CAP): http://apscuf.org/members/cap APSCUF member’s forum login: http://www.apscuf.org/forum/

LINKS

Pg. 11 Degrees of Value report: http://www.passhe.edu/inside/ne/press/pages/press.aspx?q=16-121DegreesofValue APSCUF’s complete response: http://www.apscuf.org/news-center/position-statements/221-degrees-ofvalue-report Per-credit tuition: http://apscuf.org/blog/item/369-read-apscuf%E2%80%99s-positions-on-degrees-ofvalue-report-per-credit-tuition APSCUF position statement: http://www.apscuf.org/news-center/position-statements/220-per-credittuition-programs Pg. 12 last month’s appropriations hearings: http://www.apscuf.org/blog/item/363-what-caught-our-attentionduring-the-senate-budget-appropriations-hearing no progress at the negotiations table: http://www.apscuf.org/news-center/press-releases/197-state-systemrejects-contract-compromise-proposes-that-faculty-pay-thousands-more-for-healthcare Pg. 13 The End of Research in Wisconsin, Slate.com: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2016/03/university_of_wisconsin_and_the_aftermath _of_destroying_professor_tenure.html Went into an uproar: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2015/06/scott_walker_and_the_post_tenure_universit y_an_apocalyptic_scenario.html Cut $250 million: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/walker-proposes-300-million-cut-moreautonomy-for-uw-b99433799z1-289929831.html severely weakened shared faculty governance and effectively destroyed professor tenure: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/06/12/scott-walker-gop-lawmakers-pitted-againstwisconsin-academics-in-tenure-battle Boston University faculty members vote to unionize, boston.com: https://www.boston.com/news/education/2016/04/06/boston-university-faculty-vote-to-unionize Civic knowledge and engagement are critical to our republic, The Seattle Times: http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/civic-knowledge-and-engagement-are-critical-to-ourrepublic/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=article_left_1.1 Save Our Public Universities: In defense of America's Best Idea, Harper's Mag: http://harpers.org/archive/2016/03/save-our-public-universities/

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Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

January/February 2016

APSCUF Member Publications Submit your publications.

APSCUF invites its members to share complimentary copies of published works for inclusion in the APSCUF member library at the state office. If you have books, articles and/or recordings (performed or directed by APSCUF members), please submit them to: APSCUF 319 N. Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 You will receive a letter of appreciation to acknowledge your gift. We hope to continue to grow this library of faculty works to acknowledge the academic excellence of APSCUF faculty.

Current program year is July 1, 2015 - May 31, 2016. You must obtain 70 total points for reduced premiums beginning July 1, 2016. If you are hired on or after April 1, 2016 you will automatically be placed in the participating rate and do not need to obtain the point until the next plan year.

Please visit the APSCUF Member’s Forum for discount codes to special services!

Go to http://apscuf.org/images/PDFs/member_forms/Member_Services_Bklt_2015.pdf to download a PDF file outlining the benefits of your APSCUF membership.

Full dues paying members must register for access into the Members Forum section on the APSCUF website. Registration is easy. Go to www.apscuf.org, click on Members Forum on the upper right side of the page, click on register and follow the directions. Your membership will be verified by the site administrator and you will receive a confirmation/verification email letting you know your registration has been accepted.

; Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

April 2016

KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY Kutztown University APSCUF Full Members 17% Discount Program Program 17% Employee Discount Enrollment Instructions withwith AT&T AT&T Enrollment Instructions Existing AT&T Customers – Instructions on enrolling in the discount program: Go to att.com/wireless/Kutztown Click the blue Enroll now button in the middle of the screen Enter email address and AT&T cell phone # Validate the Last 4 of Account Holder’s SS# and billing zip code You will receive a confirmation email stating that you’re enrolled, and that’s it!

To Start New Service with AT&T - choose one of the following: Visit an AT&T Retail Store; provide them the Discount code (FAN) # 2434981 and bring an acceptable form of ID such as a Payroll Stub or an Employee Badge. To find a store in your area go to: http://www.wireless.att.com/find-a-store or schedule an appointment at http://www.att.com/storeappointment Go to your AT&T Employee Discount website at att.com/wireless/Kutztown to validate eligibility, start new service, add a line of service, or upgrade your phone Call 888-444-4410 option 2 to order service by phone. Reference FAN # 2434981

Please go to apscuf.org Member’s Forum for discount code.

Important numbers for Customer Care and Premier Site Support Wireless Customer Care call 1-800-331-0500 (24/7) or 611 from your AT&T device Questions about discounts, enrollment process or eligibility contact Business Customer Care 888-444-4410 opt 2 opt 0

© 2013 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property.

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; Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

April 2016

With a new month, brings new great promotions for your employees to take advantage of with AT&T! As a reminder, KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY APSCUF full members are eligible for a 17% discount on their personal services with AT&T, and can register for the discount by visiting www.att.com/wireless/kutztown.

This month we have partnered with Samsung on a free 48” Smart TV with purchase of Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge (see flyer below for all details…).

Please let me know if you would like a printable 1 page PDF to post and share.

Below are all of our current promotions that APSCUF full members of KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY can take advantage of… · FREE 48” Samsung HD TV with GS7/GS7 edge on Next and adding new DIRECTV or U-Verse service (Existing DTV/U-Verse must add new activation only) · AT&T unlimited data, talk and text on up to 10 lines for customers who has AT&T Wireless and either DIRECTV or U-verse TV · iPhone BOGO (Buy one, get one FREE) with iPhone 6S & 6S Plus smartphones (2nd line must be new activation) · Up to $650 in credits for customers porting from Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint, trading in a smartphone, and purchasing a smartphone on Next for new line of service · $49.99 LG G Pad X 10.1” with purchase of LG G5 or V10 smartphone on Next · $99.99 iPad mini 2 with purchase of an iPhone on Next · $99.99 LG Urbane with purchase of a LG G5 or V10 smartphone on Next · $399.99 Microsoft Surface 3 with purchase of any smartphone on Next · $0.99 LG G Pad F 8” or $0.99 ASUS MeMO 7” with a 2 year contract

Please go to apscuf.org Member’s Forum for discount code.

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; Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

April 2016

Please go to apscuf.org Member’s Forum for discount code.

21

; Kutztown University APSCUF Newsletter

April 2016

Please go to apscuf.org Member’s Forum for discount code.

Please go to apscuf.org Member’s Forum for discount code.

Please go to apscuf.org Member’s Forum for discount code.

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