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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - On education reform, Rahm Emanuel talks a big game but is unlikely to deliver
San Francisco's public high schools recently tried to implement a massive change to their grading system— part of a 'grading for equity' program under which students can pass with scores as low as 41 percent. Moreover, homework, attendance and classroom participation would no longer factor into students' grades, which would instead depend mainly on a final exam — which, of course, they could retake multiple times if needed. Understandably, parents were outraged, in particular because this absurd system has been adopted by other cities and has failed to improve performance. After receiving 'significant backlash,' the plan was canceled. What a shock. Our public schools are in trouble, and even Democrats are noticing. Politico reports that Rahm Emanuel, former congressman, chief of staff to President Obama, Chicago mayor and ambassador to Japan, wants to run for president in 2028 on a platform of education reform. Emanuel has reportedly been 'road testing the outlines of a stump speech,' and it's a good one. He recently said in an interview, 'I am done with the discussion of locker rooms, I am done with the discussion of bathrooms and we better start having a conversation about the classroom.' Later, Emanuel told Bill Maher, 'We literally are a superpower, we're facing off against China with 1.4 billion people and two-thirds of our children can't read eighth grade level.' The feisty former mayor is stealing a powerful issue from the Republican playbook. It's a gutsy move. Attacking our education establishment, and especially calling out the teachers' unions, has long been the third rail of Democratic politics. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are, to lefty politicians, the most sacred of sacred cows. Not only do those two organizations claim enormous membership rolls — the NEA has 3 million members and the AFT has 1.8 million — that can help get out the vote and mobilize the public, they also spend tens of millions of dollars for political candidates, with more than 90 percent going to Democrats. For proof, look at the 2023 mayoral race in Chicago, during which both the disgraceful shortcomings of the city's schools and rampant crime were on the ballot. Paul Vallas, a tough-on-crime Democrat known as an accomplished school reformer, faced off against another Democrat, Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and labor organizer who was the favorite of the Chicago Teachers Union and its nearly 30,000 members. The race should not have been close. Vallas had a track record of success and the backing of the police. But he lost to Johnson anyway, who received over $5 million from CTU and other teachers' unions. From 2011 to 2019, Emanuel served as mayor of the Windy City. During those years he attempted school reform and took on the teachers' unions. The sparring resulted in the strike of 2012, which unions today celebrate because they won significant concessions, such as higher pay and reduced accountability. That strike also squashed the budding reform movement that had led to some school closings and efforts to set higher standards. It is credited with paving the way for similar walkouts in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Denver in the years that followed. The CTU calls the 2012 work stoppage 'The strike that brought teachers unions back from the dead.' All of this makes Emanuel a peculiar person to talk up school reform. That's not to say he isn't right in calling out the failures of our public education. In his home city, testing from last year showed that fewer than one in three students could read and fewer than one in five could do math at their elementary grade level. Among Chicago's 11th graders, only 22.4 percent could read at grade level in 2024, and only 18.6 percent performed math proficiently. This is unacceptable. Nationally, the news is grim as well. The most recent assessments from the Program for International Student Assessment tests 15-year-olds in over 65 countries; the U.S. places 18th overall, with an overall score of 1468, well below leader Singapore's 1679 and runner-up China's 1605. In math, the U.S. comes in 26th. The Chamber of Commerce Foundation reports that students in Singapore 'scored 110 points more than their American peers [in math] — five staggering academic years ahead of U.S. students.' As they point out, 'These results have huge implications for the United States' global competitiveness and national security.' Our country's education system is not short of money; U.S. public schools are spending over $17,000 per student on K-12 education. In 2019, our outlays per pupil were 38 percent above the level of other OECD countries. Something is wrong with this picture, and America's parents know it. We should care not only about national security and U.S. competitiveness, of course; we should also care about the kids — mostly non-white kids — who fall through the cracks of our broken schools every year and whose fates are often sealed by that failure. Recent state exams reveal that in 40 percent of Baltimore's high schools, not a single student was proficient in math. In Chicago, there are 22 schools where not a single student can read at grade level. How can local politicians — nearly all Democrats, who routinely ask for minority votes — accept that? Tackling the teachers' unions, imposing high standards, discipline and innovation — like using AI and other new technologies to augment in-class teaching — is part of the answer. Pushing school choice, which introduces competition into our sclerotic and underachieving system, is essential. President Trump and Republicans are on the right side of these issues, and must prioritize reforms. Emanuel is right to challenge the teachers' unions, and our failing schools. But his record shows he's not the guy to get the job done. Liz Peek is a former partner of major bracket Wall Street firm Wertheim and Company. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
On education reform, Rahm Emanuel talks a big game but is unlikely to deliver
San Francisco's public high schools recently tried to implement a massive change to their grading system— part of a 'grading for equity' program under which students can pass with scores as low as 41 percent. Moreover, homework, attendance and classroom participation would no longer factor into students' grades, which would instead depend mainly on a final exam — which, of course, they could retake multiple times if needed. Understandably, parents were outraged, in particular because this absurd system has been adopted by other cities and has failed to improve performance. After receiving 'significant backlash,' the plan was canceled. What a shock. Our public schools are in trouble, and even Democrats are noticing. Politico reports that Rahm Emanuel, former congressman, chief of staff to President Obama, Chicago mayor and ambassador to Japan, wants to run for president in 2028 on a platform of education reform. Emanuel has reportedly been 'road testing the outlines of a stump speech,' and it's a good one. He recently said in an interview, 'I am done with the discussion of locker rooms, I am done with the discussion of bathrooms and we better start having a conversation about the classroom.' Later, Emanuel told Bill Maher, 'We literally are a superpower, we're facing off against China with 1.4 billion people and two-thirds of our children can't read eighth grade level.' The feisty former mayor is stealing a powerful issue from the Republican playbook. It's a gutsy move. Attacking our education establishment, and especially calling out the teachers' unions, has long been the third rail of Democratic politics. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are, to lefty politicians, the most sacred of sacred cows. Not only do those two organizations claim enormous membership rolls — the NEA has 3 million members and the AFT has 1.8 million — that can help get out the vote and mobilize the public, they also spend tens of millions of dollars for political candidates, with more than 90 percent going to Democrats. For proof, look at the 2023 mayoral race in Chicago, during which both the disgraceful shortcomings of the city's schools and rampant crime were on the ballot. Paul Vallas, a tough-on-crime Democrat known as an accomplished school reformer, faced off against another Democrat, Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and labor organizer who was the favorite of the Chicago Teachers Union and its nearly 30,000 members. The race should not have been close. Vallas had a track record of success and the backing of the police. But he lost to Johnson anyway, who received over $5 million from CTU and other teachers' unions. From 2011 to 2019, Emanuel served as mayor of the Windy City. During those years he attempted school reform and took on the teachers' unions. The sparring resulted in the strike of 2012, which unions today celebrate because they won significant concessions, such as higher pay and reduced accountability. That strike also squashed the budding reform movement that had led to some school closings and efforts to set higher standards. It is credited with paving the way for similar walkouts in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Denver in the years that followed. The CTU calls the 2012 work stoppage 'The strike that brought teachers unions back from the dead.' All of this makes Emanuel a peculiar person to talk up school reform. That's not to say he isn't right in calling out the failures of our public education. In his home city, testing from last year showed that fewer than one in three students could read and fewer than one in five could do math at their elementary grade level. Among Chicago's 11th graders, only 22.4 percent could read at grade level in 2024, and only 18.6 percent performed math proficiently. This is unacceptable. Nationally, the news is grim as well. The most recent assessments from the Program for International Student Assessment tests 15-year-olds in over 65 countries; the U.S. places 18th overall, with an overall score of 1468, well below leader Singapore's 1679 and runner-up China's 1605. In math, the U.S. comes in 26th. The Chamber of Commerce Foundation reports that students in Singapore 'scored 110 points more than their American peers [in math] — five staggering academic years ahead of U.S. students.' As they point out, 'These results have huge implications for the United States' global competitiveness and national security.' Our country's education system is not short of money; U.S. public schools are spending over $17,000 per student on K-12 education. In 2019, our outlays per pupil were 38 percent above the level of other OECD countries. Something is wrong with this picture, and America's parents know it. We should care not only about national security and U.S. competitiveness, of course; we should also care about the kids — mostly non-white kids — who fall through the cracks of our broken schools every year and whose fates are often sealed by that failure. Recent state exams reveal that in 40 percent of Baltimore's high schools, not a single student was proficient in math. In Chicago, there are 22 schools where not a single student can read at grade level. How can local politicians — nearly all Democrats, who routinely ask for minority votes — accept that? Tackling the teachers' unions, imposing high standards, discipline and innovation — like using AI and other new technologies to augment in-class teaching — is part of the answer. Pushing school choice, which introduces competition into our sclerotic and underachieving system, is essential. President Trump and Republicans are on the right side of these issues, and must prioritize reforms. Emanuel is right to challenge the teachers' unions, and our failing schools. But his record shows he's not the guy to get the job done. Liz Peek is a former partner of major bracket Wall Street firm Wertheim and Company.
AU Financial Review
4 days ago
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Investors demand Musk work a 40-hour week at Tesla
New York | London | A group of large pension funds has demanded that Elon Musk commit to work at least 40 hours a week at Tesla, calling for corporate governance reforms to address a 'crisis' at the carmaker. The letter sent to Tesla chair Robyn Denholm on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) was signed by 12 long-term institutional investors including the New York City Comptroller, the American Federation of Teachers, as well as European funds such as Denmark's AkademikerPension. Together they manage about $US950 billion ($1.5 billion) in assets. Financial Times
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
In an Era of Mistrust on Health Information, Employers Are Key
Regina Bell of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) speaks at the rally at the U.S. Capitol on April 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Credit - Jemal Countess—Getty Images/ Fair Share America In an era of growing mistrust, employers hold a unique position of influence. They remain among the most trusted institutions, particularly by their own employees. According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, workers consider businesses to be twice as competent as the U.S. government in providing credible information—outpacing nonprofits and the media as well. People want to make informed decisions based on reliable information, and they're increasingly open to receiving that information from their employers. This trend is not new. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers stepped up to fill an information void. They provided accurate, timely health guidance on everything from indoor air quality to vaccine safety. For instance, Amazon—the nation's second-largest employer—invested heavily in direct employee engagement to promote vaccination. These efforts went beyond emails or posters; they included one-on-one outreach, peer-to-peer advocacy, and mobile vaccination units. Today, even as health concerns evolve, Amazon continues this model with daily wellness huddles and injury-prevention discussions across its warehouses. As we move beyond the pandemic, the need for trusted health communication remains urgent. Employers are well-positioned to continue this work, not just because of their trustworthiness, but because they have a vested interest in healthier, more informed employees. Healthy workers are more productive, miss fewer days, and contribute to lower healthcare costs—an ongoing concern for many companies. Likewise, educated employees are more likely to understand and make efficient use of increasingly expensive employer-sponsored health benefits. One survey conducted by UnitedHealthcare found that 56% of workers with access to effective employer health promotion programs reported fewer sick days, a finding that has been replicated in multiple geographies. Other evidence has shown that employers earn $3.27 back in direct medical costs more for every $1 spent on wellness programs, which directly increase employee knowledge and engagement in nutrition and health-related topics. While the need for effective health communication remains, many traditional sources are vanishing. Investments in public health campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels have shrunk—or are disappearing altogether. This void, combined with the rise of online misinformation, means that if employers don't speak up, employees may turn instead to social media algorithms, self-proclaimed wellness influencers, or podcasters. Read More: What the New 'Make America Healthy Again' Report Says About Children's Health Employers can't afford to be passive. They must actively identify the pressing health challenges their workforce faces—from mental health struggles and poor air quality due to wildfires, to new treatments such as GLP-1 weight-loss medications. With thoughtful, engaging strategies, they can ensure credible, science-based information reaches their workforce. It may feel like a daunting task in today's polarized climate, but many employers—and unions—are already rising to the challenge. Kim Thibodeaux, head of the Northeast Business Group on Health, which represents the health interests of nearly 80 of the nation's largest employers, is prioritizing investing in scalable ways to provide trusted health information content to employer partners. We are partnering with Kim and her team to provide timely, accurate, digestible health information on a range of topics in an omnichannel format. In a similar vein, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) with over 2 million members nationwide, has begun offering free, monthly national town halls to their membership and general public to discuss topics such as perimenopause, ADHD, youth mental health, and measles with topical national experts like the recent past American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Ben Hoffman. Social media is leveraged to the fullest extent, with 30-40 second, high-impact sound bites from town halls or Q&As shared widely across Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms to improve reach. As public trust erodes and traditional health communication channels falter, the workplace remains a widely trusted space. Employers and unions who embrace this responsibility can become powerful agents of public health—helping their people make informed decisions, combat misinformation, and feel seen and supported in the process. By investing in credible, creative, and consistent health messaging, employers have the power to not only improve health outcomes but also rebuild faith in science and institutions—and in each other. The question is no longer whether employers should play this role, but how quickly they can rise to meet it. Contact us at letters@
Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Judge blocks Trump's orders to dismantle the Education Department and fire employees
A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's executive order to dismantle the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. The administration said it would challenge the ruling. US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out plans announced in March that sought to work toward Trump's goal to shut down the department. It marks a setback to one of the Republican president's campaign promises. The ruling came in two consolidated lawsuits that said Trump's plan amounted to an illegal closure of the Education Department. One suit was filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts along with the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups. The other suit was filed by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general. The suits argued that layoffs left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws. In his order, Joun said the plaintiffs painted a 'stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America's most vulnerable student populations.' Layoffs of that scale, he added, 'will likely cripple the Department. The idea that Defendants' actions are merely a 'reorganization' is plainly not true.' Hours later, the Trump administration appealed the ruling. 'Once again, a far-left Judge has dramatically overstepped his authority, based on a complaint from biased plaintiffs, and issued an injunction against the obviously lawful efforts to make the Department of Education more efficient and functional for the American people,' spokesperson Madi Biedermann said in a statement. Joun ordered the Education Department to reinstate federal workers who were terminated as part of the March 11 layoff announcement. That announcement led to the firing of about 1,300 people. Some Education Department employees have left through buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees, which combined with the layoffs have reduced the staff to roughly half the 4,100 the department had when Trump took office. 'Today's order means that the Trump administration's disastrous mass firings of career civil servants are blocked while this wildly disruptive and unlawful agency action is litigated,' said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which represents plaintiffs in the Somerville case. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called the decision 'a first step to reverse this war on knowledge and the undermining of broad-based opportunity.' The administration has said the layoffs are aimed at efficiency, not a department shutdown. Trump has called for the closure of the agency but recognizes it must be carried out by Congress, the government said. The administration said restructuring the agency 'may impact certain services until the reorganization is finished' but it's committed to fulfilling its statutory requirements.
