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Precinct Organizing 101
One of the many, many great things about the internet, is that it aids the free flow of educational materials throughout the world to people who would otherwise be unable to connect with these resources.
One of the many, many great things about blogging, is that it allows us a place to discuss the materials we find, refine our opinions, argue premise, et cetera. Website such as this one are the classroom. Blogs are the blackboards.
One of the many, many great things about the intersection of these two entities, is that we don't have to reinvent the wheel each and every day. And to that extent, I wonder if this is how folks felt when Mr. Guttenberg invented the printing press.
What all of this is leading up to, is a diary entry on Daily Kos, by MarionCountyDemocrat on How To Organize A Precinct. Marion County refers to Democrats in her piece, but these principles can, of course, be applied to organize the party of your choice. To read the entire entry (and please do) go here.
I have reprinted her list of excellent recommendations here, and ask that you bookmark this page or add these to your growing compendium of political skills files:
Here's how I believe a precinct should be organized:
1.) Get a list of all the registered Democrats in the targeted precinct (from your local supervisor of elections, or whoever managed elections in your county - in Florida the state party has provided each county party a way to access this information quickly and easily.)
2.) Take the list of registered Democrats, and pull out those Democrats who have voted in 4 out of the last 4 elections (including primaries.) These are committed Democrats.
3.) Get a team together (hopefully a county party's precinct committee or whichever person or institution that should be dealing with this, again if there is such an entity.) Find a central meeting place and prepare for a meetup.
4.) Send out a snail mail invitation (preferably hand-written, sorry, but this is far more likely to get read) to all the "4/4" Democrats to the meetup.
5.) Coordinate a phone bank to call all of these active Democrats to coincide with the arrival of the snail mail and encourage them to attend.
6.) At the meetup, discuss the need to organize the precinct and how it figures into the larger Democratic strategy. Set some dates for a few (3-4) more meetups.
7.) At the subsequent meetups, discuss local issues and ideas on how to solve them, invite candidates to come speak - and always have free food. Hopefully, some leaders might emerge.
8.) At the final county party sponsored meetup, ask the group to elect a captain and turn over control of the small organization to the captain. But don't just walk away! Always have something there for the precinct captain to fall back on and get support from within the county party.
She has made a great list to help us all be involved, but she makes this important point in:
However, I don't think anyone would argue that the best way to organize a precinct is for someone interested to come forward and agree to stop complaining, and start leading.
And isn't that what we are always complaining about? If we don't have leaders then WE need to lead. It really is as simple as that.
WE are the people we have been waiting for.
I happened to catch a few minutes of snooze on Lamestream media last night. There has been one crackdown on a company (did they say 'German owned'?) in the US that hires illegal immigrants. The company big-wigs were rounded up and taken off to jail in handcuffs, and the illegal immigrants were taken off to "detention centers" that are now "over-crowded." Looks like Halliburton's new "illegal immigrant detention centers" are now going to be used, eh? "Build it and they will come" takes on a whole 'nuther meaning....
Oh, not to mention the child molesters who were caught in the illegal immigrant roundup at the same time, and they will be deported, too. That was the 'side benefit' of the illegal immigrat raids on the companies. Godzilla was flapping his gums about it, but I confess to ignoring what he was saying and changing channels, 'cuz it sounded like he was justifying the illegal wiretaps on top of it all....
Then there's the new legislative proposal about the internet.... I've gotten two emails about that now.... {Frown....}
FORREST GUMP'S EVIL TWIN
Stephen Pizzo, News for Real
America at large is starting to realize -- finally -- that president Bush is exactly as stupid as he looks, sounds and acts.
http://www.alternet.org/story/35238/
William Fisher: Getting Closer to the Top?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042106Z.shtml
In less than a month, we may finally get to hear from the army general who ordered commanders at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison to "get dogs." Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who ran the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and then was sent to Iraq to "Gitmo-ize" Abu Ghraib, has been ordered to testify in the trial of a military dog handler.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060421/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/no_child_spellings
Spellings to Examine 'No Child' Loophole
Cool thread. Time to wash the spots from OUR nations reputation.
101 Damnations
NonnyO: I clicked on the NCLB link and found this horror:
"We ought to do more about that," Spellings said in an interview Thursday at the conclusion of a four-day AP series that highlighted the excluded scores.
She declined to specify exactly how she will address the problem, saying it will come up during the law's renewal next year and during current federal reviews of state education plans. "I'm going to pay very close attention to it," she said of the racial exclusions.
Spellings said the AP report amounted to a "truth-in-advertising" exercise for state policymakers, parents and federal officials. The AP found that about 1.9 million students — or about 1 in every 14 test scores — aren't being counted under the law's racial categories.
Schools are allowed to exclude math and reading scores when a racial group is too small to be statistically significant, and when privacy of students could be jeopardized. But states have also been excluding scores to reduce their chances of being labeled a failing school and facing federal penalties, according to education experts who study the law.
****
I cannot even begin to imagine what we are creating in our next generations. But in a conversation I was having recently with my 17-year old, as I asked him about his homework and why he was able to complete it in five minutes, he said, "MOM, it's PUBLIC school."
So for kids who read and are brought up to be empowered learners, school is just like kindergarten. And for kids who fall off the path due to poverty and possibly even learning difficulties, we simply ignore them on every level.
And in the future, these policies lead to: ________
Fill in the blank.
Karen
One of my child clients came in here really tired after school yesterday - he said "WASL is destroying me." (Those are the mandated exams)
More:
Scientists condemn US as emissions of greenhouse gases hit record level
And apparently the head of the EPA said "The U.S. is making significant progress toward the president's greenhouse-gas reduction goals." ??
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article358583.ece
Dare to dream...
http://tinyurl.com/nc4j8
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." - Sinclair Lewis
Standardized testing is my normal field of work. In my personal opinion, there is nothing the test shows that any parent or teacher doesn't already know.
1. Mastery. Gifted children easily prove mastery on these standardized tests.
2. Average student. These students are the norm. On any day, some may pass and some may fail. These tests simply show various things like: Did the student eat before taking the test? Did the student sleep well before? Did the student make an attempt to answer the question. On a bad day, they may surprise the teacher and fail.
3. Below average student. Same questions as above. On a good day, they may surprise the teacher and pass.
4. Not able to complete the task on par with grade expectations. Does not understand the task or can not complete the task with any proficiency.
So...with those in mind, students in categories 2 and 3 are the most vulnerable to passing or failing the test.
Do you really think the school system isn't already aware of this?
How much money could our government and school districts save and really help each child if they actually paid for more teachers and decreased class size? Think about the billions of dollars wasted!
Casey,
Thanks for that 'to do' list. I am a member of the WPActivists and I will see if they've got something organised along those lines. If not, perhaps that is where I can help locally.
I'm also a member of our local peace group too.
Plus, (muahahaha)... I've been directing friends, family, and coworkers towards working in their own neighborhood campaign. Admittedly, my hubby rolls his eyes when I get started, but all his progressive friends are now firmly planted in campaigns against Tom Delay's lackeys.
Posted by: karen at April 21, 2006 02:37 PM
Yes, that section of the article horrified me, too. Just goes to prove what we've known all along about statistics: they can be manipulated.
Since I first heard about these "standardized tests" and how the teachers spend a huge amount of time teaching the students what they'll have to know to pass those "standardized tests" I've realized the public school system is quashing whatever intellectual curiousity and natural desire to learn any students might have. The teachers must stick to teaching what the kids need to know to pass the mandatory tests, and the students can't veer off that track or they'll fail the standardized tests.
I may have a jaded view of the whole thing. If I were a student nowadays, my mind would wither in boredom. For someone like me who was born asking questions and who has not (so far, at age 60) stopped asking questions, it's all very well to be given the guidelines, but once those are learned, it's time to move on to something else, or look at the topics from a different angle. Learning by rote was never my strong point - questions I might have don't get answered and there's no room for 'original thinking processes' in those situations. Whatever drawbacks there were to one-room schoolhouses, it was a distinct advantage for someone like me. Even in first grade, by eavesdropping on what the fourth graders were learning, I instinctively understood how what I was learning in first grade was going to be needed and applied when I got to fourth grade.
The whole idea of learning only what is necessary and needed to pass standardized test sounds limiting, and sounds like it involves more intellectual boredom that I could ever have dealt with. I'm glad I"m not in grade school or high school now....
monkey:
Where is Helen Dalmation now that we need her?
and who is this ann hedonia person and why is she spending so much time hanging around me these days,
Otter
NonnyO,
As far as I know, the teachers get information from the state about the test. These guidelines can be posted on the walls. Whatever has been posted there for 30 days prior to the test may stay there even during the test.
Not fair you say? Well, too bad. Even with those poster kids are not 'passing' the tests because it boils down to what they would be able to do anyway.
To teach to the test is also to teach to pretty high standards. But there are 'interesting' things that can trip up a student that may not be a part of their normal daily class. This 'noice' as the industry refers to it, is placed there specifically to catch those who are into nuances or lack higher skills.
So the bar is high. But it's also designed to not let all the students succeed without higher skills.
And on that confusing note, I'm going to retire. I'm going to look for some more books to donate to NOLA. (Do I mail them to someone or is it better to mail a check and instead donate my books to a different library or community center?)
Hmm.
I'm scoring standardized tests right now. Did it last year too. It's an interesting experience. Probably shouldn't share my thoughts on an open blog though.
Probably shouldn't share my thoughts on an open blog though.
Posted by: Veritas at April 21, 2006 11:22 PM
Since when?
What can you tell me about this breaking news about Condi Rice?
Condoleezza Rice Implicated in New Leak Scandal
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042106Y.shtml
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaked national defense information to a pro-Israel lobbyist in the same manner that landed a lower-level Pentagon official a 12-year prison sentence, the lobbyist's lawyer said Friday.
Will it stick?!
Re tests
I've been seeing kids all week who are coming from a day of WASL tests. The kids themselves are extremely negative on the experience, as are the teachers & parents - & quite open about it. What is the point - schools that don't do well lose funding? If so, it's a plot to decrease government committment to education.
Then at the garage, got into my car, turned on the radio & I heard a voice talking about "science and technology" - lo & behold, it was our Commander & Chief & he sounded like he was on some kind of downers, reading off a piece of paper, talking about how we needed to be able to compete in the global marketplace.
from AP/Guardian:
"I know the folks here are suffering at the gas pump," the president said. (snip) "Rising gasoline prices is like taking a - is like a tax, particularly on the working people and the small-business people."
"If we find any price gouging it will be dealt with firmly."
(which is worse? gouging or leaking?)
Crude-oil prices broke through $75 a barrel Friday amid concerns about the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions, rebel disruptions of oil production in Nigeria, and tight U.S. gasoline supplies. Analysts say they are likely to climb even higher.
(snip)
Bush's poll ratings are at their lowest point. Hundreds of protesters called for his resignation near the Cisco compound where he spoke.
(snip)
When Bush turned the microphone at Cisco over to Schwarzenegger, the governor said, "First of all, I want to say congratulations."
`"For what?" asked the president, appearing genuinely surprised.
(snip_
One reason for a weekend trip with a lot of downtime in beautiful places became clear even before Bush boarded Air Force One to leave Washington. Crew were seen loading two shiny mountain bikes - one a red-white-and-blue Trek adorned with the presidential seal and ``United States of America.'' With stays scheduled in picturesque Napa Valley and the Palm Springs area, the bikes weren't likely to remain clean for long.
``Tomorrow I'm going to be riding my bike in Napa Valley. I can't wait,'' Bush told his Cisco audience.
Posted by: Veritas at April 21, 2006 11:22 PM
Smart!
Yes, my words were intentionally general.
Posted by: not my president at April 21, 2006 11:38 PM
Isn't that the same exact words he said for the leaks in his administration regarding Valerie Plame?
About standardized testing and test scoring.
I’ll play Devil’s Advocate and say if the local teachers had a hand in approving standards then they may prove useful. The big problem is another anonymous body develops the tests and they are dumped on the schools.
Here is how it goes for one test standard. I may have told this before.
Arizona’s standardized test is Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) which was to be used before NCLB pooped all over everything. AIMS is supposed to measure student achievements. Well, guess what, yours truly who is a math and science geek was working for a commercial software company and was the project manager on this project. We had very little guidelines but do have child psychologists and educator resources because standardized testing for companies is our business.
So we made up a straw student as a demo and presented it to the Arizona board of Education. This was a demo, made up of questions written mainly by me as a demo to show how we were doing. Arizona paid us and said they would come up with appropriate questions. We would implement them and collect more money. There was never any more dialog with them. This test which had no input from local schools was used for several years before someone at the School Board finally listened to me and updated the test themselves. The complaint was the difficult math and science portions. Of course they were difficult as they were written at way to high a level for average high school kids. They were written for honor students who did quite well.
The second comment is about test scoring. Years later, Minnesota high school students were failing at record levels. The test scoring was done by my employer. I took over this project and found the wrong keys were used. When we do scoring, we always gave the school the total number of students that fail each question to see if there are specific question problems. The company decided not to do this as a cost saving issue. When I reran the scoring with the wrong keys, almost every student failed every question. When we used the correct keys, we got a nice normal distribution of student scores. Our company wanted to cover it up but I refused and contacted the Minnesota Board of Education. The schools went ahead and failed the students anyway. The parents rebelled; we were sued and spent millions on settlements. I was fired for being not loyal. I invoked whistle-blower, got a nice settlement and moved on. Years later, the same company hired me as a part-time consultant because they screwed up again.
More on the Condi Rice "leak" story:
Spokesperson denies it
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1152AP_Pentagon_Spy_Probe.html
Lawrence A. Franklin, former Pentagon official - 12 years in prison
Con Rice, current Secretary of state - a big zippo
This story won't see the light of day.
Posted by: not my president at April 21, 2006 11:38 PM
Which is worse, gouging or leaking? Must be gouging, nothing was done about the leaking. Heh.