PHILOSOPHY of EDUCATION SOCIETY

February 2010 Update

Home
Conference
Membership
Publications
Archive
Resources

Election, Dues and On-line Access to Articles - Jeffrey Milligan

Please pay special attention to President Audrey Thompson's comments below regarding important developments that potentially affect the 2010 Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

2010 Conference Registration remains open. On-line conference registration will close, however approximately one week before the conference. You can always register on site in San Francisco after that date.

If you would like to reserve space in a student room ($25/night, up to four to a room), contact me at jmilligan@fsu.edu.

If you have not done so already, please log in to our secure payment system and renew your membership for 2009-2010.

**NOTE: There is a small glitch in the on-line dues payment. It should be repaired today (2/26). If, after logging in and clicking the "pay dues" button, you come to a blank screen, just add the following to the web address at the top of the blank page ?state=718 and then hit "enter." That should take you to the proper page. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need assistance.**

It does have the forgotten password feature, and you can pay with a credit card -Visa or Master Card. Check payments are also available, but use the on-line system nevertheless. If you have forgotten whether you paid or not, log in and check under the Membership tab. You can also take this time to update your address and other information. I have sent reminders to those whose memberships expired in 2009 or 2008. Many of you responded right away. Thanks! If you have put it off, however, please renew your membership on-line or at the conference.

We also need to elect a new member of the Executive Board to replace Cris Mayo, whose term expires with the 2010 conference. Barb Stengel and Ron Glass have agreed to stand for election.

To cast your vote: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G2YZYVK

And thank you Cris for your service.

Finally, Joyce Atkinson and her team at UIUC are pleased to announce that all Yearbook articles up to the most recently published Yearbook are now available on-line HERE Thank you Joyce for your work on this initiative.

Message from the President - Audrey Thompson

Dear colleagues,

Gert Biesta (the 2010 PES program chair), Susan Verducci (the San Francisco hospitality chair), and I, along with Jeff Milligan and the members of the Executive Board, all look forward to seeing you at the spring PES meeting in San Francisco.  The meeting will be held April 8–12, at the Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf.  Unfortunately, we have learned that there is ongoing labor dispute involving the hotel.  In mid-September, the Board was contacted by a representative of the San Francisco workers’ union.  We were told that, for a year (but subsequent to PES signing the hotel contract), the union had been in unsuccessful negotiations with the hotel to move the unionization process from a secret ballot to the majority sign-up process.  The hotel workers are not on strike;  however, because of the dispute, the union is requesting that PES boycott the hotel.

We are hoping that the impasse will be broken and that management will come to an agreement satisfactory to the majority of workers by the time of the PES conference.  We have informed management that, should there be a strike, we believe that many of our members will refuse to cross the picket line.  In addition, individual members may choose to stay elsewhere, pending resolution of the dispute.

Although individual members may choose to boycott the hotel, however, the Board decided that PES would not do so as an organization.  We considered several options, but decided that, without a clear mandate from the membership, it was not our prerogative to cancel the contract with the hotel.  This does not mean that we think that PES does not have an institutional responsibility to address the labor issue (more on this below).

Here is the situation as we understand it, along with our collective thinking about the decision-making process and our suggestions about how to proceed in the future.  San Francisco is a pro-union city, with all but two hotels unionized.  “Unite Here!” has sought to unionize the remaining two hotels, the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf and the Meridien.  The union representatives claim that a majority of workers favor a boycott of the hotel because it rejects the card-check process in favor of the secret ballot process.  Hyatt representatives claim that the majority of workers do not wish to be unionized and view the public or card-check process as coercive;  they favor the secret ballot process.

For purposes of the 2010 meeting, the Board determined that the appropriate course of action to take would be to consider alternative means by which the union could be supported, including writing letters, sending personal checks, and having individuals make alternative accommodations if they prefer.  The financial penalty for breaking our contract with the Hyatt is severe:  $44,000.  This is half of our entire bank account.  In addition to the immediate financial impact on PES, the breaking of the contract would make it a great deal harder for future PES presidents to negotiate hotel contracts without even larger penalties being attached.  Although the Board is sympathetic to the union, we also feel keenly our responsibility to the Philosophy of Education Society.  Among the concerns raised were sustaining the financial health of the organization in order to maintain a forum for philosophers of education in the long term, recognizing that the funds that have been raised on behalf of the organization over the years were meant to be used for this purpose, and honoring the collective will of the membership with regard to hotel labor disputes (we will provide a process for this at the 2010 meetings).

The Board recognizes that labor disputes involving PES conference hotels are not simply a personal question on which individual members might wish to take a stand.  The conference is an institutional commitment, and hotel workers are indispensable to the success of the conference each year.  Educational organizations such as ours have a responsibility to decide what our investments are in the conditions we count on, where we will draw the line, what sacrifices we need to be prepared to make, and what our work supports or does not support in our relations with other social, political, and educational organizations.  However, PES has not had ongoing conversations about the institutional obligations we want to undertake with regard to labor (or other) disputes, and we do not at present have a process for making proactive decisions.

The union has provided us with recommendations for future contracts.  The Board plans to provide the PES membership with these materials as well as other information as the basis for an extended discussion.  We need to talk about strategies for the future, and we also need to think about what it means for this situation to erupt as a crisis.  How does the Society approach the possibility and perhaps likelihood of such conflicts in a forward-looking way?

Although the process we are considering could take a number of forms, at least part of the process will include a formally organized, PES-sponsored forum at the San Francisco meeting.  Gert Biesta and I are discussing how best to plan this forum so that it represents something different from, say, an extended business meeting.  With your help, we would like to lay the groundwork for collective decision making on the part of PES about our institutional responsibilities.  We look forward to your contributions at the meeting, and we also invite your ideas in advance of the meeting.  Meantime, we look forward to seeing powerful philosophical work on these and other urgent questions that confront us as scholars and educators.

A Message from the Program Chair - Gert Biesta

Over the past months the 16 members of the program committee have worked hard to review a large number of papers and an even larger number of proposals for alternative sessions. After careful consideration we have selected 29 marvellous papers which, together with a substantial number of alternative panel sessions, topical discussions, work-in-progress conversations, and not to forget the Kneller Lecture by Lorraine Code, will make the 2010 conference into an exciting and inspiring event. There will be presentations from across the whole spectrum of philosophy of education, some engaging with familiar topics, others introducing new concerns, issues and philosophical perspectives. The program will be on the website soon. I am looking forward to seeing you all in San Francisco. Join the conversation!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to get in touch (gert.biesta@stir.ac.uk).

Hospitality Committee - Susan Verducci

In 2010, PES returns to one of America's favorite and most beautiful cities, San Francisco. Our annual meeting will be held in the heart of the city in the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf. Our room rate for the conference is $169.00 a night. Be sure to reserve your room before March 17th, as you will not be guarateed the room rate after that date! There are two methods for reserving.

1. You may contact the Hyatt Reservation Department at 1.888.421.1442 and mention that you are with PES.  For reference, our contracted rate is $169 per night.

2. Alternatively, you can reserve directly online via the Hyatt Regency website at the following link:

https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=1467006

If you have never been to San Francisco, you are in for a treat. If you are returning, you know what a treat you are in for. The natural beauty of the city is stunning, and Fisherman's Wharf is San Francisco's most popular destination. There is plenty to do in this centrally and ideally located area.

Of course, you will need to eat. Choices in dining range from street stands along the water serving fresh crab cocktails to bakeries with hot sourdough loaves filled with rich New England clam chowder to four-star restaurants like Gary Danko. You can watch chocolate being made at the Chiradelli Chocolate factory as you enjoy their sinful Ice Cream Sundays. Abundant pleasures of the body will surely complement the way PES sessions stretch your mind.

Although you can find everything you need within walking distance, those who want a quintessential San Francisco experience can simply step out of the hotel and onto a cable car and ride up and down the ridiculously steep streets of the city. Nearby Chinatown, North Beach (the Italian section of the city), and Union Square (a shopping Mecca) are destinations full of interesting sights and good food. You might also want to bundle up and walk across the Golden Gate Bridge or head to Marin's redwood-filled Muir Woods for a hike. Luckily, Japantown's Cherry Blossom Festival will be held on the Saturday and Sunday of the conference for members who want to celebrate Japanese and Japanese-American culture.

You can also see the city while floating on the bay. Take a ferry to the quaint town of Sausalito or simply park yourself on a Bay cruise and enjoy the city amidst a fleet of weekend boaters. The boat tour to Alcatraz Island leaves from Fisherman's Wharf and combines a ride on the water with one of the best tours in the area.

Finally, you won't want to miss the raucous barking sea lions at Peir 39. They provide the most unique experience the city has to offer.

A note on the weather: San Francisco in April is typically beautiful. The days tend to be sunny, dry and fog-free. This year, however, has not started out to be typical. Storms in the San Francisco Bay area have drenched us and ripped trees up by their roots. So, although we cannot be sure that it is sunny, you can be sure that it is safe to ditch your winter parkas, as the temperature tends to be warm, even if it is raining.

This year's hospitality committee is composed of both PES veterans and relative newcomers. If you are interested in helping us make PES members feel welcomed at the conference, please let me know. Hospitality committee members include: Josh Corngold, Michael Katz, Anne Newman, Ron Glass, Jon Dolle, Denis Phillips, Megan Boler and David Waddington. In addition to our presence at formal events, such as the new members' reception, where we will make a special effort to perform our 'welcoming' function, please don't hesitate to seek us out if you have questions, concerns or are in need of assistance.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference in April!

Interested in sharing a room? Please cut and paste the following url into the webpage address area on any website. (It will not work if you cut and paste into a search box) http://pes2010roomsharing.pbworks.com

For more information on the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf go to http://fishermanswharf.hyatt.com/. 

If you have any questions contact Susan Verducci at Susan.Verducci@sjsu.edu.

Announcements and New Books

ANNOUNCEMENTS

-A message from Gert Biesta, editor-in-chief of Studies in Philosophy and Education: Although there are legitimate questions to be asked about the Social Science Citations Index, I am aware that in some countries the SSCI plays an influential role in the politics of Higher Education. From that angle, I am pleased to announce that Studies in Philosophy and Education has been included in the SSCI from Volume 28 (2009) onwards.

-The Journal of Educational Controversy is pleased to announce that the issue dedicated to the life and work of Maxine Greene is now on line. The theme for the issue is "Art, Social Imagination and Democratic Education." Readers can find the journal at http://www.wce.wwu.edu/Resources/CEP/eJournal/v005n001/

The journal would like to draw readers' attention to an innovation that was introduced with this issue. In place of one of the printed articles, we are providing the reader with a slide show of a child's artistic drawings, with the author's voice describing to the readers the significance of what they are viewing in the child's work. The author traces the motifs found consistently in the child's drawings over the course of several years so the reader/viewer can gain insight into the child's imaginative communities, values and dreams. Look for the second screen on the table of contents. We invite our readers to contribute formal refereed responses to our Rejoinder Section or more spontaneous responses to our journal's blog at http://journalofeducationalcontroversy.blogspot.com/

NEW BOOKS

-Biesta, Gert J.J. (2010). Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Philosophy. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers [hardback released January 2010; paperback to be released Summer 2010]

-Fendler, Lynn (Feb. 2010). Michel Foucault. Continuum Library of Educational Thought, Richard Bailey, Series Editor. UK: Continuum.

-Kunzman, Robert. Write these Laws on your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling. (Beacon Press, 2009). http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2047

-Ibanez-Martin, Jose Antonio. Educacion, conocimiento y justicia. Ed. Dykinson, Madrid, 2009. ISBN 978-84-9849-389-4

-Siegel, Harvey. The Oxford Handbook to Philosophy of Education. http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Philosophy/Social/?view=usa&view=usa&ci=9780195312881

IN MEMORIUM

Ben Spiecker

(Over the past few months I have received notice of the deaths of prominent members, former members and friends of the Society. I have passed that information on to the membership via e-mail. However, I think it appropriate to reserve a small space in the Update to mark the passing of individuals who have been important to the Society and to Philosophy of Education. In the future, if you will notify me when I call for Update announcements of such an individual's death, along with a link to more information about them, I will include it in the newsletter. Dwight Boyd has just informed me of Ben Spiecker's death. I do not have any further information, but perhaps Dwight does.

CONTACT: PES Executive Director Jeffrey Ayala Milligan
850-644-8171; milligan@coe.fsu.edu