Monthly Archives: March 2014

STOP!

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We have been on one crazy trajectory for 30 years and it is time to stop!

It was never supposed to be like this in education reform but very few Americans know the history behind No Child Left Behind (NCLB) so they don’t see it as the Core of the problem. There is a very, very brief outline found on the Independent Temporary Education Movement (ITEM) Actions website. But, here is the short of it:

The real problem with the “outcome-based theory” occurred on a national scale when NCLB became the first reauthorization of ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) to mandate yearly standardized tests, for all students in grades 3-8 and once in high school, in order to establish a national accountability structure requiring the labeling of schools based on standardized test scores.

National “accountability”? Really? How did that work out for US?

That is why we must STOP and change the law because it is our duty. Petition the White House for a response (sorry, the petition is gone?). NOW! We only have until April 16th to get 100,000 signatures! (Update: we failed.)1796523_626373187411401_1384101833_n

Read more of the story about the petition at EducationNews.org or TruthOut. The issue is non-partisan. All “sides” need to take action.

Congress has not done their duty; we must if we wish to make things better for children in classrooms now. Let the president know that THAT is the fierce urgency of NOW!

“AVERAGE”

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For a little change of pace, and to re-focus on where our efforts in education reform should be, here is a student-authored, anonymous poem.

I don’t cause teachers trouble,
My grades have been OK.
I listen in my classes,
And I’m in school every day.

My teachers say I’m average,
My parents think so too.
I wish I didn’t know that,
Cause there’s lots I’d like to do.

I’d like to build a rocket,
I’ve a book that tells you how,
And start a stamp collection,
Well, no use in trying now.

Cause since I found I’m average,
I’m just smart enough to see,
It means there’s nothing special,
That I should expect of me.

Nobody ever sees me,
Because I’m in between,
Those two standard deviations,
On each side of the mean.

I’m part of the majority,
That “hump” part of the bell,
Who spends his life unnoticed,
In an “average” kind of hell.

Volume Control

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Ever testify at a public forum? If you are an education activist, at some point you will have to do so because that is part of how we “govern” schools — based on political decorum.

The Common Core issue in Idaho revealed a whole other aspect of how our representative form of governing education “works” and how the voice of the People is controlled.

Knowing there was growing discontent with the Core, instead of the usual open “hearing,” our Idaho lawmakers decided to convene a panel supposedly based on the idea that it would give “citizens a chance to ask questions on that issue.”

The public was allowed to submit questions ahead of time “so the panelists could research and prepare their answers.” It was reported that over 200 people attended the exhibition and many of us watched online. It was all very controlled. No debate or real discussion ensued and there was not enough time to answer all the questions. That should have made lawmakers wonder.

A week later, a “listening session” was scheduled for lawmakers to hear what the people had to say about upcoming education policies but at that time – no policies had been written — for the public to review. And it was made clear that “People may address the committee on any education topic except Common Core.” Just as it was made clear that at the Common Core session “No public testimony will be taken.”

This type of action by officials is effective volume control. The real pro’s and con’s on Common Core from the People’s perspective has yet to be heard openly for the undecided but caring in Idaho to hear for themselves.

And it seems to have become common practice to limit “speech” to three minutes. On the surface, it seems practical. If there is a multitude of people feeling so strongly about a topic that they come to the statehouse or board meeting, how else do they all get a chance to be heard? Think about it, “a” chance. And in those situations, is the “panel” – be they lawmakers or a school board – really listening?

Instead journalistic glimpses are seen or heard allowing the dissenters to become open prey for the propagandists who have the microphone.

Turn it up!

Turn it up!

The only option left for dissenters is to turn up the volume.