Linda in Connecticut is one of the regular commenters on the blog and also one of the wittiest. She often makes me laugh out loud.
But her last comment was serious, and other readers responded positively. She said we should write a letter to the President. And she wrote a draft indicating what she thought it should contain.
Here’s the thing. President Obama is preferable to Mitt Romney, who would dismantle public education without a second thought. But Obama has so demoralized teachers that many may sit home or not encourage family and friends to vote. The teachers who feel betrayed by this president might cost him the election. He doesn’t seem to have noticed.
So the letter must help him change his policies so that teachers feel excited about him again.
What do you think of Linda’s letter?
In this atmosphere of teacher bashing, it’s imperative for teachers to go on the offensive and come up with their own answers. I too am incredibly disappointed with President Obama and have refused to send money this time around (But I will vote for him – what choice do I have?)
For me, a far better approach would be to stress what we know in regard to the education of impoverished kids and then ask the President to support these measures. We need to remind him that he wanted to be the “data president” but he is in fact ignoring over 50 years of data on education. He is also ignoring what we know from countries such as Canada and Finland. Everything about Canada is so similar to the USA that there should be no reason why we trail them in education. Let’s just find out what they do and copy it.( Oh, I forgot that our country doesn’t do that. Sorry).
So basically I would like us to ask President Obama if he would take the common sense applied to the education of his own daughters and apply it to other children, at least to some degree. He needs to be reminded that other kids also need good health care, two teachers to a room (with one being experienced) low class size and an enriching curriculum devoid of a year of test-prep. We need to remind him of the voluminous research that informs us of the critical importance of the child’s first five years of life. He needs to be reminded that testing experts have told us repeatedly that test scores correlate with the socioeconomic status of the child and not the perfomance of a teacher. To evaluate a teacher fairly other professionals must be personally familiar with the progress of the students in her class. I’m certain he is smart enough to know that this can’t be done with one whole group test!!! ( But Arne Duncan doesn’t seem all that bright and likely does not understand the function and limitations of standardized tests. I’d be willing to bet that he thinks the kids at Sidwell Friends score above the 90th percentile because they have “good” teachers while the kids in Chicago public schools have low scores because they have “bad” teachers).
And of course I’m certain the President knows that our American habit of educating kids by zip code is a national disgrace that has to stop now. Is there something he could do to support low-income housing in ALL communities? Could he stop our American tradition of placing the least experienced teachers in schools located in the poorest neighborhoods? How about open enrollment for all public schools?
About twenty years ago I sent a letter to the Department of Education telling them that we need to have high quality preschool for all impoverished children so as to get them ready for formal education. I received a reply from an “aide” who told me that “everyone” suggests that. If this is the case why don’t we do this one thing to help our least privileged children?
It’s time for parents, professors and teachers to go on the offensive. There is a mountain of research telling us what to do. How about a letter citing that research and asking the President to respond to the data?
(Yes, I’ve done it myself but my writing skills never get more than a form letter in response. A better writer needs to do it.)
I’d suggest being very careful about what is asked for, because what appears to be in store for preschoolers is very academically oriented and based on a pushed down standards in the Common Core, which is not developmentally appropriate.
Also, I recently ran across info indicating that ALEC wants open enrollment legislation, and whenever they want something, I think we really need to ask why they support it and how the elite would benefit from it.
The elite would set up Charter schools or private schools which wouldn’t be required to follow the standards. They would also set up at least 50% of the population as not having the intelligence or the ability to run the country or corporations as well as they could. White minority could control minority majority.
Sorry, would you please explain the open enrollment legislation? And in Chicago we are hearing that efforts to privatize preschool education are quickly coming to fruition, with three assessments a year for three-year-olds and four assessments a year for four-year-olds.
It’s the DFER money, I’m afraid, and lots more where that came from… How are you going to argue with that? Who’s even trying? Certainly not the national AFT leadership, or the NEA state officers (like Paul Toner of Massachusetts) who are so far gone as to be fellows at the Aspen Institute.
Maybe Team Obama calculated that buying off a union endorsement is enough, and they won’t need the hearts or minds of rank and file teachers. They have started to include response boxes, in their funding pitches to holdouts who were maximum contributors in previous elections, and that’s where I’m directing my arguments. So far, no response.
Maybe they are correct in their calculation that they don’t need the individual campaign donations of teachers this time around, and maybe they have the cash on hand to just hire voter registration outreach, precinct walkers and phone bankers for the final push. God knows, people need the work.
Obama’s comments on Education Nation were very precisely scripted to avoid accidentally opposing the actual test-based accountability doctrine. In one instance, he’ll say he thinks teachers should be evaluated on “performance” so bad teachers can be fired. In another, he’ll bemoan “over-emphasis” on standardized tests. There’s no connection made.
Since Chicago, he’s been trying to triangulate a little by contrasting himself to Romney. Here’s how that spins on a CNN blog:
I’m vastly relieved the polls have turned against Romney, and the Republican Senate candidates. If we really had a party to support in the final push, though, I think we could take back the House. Any candidates for representative who have the guts to stand up to the corporate take over, please make yourselves known. Teachers are hungry to mobilize for you.
I’m 52, this is my 8th year teaching, I’ve voted Democratic POTUS 8 times in my life & for countless other Dems, and, I’m DONE.
I get sold out because I support sell outs with my vote, with a few bucks, with some doorbelling or sign waving or phone banking.
No more nickels of dimes, no more seconds of time, NO more votes.
in 2010 I voted “Medicare ForALL” in all state and federal races, and EVERY time there is a new sell out, I feel good! I did NOT vote for that!
BTW – I’m a math teacher and I worked in high tech during the dot.bomb => I know how to use excel. Adding the Nadar column to Gore’s votes in 2000 ignores the tens of millions who voted by staying home & declaring “a plague on both your houses”. I don’t vote fascist because I don’t vote sell out – like when I pick ginger ale over coke or pepsi.
You reminded my why I’m done checking off the names of cowards, liars and sell outs.
rmm.
I like/love the reference to Sidwell Friends… Very tired of private school folks “running” our public schools… But there are a few items— esp open enrollment for all public schools—that are “impossible”…
I do think Obama needs a letter, a wake up call… But as I have written he seems sorta clueless on the major good points Linda has noted.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
We have it worse. There is an administrator for the Catholic schools in Louisiana whom Bobby Jindal appointed to BESE (the policy making board). I find that akin to not only letting a fox sleep in the henhouse, but letting her raise her babies there. The Catholic schools get plenty of voucher money for their selected students too. In fact most of the voucher schools are Catholic.
I have sent numerous emails to the White House, but with no response. I too have not contributed money to his campaign this time around. I am very disappointed President Obama is listening to corporate America and disregarding the hardworking educators who try everyday to make a difference to children in America. I do think he may be surprised by the number of teachers who vote, and his disregard for their concerns may end up being a turning point for his election. We believed in him, but for some reason, he has chosen not to believe in teachers.
For whatever reason, I don’t believe that the President cares about the individual teachers. It makes me sad to say this much less think this. But one needs to look at the evidence. He’s not stupid. I’m sure once in a while he might read a letter from someone. Surely he watched Chicago at the very least.
Is he so insulated from the truth that he doesn’t realize what is going on?
Letters go unanswered. Duncan continues to push the agenda. Duncan is not President which leads me to believe Mr. Obama is in charge and Duncan is following what the President wants. Mr. Duncan serves at the pleasure of the President.
I want to believe that both parties are on different sides but it doesn’t look that way from where I am standing and no matter who is elected I think the education outcome for the country is going to be the same.
This does not mean I have given up. I will continue to use my voice and write letters but I am tired and feel beat down.
I love teaching. But it’s getting more and more difficult to stay the course.
My football players who are failing my science class all tell me, most very sincerely, that once football season is over they will get right to work on their science class! Maybe the President thinks that “As soon as the election is over, I will start really working on education.”
I’ve written both President Obama and Secretary Duncan on a couple of occasions. I would love to pick a day and time at which every teacher inAmerica would send an email t he Secretary demanding his resignation. That might say something to someone.
I agree Mike. There are over 3 million public school teachers. We need to do this. Linda’s letter has some great talking points. Let’s get this right.
Obama, like Clinton, buys into the MBA theory of school management whereby data should drive all decisions about schools…. and the easiest and cheapest data to collect comes from standardized achievement tests which provide seemingly exact measures of admittedly complicated procedures. Obama’s response to this would probably be something like: “We know these tests we use are less than perfect and we are working to improve them”. Tests aren’t going away any time soon. We need to put them in the proper context.
The real underlying problem with public education is that Obama, like Clinton before him and the Wall Street types and mainstream columnists, is a true believer in the free-market… the method used to determine the effectiveness of the private schools and elite public schools their children attend. Sidwell Friends is measured against other schools based on its desirability among those who can afford it just as Bronxville competes against Scarsdale and Larchmont as opposed to, say, New Rochelle. Obama and the “moderate” Democrats buy into the notion that the market should be applied to public schools across the board without changing the “local control” one iota…. in part because “local control” is part of the market. After all, the housing market is driven by “the public school market”: housing values are highest where schools are outstanding. It is the local control/market mentality that causes and exacerbates economic disparity. After all, Bronxville and Scardsdale residents not going to compromise the value of their homes by paying higher taxes so that residents in nearby cities and depressed suburban communities can have the same level of schools— because if the schools in all suburban NYC were of the same quality and all suburban schools were at the same quality level as urban schools then housing values would be more comparable across the board. This disparity is not new: Jonathan Kozol wrote about it in the late 1960s and continues to write about it today.
The only way to break this vicious market circle is to “name it” and appeal to voters sense of fair play when it comes to CHILDREN. No child asks to be born into a family on welfare in a economically deprived community… and yet we expect that child to compete with another child born into an affluent family where both families have college degrees. If we as a nation want to afford children born into poverty with an equal chance to advance economically, we need to provide them with the same learning opportunities as children born into affluence.
Good morning Diane…off to school soon. Thanks for the compliment. But, I can’t take credit for the letter. It was in the same thread, but I think it as the Linda Johnson who wrote it…check the NCLB thread. I did post about the hypocrisy of Obama asking all of us for money and how he is behind on the fundraising…..money shouldn’t matter, right Mr. President.
Congrats to Linda Johnson.
You do have another choice: Vote Green. Obama has made it clear that he is one of the Very Serious People (as Paul Krugman puts it), who has no interest in the New Deal. Obama has made it clear that he is with the Clinton’s and the DNC, which are pro-corporatist, pro-Wall Street.
Why are we surprised that our letters and other entreaties go unheeded? Obama picked Arne Ducnan to run the Department of Education, who brought us Race to the Top not a repeal of NCLB. Obama’s former chief of staff is Rahm Emanuel, who fought the CTU over privatizing Chicago’s schools the way he has been privatizing so much else of Chicago’s public services, while Obama sat on the sidelines. When Scott Walker attacked collective bargaining in WI, Obama did nothing. Obama already touts his re-election as a chance for “bipartisanship 2.0”; just think about how well we were served by version 1.0 These are the actions of a man who has little regard for the general public well being; this is a man of the elite, who believes that he and his cronies are superior and have little time to waste on the rest of the country.
Even Paul Krugman, noted how this election has become a referendum on the New Deal, but we can’t count on Obama honoring the public’s choice:
“[T]here is a sense in which the election is indeed a referendum, but of a different kind. Voters are, in effect, being asked to deliver a verdict on the legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society, on Social Security, Medicare and, yes, Obamacare, which represents an extension of that legacy. Will they vote for politicians who want to replace Medicare with Vouchercare, who denounce Social Security as “collectivist” (as Paul Ryan once did), who dismiss those who turn to social insurance programs as people unwilling to take responsibility for their lives?
If the polls are any indication, the result of that referendum will be a clear reassertion of support for the safety net, and a clear rejection of politicians who want to return us to the Gilded Age. But here’s the question: Will that election result be honored?”
Krugman goes on to note that Obama is very much in the sway of those who want to cut our social programs regardless of what the public wants–In short Obama may very well give the GOP what it’s wanted for decades.
I like to think that’s not the case, but after the last four years I have lost “hope”. The modern Democrats are just a less slightly radical version of the Republicans, but don’t be fooled: they share the same neo-classical economics and corporatist politics as the GOP. Obama and Romney really aren’t very different; that’s why the campaign has been so bizarre: If Obama ran as a traditional New Dealer, and made good on his promises to reform Wall Street and bring a real economic stimulus to bear, he’s be on his way to a landslide. But instead he and Romney campaign for a tiny fraction of the electorate in just a few states and claim it’s a tight race. It’s only a tight race, because Obama does not want to acknowledge traditional Democratic values. We’re just expected to vote for him–and against our own interests–because “we have no place to go”. In short, to Obama we’re nothing but hostages.
I wish you well in your effort to change Mr. Obama’s mind, but I think it’s time to vote for a party that will stand for what we need–The Greens. Jill Stein marched with the CTU; she supports universal health coverage, an end to the life support of the banksters, and real economic stimulus. This is the year to vote our morals an stop playing the Washington insider game.
I fear that if American teachers’ union members vote for Obama in this election, we will forever be ignored in policy decisions. The Democratic party should not be able to go on thinking that they can completely betray not only the teachers, but the real needs of middle class and impoverished children. Jill Stein ’12.
“I too am incredibly disappointed with President Obama and have refused to send money this time around (But I will vote for him – what choice do I have?)”
This sums it up for me- by boiling our “choices” down to only two viable options, we now have no real choices at all. As a teacher and a citizen, I have never felt as marginalized as I do by this coming election.
Look at the Greens this year. We have a choice to make a moral vote that will hopefully let the DNC, Obama, and the Clintons know they can’t just take the left for granted.
I, too, am saddened by the lack of response from our president. As a lifelong Democrat I will not support his campaign this time. Teachers are bullied and mistreated. Obama needs to support Public Education NOW!
One of the main reasons I have withheld financial support from the President is because of Arne Duncan. I’ve had conversations with high ranking members of DNC and OFA and told them in no uncertain terms that unless Duncan goes there will be absolutely no support from me. Last election both my wife and I contributed over a thousand dollars each. What is it going to take for him to get the message?
He said that our schools are failing in his acceptance speech. That is what we all heard, and that includes all the students in their classrooms who were watching and listening. That was the first punch…..
I think the letter should include the fact that he ran for office promoting a different philosophy, then changed his tune. His election cannot be construed as a mandate for his current rttt policies, since he ran on a different platform.
I read an article this morning in the Chicago Tribune, “Republican Money Managers Emerge in bid to Shape Illinois Politics.” It provides a revealing picture into the thought processes of hedge fund management types. Their arrogance is beyond words; however, no one who believes in the ideals of democracy can afford to ignore the enemy. I have no idea which wise sage warned us to “know thy enemy,” but now would be a good time to follow the advice.
This is a campaign that goes far beyond education.
Sun Tzu in the Art of War:(722–481 BC) but any intelligent military leader has uttered this or similar thoughts since. The Art of War was required reading in the military for officers and I have reread it several times. It is applicable in many areas of life and really teaches all the things you can do before you start exchanging blows or bullets to win a battle without losing your troops. I think our President and Mr. Duncan read “Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun”
Perhaps we should all be reading The Art of War” now instead of “School of Champions” or “How to start a professional learning community” and save those for after the battle?
I wrote a letter to the president shortly after he was elected in order to encourage him to get a teacher instead of an activist as Education Secretary. I also wrote one to the Dept of Education and asked that they get Duncan advisors who were professional career educators. My letter may have been too wordy, I do write long, but I did get something back from the Dept of Ed.
I am mortified that teachers would sit out the election and risk Romney getting elected. I can see the point in some cases, but in this one I think Obama is more malleable than any Republican would be, especially if the teaparties retain control of the House. (God forbid.) I don’t think Obama is persecuting us because he does not like teachers, but rather because he is not one and has been duped by the deformers. In every area except education, he did what he said he would do and got the people he felt would be best for their jobs, regardless of political party. And look, in every area except education, he has been quite successful in spite of the teas. Hillary Clinton, for example, is, I think, the best Secretary of State I have seen.
I think we can repair Obama in the area of education. He is a father. He loves children. Malia will graduate from high school in his second term. I don’t think he would send his girls to a corporatized school. After all, we are teachers and we know how to repair damaged children, colleagues, and parents. But if Romney gets in we will have a whole nation of corporatizers eating up our tax money and religious schools telling our children that Noah took dinosaurs on the ark and that the KKK was a group that tried to store morality to local communities at taxpayer expense. And there is no telling what he would do to religious freedom.
I also think that a lot of the problems are at the state level with these governors who do not realize the importance of teachers and education and who put us down. State legislators are frequently not the sharpest knives in the case. A lot of states are now infested with conservative governors who oppose the unions and tenure for teachers. Louisiana is among the worst where Bobby Jindal is dismantling health care, human services AND education and even trying to interfere with gay marriage in other states. Remember that name, family. Pyush Bobby Jindal is a cobra. He has strong national aspirations. It is easier for teachers to affect government at the state level than at the federal. I know I have told this before, but the teachers in Georgia got rid of an anti-education governor a few years back. Roy Barnes has not been electable since. This needs to be done in other states. State government is an area that teachers can attack firmly.
No, Obama is not perfect. He is not the lesser of two evils. He is just not perfect. We need to teach him like a special education child and educate him in a way that he will understand so he will do the right thing. But we must protect our schools from those who would abuse our children for the sake of politics. We don’t have a choice here. If Romney were to die in office we would have an even deadlier president, Paul Ryan.
I am with Linda on the letter. I will be writing one about a week after Obama is re-elected. I think it would get lost in the shuffle right now, so I don’t think this is a good time, although it might be good to go on and send one to Michelle. I suspect she is key to a lot of changing for him just like his kids changed his stance on gay marriage.
“I don’t think he would send his girls to a corporatized school.”
No, he *isn’t* sending his girls to a corporatized school. That’s the whole issue. I would actually have respect for him if he did. I would still disagree with him, but at least he’d be putting his money where his mouth is. Instead, he sends his girls to the finest progressive schools in the country and he expects the rest of us to send our children to corporatized schools.
President Obama doesn’t give a rat’s backside about anybody but himself. He’s too busy turning our country into another 3rd world to worry about you, your children, or their futures. Obama cares only for himself. If Obama truly cared what you all think, or what anybody thinks, he would put his kids into the public school system and let them prove or disprove how bad or good the public schools are. .
He only does what his handlers tell him to do and what to care for. He is only interested in what he can get from you all. Romney may not be much better, but he’s better than what we have if everybody stays home. That is why this election is important in so many ways.
To those who are going to vote 3rd party, ie Libertarian, Green Pary, etc…You are giving Obama another 4 years if you vote 3rd party. Look at Perot, Nader, and the countless other people who siphoned off votes. We got 8 years of Bush I, 8 years of Clinton, 8 years of Bush II. We will get 8 years of Obama. If you all truly hate Obama so much and vote for somebody else besides Romney, you will get 4 more years of what you hate.
Just be careful what you wish for, you might just be surprised.
Diane,
The letter is from Linda Johnson. Her comments are always very thoughtful and full of insight. I will definitely use her points to send letters to the White House. I expect to get the usual form letter response, but I won’t stop writing. I would live to know more about Linda! Care to share your bio??? Thanks for the letter Linda
Thanks, Bridget. You inspired me to write the letter. I’ll bet you’re a teacher!
I’m a retired teacher and grandmother from Long Beach, CA. I taught for 42 years and wrote a book on reading methodology. Now I spend most of my time traveling, reading and advocating for our great public schools and teachers.
Now I see why you have time to read and comment. I love your comments!
Thanks, Diane. Of course I am so grateful to you for your leadership. I believe you will deliver us from the idiocy of educational “reform.”
So sad that all the really great teachers are retired. New teachers aren’t bad. They really work hard and know their content. It’s just that they don’t know the freedom of teaching with no state tests hanging over their heads. No matter how good a teacher is, it takes a few years to really perfect the craft of teaching. I’ll look for your book on Amazon.
I really enjoyed your other letter. I too have a daughter who was diagnosed with diabetes as an infant. She is now a senior in college.
How is your daughter doing? My son was diagnosed at 13 and never had much trouble with control and is rarely ill. He is now 41. My little granddaughter is well also but we worry because she got the disease so early.
The title of my book is “Teaching Beginning Reading: A Balanced Approach.” I hope you find it useful.
She is Doing fine. On the pump since third grade. High school was a bit of a struggle not wanting to be different. Being on her own in college away from her support system has not been easy. She is very independent and I have faith that she will be OK. It has not been easy, but she has a fighting spirit. We taught her to be independent and take care of her diabetes herself from a young age. I didn’t want her dependent on others for her care.
I’ll look for you book again. Couldnt find it last night.
I googgled the title of my book: “Teaching Beginning Reading: A Balanced Approach” and it came right up. If you can’t find it, let me know and I’ll give you my full name.
Found and ordered it. Thanks.