I will write about this every single day from now until October 17.
Please write your thoughts about what needs to change in federal education policy and send a letter to President Obama by that date.
You can write it now and follow instructions here.
Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, has offered to coordinate our campaign to write President Obama on October 17.
We call it the Campaign for Our Public Schools.
Our campaign is meant to include everyone who cares about public education: students, parents, teachers, principals, school board members, and concerned citizens. We want everyone to write the President and tell him what needs to change in his education policies.
Tell your friends about the Campaign. If you have a blog, write about it. Wherever you are, spread the news. Join us.
Here are the instructions:
You can send your letter to Anthony Cody or to this blog.
Or you can send it directly to the White House, with a copy to me or Anthony.
Anthony will gather all the emails sent to him and me and forward them to the White House.
1. Email your letters to anthony_cody@hotmail.com.
2. Or submit them as comments to this blog. You can respond to this post or to any other post on this blog about the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools.
All letters collected through these two channels will be compiled into a single document, which will be sent to the White House on Oct. 18.
In ADDITION to this,
3. You can mail copies of your letters through US mail to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 20500
4. You can send them by email from this page: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
If you choose to write or email the White House, please send us a copy so we can keep track of how many letters were sent to the President.
One more thought: when you write to the President, also write to your Senators and Congressman or -woman and to your state legislator and Governor. Send the same letter to them all.
Let’s raise our voices NOW against privatization, against high-stakes testing, against teacher bashing, against profiteering.
Let’s advocate for policies that are good for students, that truly improve education, that respect the education profession, and that strengthen our democratic system of public education.
Let’s act. Start here. Start now.
Join our campaign. Speak out. Enough is enough.
Diane
I hope you’ll include the smart information in this post http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=16889 that explains why we can’t blame teachers or think more testing will result in success for youth. Instead we have to address the realities that come with poverty. I also hope you’ll share with him all the reasons that standardized tests SUCK laid out in this post http://12most.com/2012/04/09/unconventional-reasons-to-opt-out-standardized-testing/ And, finally, expose him to alternatives to standardized testing like those laid out here http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2012/04/8-ways-to-assess-without-standardized.html So happy you’re doing this.
In addition to the letter to President Obama that I sent to your blog, today I sent the following message to the Whitehouse by email:
Please pay attention to the voices of educators, parents, students and concerned citizens who are pleading with you to change your destructive education policies under the leadership of Arne Duncan. The Chicago Tribune had an article on the differences in positions between you and Mitt Romney. Shamefully, on the issue of education the positions were pretty much the same. If you recognize the harmfulness of Romney’s elitist outlook on other topics, you must recognize that Race to the Top is a harmful program that will destroy public education in this country. Listen to the real experts, not the businessmen who see an opportunity to make money on the problem. Listen to those of us who really know what is going on in the schools and know how high stakes testing, “value-added” evaluation, competition rather than collaboration, and draining public school resources to open charter schools has hurt our students. I have read many of the letters that will be sent to you today, and I am getting angrier and angrier that the person I have supported in his bid for Presidency, a highly intelligent and seemingly caring man does not see the truth of what is happening. I hope you will actually read and think hard about every one of the heart felt letters that are being directed toward you today.