It is hard to believe that President Obama understands the damage that his education policies are doing to children, teachers, principals, and schools. Ultimately, the massive demoralization that his policies cause will hurt our society.
This teacher in Tennessee wrote a letter to President Obama. Would you write the same letter? What would you say to him if you thought he was listening? If you had his full attention for 15 minutes?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Every one of us reading this should either send this letter or Diane’s book to President Obama, or both, at the White House address–1600 Pennsylvanie Avenue. It’s the best letter yet. Nice combination of reality and surrealism, and it is so REAL!
This is an extraordinarily eloquent and well-written letter.
At the risk of showing myself to be a pessimist, though, I don’t think Obama or Duncan will read it. If they do read it, they will laugh it off rather than respond to it.
The teacher who wrote this letter thinks Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. But unlike George W. Bush, who could convincingly pretend to be stupid, Obama can’t. He knows what he’s doing. He knows who hired him and why.
Obama was a brilliant hire by the oligarchy — he’s young, he’s charismatic and eloquent, and he’s black, so we can all have this warmy, fuzzy, kumbaya feeling about electing a black president.
But both internationally and domestically, he’s been more notable for his policy continuity with George W. Bush than for his differences. We’ve been had. Not sure what the remedy is, since the duopoly is so sclerotic, but we’ve been had.
This. It has been almost 14 months since Diane and others led the campaign to write to Obama – over 400 letters were sent representing 6,000+ signatories. The deafening silence – the insulting form letters – we received tells us everything we need to know about Obama.
George Bush was pretending to be stupid? I used to envision him with a bubble over his head reading, “Clueless!!!”
Obama is black??? I thought he was bi-racial.
Just goes to show: you learn something new everyday.
It would be hard to write a better letter than this one.
Still, I don’t believe that Mr. President is going to suddenly sit up and take notice.
Ever since the HAMP fiasco which allowed the banking business to hurt millions of people, I have had no faith that this administration is going to do anything at all for the people who voted it in.
Mercenary, detached and hollow, are some of the words that come to my mind when I think of Obama and the Democratic party at this point.
A sad disappointment as I too voted twice with high hopes for the future of the nation.
But think of the alternative! It would be ten times worse with republicans in power
Strictly as far as education, how so? If a Republican were in office we’d have more vouchers, fewer charters. Same goal, different means.
Maybe we should each write a letter, submit it to someone as published as Diane, put it in book form AND SEND IT TO THE WHITE HOUSE! The book would most definitely be in volumes galore! Would it still be ignored?
Been there, done that. October 17, 2012.
I would tell him that when people align with the notion that “public schools have failed” that they seem desperate to get votes and to appeal to the “entitlement” sense that people fall victim to, which is disappointing.
What would I say if I thought Obama were listening to what teachers and parents and students are saying about education?
“Wow. You’re listening. Now that’s a change. What’s gotten into you?”
I would say that the country is sick to death of living through the fourth term of the George W. Bush administration.
Bingo (sadly).
My personal contribution to this will need some help– I am going to buy the President a copy of Diane’s book and sign it to him, joined by whatever parents, teachers, students and others care to sign it at the high school holiday gala Friday night. I will also print out this amazing letter from the Tennessee teacher and insert it into the pages. Then I am going to mail it to him. If enough people do this sort of thing then maybe just maybe eventually he will listen. Doubtful I know, but worth spending a little time on and doing what we can. Little by little, piece by piece.
I’m sorry, but efforts aimed at the president are wasted. It’s not that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s that he’s very well paid not to care. Effort is best spent on local and state-wide races for now so we can build a base from which to eventually get the presidency back from the neoliberals/neoconservatives in both parties.
Dienne,
YES!
I agree. And with the present makeup of the House, the President couldn’t get anything changed if he wanted to. Focus on local and state races and throw out your local congressman.
I don’t think he’s listening either. I think the most disappointing part to me is how he and Duncan only “speak truth” to the (relatively) powerless.
Really? Going after middle class teachers and “moms” on public education is brave? According to our punditry it is, but, wow, I disagree. They’re an easy target.
Why don’t they ever challenge anyone who has any power? As far as I can tell, Bill Gates has had enormous influence on ed policy for more than a decade. When does he get a stern lecture from Arne Duncan? Why does accountability only travel one way, DOWN?
Also, I don’t respect this cluelessness from Duncan. Columbus, OH public schools will be in big trouble here shortly, because ed reformers pushed a levy that would have funded charters out of property taxes. Voters rejected the levy. Not surprising to me, because OH charters are developing a terrible reputation for corruption. Still, this really damages Columbus public schools! It was reckless to push it:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/2013-election-results-school-levy-fails
Yet. Arne Duncan is, this morning, promoting the fact that Columbus will try to fund new early ed programs in spite of their now-decimated public ed budget:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/11/28/leaders-intent-on-expanding-pre-k.html
So what about existing Columbus public schools which are now defunded thanks to ed reformers and their reckless charter-funding levy campaign? We’re just abandoning them?
Does Duncan actually know what’s going on in these places?
He knows the DAMAGE being caused. He chose DUNCAN.
This letter starts out describing a dream. To think that Obama would actually read (he has people who do that sort of thing for him!) one teacher’s letter (& actually DO something–like fire Duncan & abolish RTTT by executive decree) after the previously mentioned letter-writing campaign is, indeed, a dream–a fantasy, in fact.
Don’t waste your money buying/sending him Diane’s book, either–use that money to donate books to kids who need them, or buy Toys for Tots. If he had wanted to read her book (assuming he’s even remotely interested), he might have purchased it on his recent, highly publicized bookstore visit with his daughters (accompanied by a photo op, no less!).
As I’ve said before–stop the wishing & hoping (the ” audacity of nope” as someone commented on a previous post {I’d say the audacity of [a] dope–Duncan}) and just be involved in DOING.
Brenda Ables, above, has the best plan–focus on local and state–get candidates for your school boards, city/village/suburban government, state general assembly.
Now THAT’s the way (& the only one) to make change. Be focused and start locally & it will spread (e.g., Texas Moms & “standardized” testing, Seattle teachers & MAPs,
election of Sue Peters & Glenda Ritz, et. al.). Last but not least, if you’re parents, opt your kids out THIS year. If you’re a retired educator, download opt out info from the United Opt Out website & pass it out–have informational meetings in your homes (just like a candidate’s coffee!), serve tea & cookies & information. (Parents in the know–you do this, too, with your fellow school community parents.)
Yes, WE can and yes, we WILL!
Dear President Obama…..
I CAN do WHAT????
I CAN PASS 500 TESTS.
I CAN BE A MATHEMATICIAN
I CAN BE AN ENGINEER
I CAN BE AN MD
I CAN BE A SUCCESSFUL WRITER
I CAN BE AN ARTIST
I CAN BE A MUSICIAN AND PLAY IN THE NY SYMPHONY
I CAN BE A MECHANIC
I CAN BE A CPA
I CAN BE AN ACTOR
I CAN BE A NEWS ANCHOR
I CAN BE A CEO
I CAN BE A STOCK BROKER
I CAN BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA
I CAN BE AN NFL QUARTERBACK
I CAN KICK A 57 YARD FIELD GOAL EVERY GAME
I CAN DO THE EXACT SAME THING AS EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS WORLD!!!
I CAN….I CAN….. I CAN…….but you have not asked me WHAT I WANT TO DO THAT I CAN DO BEST….that would lead to a happy and successful life…
It’s not worth it….
President Obama
Have you ever heard the statement
“If the shoe fits….wear it” ???????????????????
I have a problem….all of my students wear different sizes..
Please tell Duncan to help me find the right fit for my students!
I was motivated to also write to President Obama after reading this entry. I have emailed him previously but this letter I sent through the mail. I am including it here.
December 4, 2013
Dear President Obama,
I am writing to you today on the topic of education. I don’t really have any hope that you will actually read or see this. But, I do wish to add my voice to the increasing number of voices contacting you on this vitally important topic (and nurture a small hope that maybe you will read this).
I was proud to vote for you the first time and beginning to worry when I voted for you the second time. Your educational policies and choice of Secretary of Education were becoming alarming. I am at a point now of wondering what has become of our democratic president? How can you continue to plow forward with failed and severely damaging educational policies in the face of the mounting evidence against every single “reform” practice out there?
I am a resident of Philadelphia, one of the ground zero locations for failed reform practices. I am a recently retired public school teacher and the parent of four Philadelphia public school graduates. I am a believer in QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION in a neighborhood school for all. But, I don’t pretend that poverty and disenfranchisement have nothing to do with the educational outcomes of our schools as all politicians right now are doing.
I have seen, at first hand, the great deficits some children bring to the table when they arrive in school. I, as a classroom teacher, know what will help me to try and overcome those deficits. I also know, so very surely, that to ignore where those children come from is causing them greater harm. I also know that to make the claim that high stakes testing and then punitive actions will fix this deficit is a lie! I am appalled to think that you, Mr. President, could possibly be a part of that lie.
*Closing public schools is a wrong choice.
*Offering vouchers, charters and private alternatives as “public” dollar options is a wrong choice.
*Secret development of Common Core standards not completely open to public involvement and not developed by EDUCATORS is a wrong choice.
*High stakes testing and then punishing of our students and schools when scores don’t match an “achievement” model is a wrong choice.
*Inadequately funded and supplied schools (which always occur in our most high need areas) is a wrong choice.
*Ignoring arts, gym, libraries, music and recess for our children (which also always occurs in our most high needs areas) is a wrong choice.
*Tying teacher evaluations to student test scores is a wrong choice.
*Allowing big money individuals and foundations to totally revamp our educational system into a free-market system for their own money making agendas is a horribly wrong choice.
*Letting Gates Foundation, Walton Foundation, Broad Foundation, ALEC and others sneak in their agendas out of public view is a wrong choice.
*Closing your ears to the growing public outcry is a wrong choice.
*Arne Duncan as your Secretary of Education is a wrong choice.
*Abusing our children (and especially our neediest children) in this way is a morally reprehensible public policy and wrong choice.
*Ignoring mounting evidence against these “reform” movements is a wrong choice.
*Twisting and turning language and data to fuel a public alarmist air is a wrong choice.
*Race to the Top is a wrong choice.
Please read Diane Ravitch’s book, Reign of Error, and open your mind to the very real possibility that what you are allowing and even promoting in the guise of “reform” is what we really need to fear for our children, our communities and our democracy.
Thank you,
Diane Payne
I also tried to communicate directly with the President as a reult of his graduation speech at Morehouse College … and it also translated into this post on my blog on May20, 2013. The entire blog entry can be seen at: http://tinyurl.com/mwqfxg5
And I will tell you, Class of 2013, whatever success I have achieved, whatever positions of leadership I have held have depended less on Ivy League degrees or SAT scores or GPAs, and have instead been due to that sense of connection and empathy — the special obligation I felt, as a black man like you, to help those who need it most, people who didn’t have the opportunities that I had — because there but for the grace of God, go I — I might have been in their shoes. I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family. And that motivates me.
President Barack Obama
Commencement Speech Morehouse College
May 19, 2013
Text of entire Speech @ http://tiny.cc/72eexw
President Obama gave a heartfelt commencement speech yesterday in the style that only he can present. He was more open, honest and direct about his life and his short comings than I can ever recall from the past. That being said the above quote resonates with me regarding the double speak coming out of Washington D.C.
“…nobody is going to give you anything you haven’t earned.”
Spoken while his Department of Education is busy dismantling the public school system and handing it over to privateers, and typical of his hectoring of Black audiences (though tempered here because he was speaking before an elite one) about “personal responsibility.”
Would that he had done the same when speaking before those “savvy businessmen” who drove the economy off a cliff a few years ago. Then again, those are the people who fund his campaigns.
It’s ironic you speak about “resonance,” because reading the speech left me with the impression that it could have been given by Booker T. Washington or Oprah Winfrey, with it’s reflexive “up by your bootstraps” message of personal responsibility and minimizing of deep structural inequalities that have expanded under his administration.
Michael,
I agree with your analysis … the resonance was more about the content of his words. I cannot and never wish to infer that I could ever put myself in the place of any person of color and completely understand the challenges that they face. What I wish I could have faith in is in the fidelity of which he speaks … unfortunately I cannot.
As of yesterday he made the following comments:
I will spend the rest of my term devoted to reversing
“the relentless, decades-long trend” toward “a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility that has jeopardized middle-class America’s basic bargain.”
Mourning that “a child born into the bottom 20 percent has a less than 1-in-20 shot at making it to the top,” Obama insisted: “We are a better country than this.”
I applaud the sentiments these words as well and acknowledge that poverty has a major impact on the quality of learning that can take place in schools. As a retired educator I also have seen on a daily basis the issues that partner with poverty that are fundamental in obstructing learning and hence the potential to having upward mobility into the middle class. These circumstances play a major role in the success of a student and are the ones that the schools have the least control or influence.
What I cannot comprehend is the incongruity between his words and his actions. Providing opportunities for upward mobility and creating a strong, viable, middle class is essential for this country’s social and economic success and yet the Presidents lead and the path chosen by his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, have embraced initiatives and public policy that existed prior to taking office and have created new ones that have failed us for over a decade as a nation and is putting our middle class at risk…
He speaks out of both sides of his mouth based on the audience he is addressing … but actions support the privatization of our public schools, a testing frenzy that puts all teaching on hold, evaluation of teachers based on circumstances that are completely out of their control, the loss of the creative side of teaching (the art of teaching) that spawns the development of the intangibles necessary to be a productive member of society … adaptability, flexibility, the ability to collaborate locally and globally are just a few skills that our students need in today’s world. There is plenty of money coming out of public education that should have light of day in the way they are being spent that is lost but found in the pockets of the the corporate world and the affluent. None of this will address the issues and concerns he has raised yesterday.
Until his actions align with his words … I will continue to be disillusioned. This is a very sad moment and one that is very difficult to write about … I was so hopeful and glad to see him elected.
See if you can click on the link to open. You must “enable links” on your Droid.😎