I had planned to publish each of the bloggers’ descriptions of the first conference of the Network for Public Education, but it would take weeks to report them all.
Here is the initial wave of comments.
My impression from the conference was that people were ecstatic. They loved the conversations, the debates, the solidarity.
Robert Perry, communications director of NPE, and a middle school teacher in Rhode Island, collected these posts, mostly from bloggers but some from outside commentators:
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/sarahlahm/bring-education-spring-lessons-austin
http://blog.chron.com/k12zone/2014/03/educator-ravitch-brings-message-to-austin/?cmpid=houtexhcat
http://www.joebower.org/2014/03/first-network-for-public-education.html
http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-network-for-public-education-npe_3.html
At the first national conference of the Network for Public Education
http://nepc.colorado.edu/blog/3-things-i-learned-network-public-education-conference
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=4856§ion=Article
http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2014/03/ny-teacher-mercedes-schneider-shreds.html
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2014/03/john_kuhn_speaks_at_the_npe_co.html
http://russonreading.blogspot.com/2014/03/fighting-back-at-standardized-tests.html
http://michaelklonsky.blogspot.com/2014/03/listen-to-mike-klonsky-and-julian.html
http://withabrooklynaccent.blogspot.com/2014_03_01_archive.html
http://texasaftblog.com/hotline/?p=3602
http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2014/03/testing-time-time-to-think-about-opting.html
http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2014/03/for-love-of-learning-3-things-i-learned.html
http://atthechalkface.com/2014/03/04/what-does-it-mean-to-be-in-solidarity/
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Shirt in the first link, a message from youth to the powers that be, “Don’t test me bro”.
By Mercedes Schneider with more to follow
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
I just posted a link to this piece on my FB page with this comment:
I had the honor and privilege of participating in the first national conference of the Network for Public Education last weekend in Austin. It was wondrous to be among 400 teachers, parents, and community organizers who are passionate leaders of the fight for public schools, for our children, for our communities across this country. We learned from and with one another, and left knowing in our bones that Diane Ravitch was correct in her keynote when she told us Why We Will Win: we are many and they, our opponents, are few; we are right, and they are wrong. Below, from her blog, Diane gives us links to comments from many of the bloggers who are there. Dear colleagues and sister/brother fighters, when things get you down, as they will, try clicking on some of these links and read what people like you and me are dong and saying. Diane is right. We will win — and along the way we need to have one another’s backs, and we need to share what we’re doing. Our kids — our kids! — and we who fight for them — deserve nothing less, right?