A group of educators who oppose the current corporate reforms have organized a petition drive. They have issued “A Manifesto for a Revolution.”
Please read it and if you agree, consider signing on.
They have also launched an informational site called Follow.Education. Read their response to Campbell Brown in the link.
To bring about the change we hope for, we need even more activism. We need the support of parents who opt out of the tests; we need students, whose own education is being warped by high-stakes testing. We need retired educators. None of these groups can be fired. They should demonstrate, protest, do whatever they can–like the brave Dyett hunger strikers–to stop the destruction of real education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Making DEMANDS is not going to fix anything. We have been making DEMANDS for 4 years now. There is only one solution and until someone starts the campaign to DEMAND that one solution I can no longer support petitions that make DEMANDS that will not fix anything and have no action plan attached. And I am always very skeptical of petitions from Michelle Rhes’s favorite petition site CHANGE.ORG that asks for money and makes it appear as if you are donating to the cause in the petition when actually you are donating to CHANGE.ORG. Here is the one DEMAND we should be making: Defund the US Department of Education. That is the best and only FIRST step to fixing this problem. The rest is a waste of time, money, energy and in the meantime our kids are stuck on the battle field.
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Defunding the DOE is meaningless and useless. The idea ignores reality since the DOE is a federal agency in name only. The reality is that it has been infiltrated and completely taken over by the reformers and is no longer anything other than a sock puppet for their interests alone. Even if it vanished in an instant, the reformers would still have all the power and influence they had in the moment before. The only solution, as laid out in this manifesto, is to evict the usurpers from what should be an agency that serves the citizens of the USA first above all. I continue to be appalled by those who have no operational understanding of the fight, no knowledge of the identity and nature of the actual enemy, and as a result have become convinced that throwing the baby out with not only the bath water but the tub itself is a good idea. It’s not. In addition, the absence of the federal DOE would not in any way curtail the state by state influence the reformers already have, it would do nothing to end their influence over state legislatures. This dynamic, of government being infiltrated and fully co-opted by special interests is THE plague that afflicts the entire country. Blaming and attacking the very idea of a government of, by, and for the people only serves the goals of the special interests who view both the nation and its citizens as commodities to be exploited for their own gain and agendas. The weaker a true government is, the stronger the usurpers of it become. The price of liberty is vigilance, and we the people have been asleep at the switch on that. Time to wake up.
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Well said.
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But making demands is not going to fix anything.
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So i guess a meaningless list of DEMANDS is going to fix it??
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Of course not, given that making demands is not going to fix anything.
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It’s not making demands only or foremost. It is a declaration of revolt and a promise of future action, a shot across the bow that promises a full broadside if the demands are not met. A manifesto like this serves to educate and involve those who know there is a problem but are mostly unaware of its nature and source, it increases the numbers and therefore the power and efficacy of those making demands of their government. It is not a shout into the wind, it is a rallying cry that can and will spread. The success and continuing growth of the Opt Out movement is a perfect example of this in action.The fearful and clumsy response from those who the demand has been made of, whose power and rule has been challenged and diminished by Opt Out shows that this does work and is well worth the effort.
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I don’t know how valid this is, but this piece is about regular people beat the Walton family in their own backyard:
“the defeat of HB1733 deserves an up-close look. It’s the rare story of a win that, for reasons both practical and symbolic, should get the attention of everyone who values the institution of public education.”
http://www.alternet.org/education/how-billionaire-kingpins-school-privatization-got-stopped-their-own-back-yard
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This from Jeannette Deutermann, LIOO organizer is an example I have been talking about.
“This movement continues to be the inspirational force that I firmly believe will restore the joy of teaching and learning to our students and educators. As refusal letters pour into schools on the first day, week, and month, we ensure that the classroom will be about what matters most: our children.
Teachers, keep the faith, knowing hundreds of thousands of parents stand firmly behind you. We know that you, like our children, are so much more than a score. Parents and educators, we march into the school year as upstanders, recognizing that together we are turning the tides that no one thought could change.
This is our year to prove once and for all that our children and their education are not for sale. Deformers may be strong, but we are invincible. We will take back our classrooms. We will spread the love of learning to every corner of this state. We are members of the Great Opt Out of 2016.”
She is not red or blue..just anti green.
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The manifesto is a superb piece of work that lays out the nature and identity of the enemy and the terrain and goals of the fights against it in a single, clearly written document. Thank you Diane for publishing it, and I hope it gets shared far and wide as it a fantastic introduction to the reality we face and of our fight to change it. It’s a perfect introduction and call to action for those who are just becoming aware of what’s going on.
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The document focuses on the critical points. It can be distributed without requiring additional exposition. It replaces the Gates PR image, with the truth.
It would have been better on the Move On website. Gates provided funds to Change.org, which is a firm generating money for the Change.org enterprise.
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I agree with Karen Bracken–why are people posting petitions on change.org? There are several other petition sites that, insofar as I know, haven’t been involved w/something like the Students First inadvertent sign-up (& change had pledged to stop this after being caught–& called out by Diane, herself– the first time, bur then, did it at least once again.
I, for one, will NEVER sign anything on change.org, & I’m sure others won’t, either, so please, serious people, STOP posting petitions there, unless you enjoy an exercise in futility (which also seems to be the case in the fight against Pear$on, until we absolutely point THE finger at them {superceding opting out–which, of course, people should still do}, repeating over & over the taxpayer $$$$$… intended for our kids’ education–going into Pear$on, w/their inept, unregulated tests, scored by inept or overworked people, torturing our precious children}).
Anyway–please re-post on SumofUs, Care2Acrion or Moveon.org!
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I gladly signed the declaration, but one thing is missing from it, a demand for an end to the diversion of public funds to private schools through vouchers, tax credits and ESAs.
Edd Doerr (arlinc.org)
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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