When I joined a webinar for #soschat recently on Twitter, the main topic of discussion was “what can we do?” How do we resist a well-funded campaign that makes parents, teachers and students feel powerless and helpless? What tools do we have? What is our counter-narrative?
I have thought about that a lot because the same questions arise wherever I go.
One response is that we should not allow anyone to privatize our public schools.
Public education is a cornerstone of our democracy and it must not be handed over to corporations.
But then I received a video of a brilliant campaign to save the public library in Troy, Michigan.
It is riveting.
It saved the library from those who would close it down.
It shows how to reach the public.
It shows how to create a powerful and effective message to counter those who would destroy a community resource.
Learn how they did it.
Diane
PS: Think about how this might apply in education. Imagine a campaign to turn over our public schools to Wall Street to manage like a stock portfolio. That sounds too close to reality!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
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Excellent post!! Reminds me of the ol Country Joe and the Fish tune, “I Feel Like I’m a Fixin to Die Rag”:
Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He’s got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We’re gonna have a whole lotta fun.
And it’s one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it’s five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain’t no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we’re all gonna die.
Well, come on generals, let’s move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Gotta go out and get those reds —
The only good commie is the one who’s dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we’ve blown ’em all to kingdom come.
And it’s one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it’s five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain’t no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we’re all gonna die.
Huh!
Well, come on Wall Street, don’t move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There’s plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.
And it’s one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it’s five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain’t no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we’re all gonna die.
Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don’t hesitate,
Send ’em off before it’s too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.
And it’s one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it’s five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain’t no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we’re all gonna die
(from lyricsplayground.com)
Wonderful video. Congratulations to the creative genius behind it! And thanks for the link, I posted it on FB. Maybe it will jog some creative thinking in my teacher friends….
Well, the video does suggest an obvious approach: A campaign to hand all our public schools over to Wall Street to run like a stock portfolio. Watch the public reaction.
it’s an interesting strategy. It certainly what the does to the the left, imposing distored narratives of our values and priorities in order to win the election or pass their legislation.
Do you want to adopt that strategy?
Is the best way to win to beat them at their own game? Or would you rather win without stooping to their level? Is it possible to win without stooping to their level?
Not at all. This strategy isn’t a “distorted narrative”. It’s a way to raise awareness of the actual content of the narrative they’re running.
See the difference?
They really do want to run the schools like a stock portfolio.
They really are legislating a federal data-base to track “data” on children’s individual development.
I do not think this is stooping to the level of the “reformers”.
It is educating the public about the consequences of a corporate takeover.
Brilliant tactic.
I love this video. I met with the gentleman (Judge Roach) who created the powerful standardized test video with students. We would like to see something like this Troy Library video take hold. I love this.
Great PR that won!
Who says we need expensive teachers in every classroom! Great–YES! Expensive–NO! We’re going to fire the over-paid, over-trained tenured teachers and let business leaders who really know how to make money run schools. They’ll find a crew of unemployed people who really need a job and will do what’s necessary to make sure every kid passes those critical tests. To run the schools leaders who know how to make a profit are the answer — they’ll cut the waste, eliminate the costly public administration, the school board, unnecessary government regulations and out-dated standards. Our kids all deserve great (non-public) schools. Businesses are people and Schools are businesses. They should compete, and, based on how well the kids do on tests, should make higher profits (we could all invest). Your children deserve cheaper teachers than they have — let them compete (teaching should be a commission sales job) for financial rewards! It’s time for major teacher firings and business practices — that’s cause for celebration!
I love the video.
Sometimes, I wish we had some big money and celebrities on our side though. Are there any? We could build a national grassroots campaign to really save our schools, rather than the hollow “put ed first” or “Students First” campaigns that are currently out there. Is anyone with some “clout” listening to us??
Is there a better way to get the word out to people?
Don’t forget Matt Damon and Jon Stewart.
It helps when your mother is/was a teacher.
This is a campaign that I can get behind. We need a conference call to plan it then make it happen. Skype. GoToMeeting. Let’s do it!