Robert Rendo, a National Board Certified Teacher, has offered his talents as an illustrator to help all those fighting misguided reform. He writes:
Dear Diane,
I am a veteran teacher of 19 years, Nationally Board Certified, and teach a low income immigrant population. I am also an editorial illustrator with works in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Sacramento Bee, the Society of Illustrators, and the American photography/American illustration show. My work is a tool for advocacy, and I believe firmly in the power of the image to speak more than a thousand words against this horrendous reform movement in public educaiton.
I recently put out a blog, and anyone and everyone who is like minded is invited to use the images in a free license with my express permission to incorporate into their advocacy material, in any medium they wish. The blog is about the education reform and all the reasons why it’s a catastrophe.
This is a very different sort of blog; it’s almost all imagery and no words.
Illustrations from my blog have been featured on Stephen Krashen’s “Schools Matter”, “Susan Ohanian”, “Change the Stakes”, “Education Notes”, to name a few.
the blog is at:
http://thetruthoneducationreform.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
It is my sincere hope that everyone who is pushing back against this nefarious coporate reform in educaiton use my free images as much as they’d like. This is no promotion or sales pitch. In trying to be pro-active, I want to empower my fellow colleagues in what promises to be a difficult and complicated fight to preserve education as a public trust.
This is not just a fight for the equitable educaiton of all children; it’s a fight for democracy.
Thank you for all the work you do, Diane. I hope you know how valued you and your work are by parents and educators alike throughout the country.
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
PS from Diane: I added capital letters, since Robert expressed his wish for them.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I would hope that a “Nationally Board Certified Teacher” could be bothered to use a shift key and a spell check when communicating in a professional context! To me, this shows a profound lack of respect to the recipient. Why give the “reformers” any further evidence that the teacher corps is composed of the academic leftovers? Yes, it matters!
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You’re just old-fashioned.
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Dear Bill,
Throughout my typically 16 hour work day as a public school teacher, I tend to take license with regard to this one aspect (capitalization). In hindsight, given the audience and the national status of Ms. Ravitch’s blog, I agree with you. It was an error on my behalf. I’ve had four letters printed in the New York Times, one of which was in the magazine, as well as illustrational work.
I will humbly ask the publisher to possibly repost a corrected version. I am NOT concerned about what I consider to be the triviality of giving the reformers more fuel to further their cause through my writing, but good writing stands on its own merits and deserves proper mechanics under any circumstance.
I stand corrected and am indebted to you for your assertion . . . I apologize to the reading audience.
You’re right. I learn quickly and permanently.
You should find flawless mechanics in the text of the cartoons on the blog.
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
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Robert,
I changed all the lower-case words that ought to be capitalized.
Diane
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Dear Diane,
It has been a long while since we talked. I was privileged to pose questions to you when we spoke at the New York premier of “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman”, where you were on the discussion panel.
Thank you infinitely for reposting a corrected version of my first comment. This has been a teachable moment that has permanently wired my brain. My eccentric license in this area is a faux pas never to occur again!
Thank you, readers, for your concern. I now understand the power of national exposure, and it’s not something to treat casually. As I was writing the portfolio for my National Board Certification, I ensured that the sentences were Hope-diamond flawless. The same standard should apply in any context, as I have been briskly and very appropriately reminded by your readers.
We each stand for each other, and one peron’s “imagability” potentially affects the whole. Your readers made an excellent point.
Again, I truly apologize.
You’ll be pleased to know that the text in the cartoons on my blog is spell checked. Please visit the site and use it in whatever way you’d like! All usage is free.
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
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Dear Diane,
I am indebted and much obliged for your editing, and for even mentioning my new blog on your site. It came as a suprise.
I read your blog almost every day and have been spreading the word of its power to my colleagues at work.
I cannot possibly find the words to thank you enough for your advocacy and illumination of the truth. Even if I had the words, the pen would quickly run dry. My principal talks about you all the time at faculty meetings.
In a sense, probably the best thing all of us can do to express our gratitude is to read your blog, read other sources, keep ourselves soaked and saturated in education news, and follow your example of advocacy. If we continue to keep ourselves informed, band together, organize, and mobilize, there is cautious but true hope. Certainly, social media does not hurt the process.
Diane, I wish you nothing but continued empowerment and health.
Sincerely,
Robert
artwork88@aol.com
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I so agree. He comes across as completely illiterate. If he isn’t illiterate, he certainly doesn’t care about grammar and conventions.
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Dear Karen,
I do personally apologize for the faux pas to you and fellow educators who read Ms. Ravtich’s blog; I assure you i’m quite literate.
Please visit the site at and see what you might consider for your own advocacy literature. It’s all there for the taking.
http://thetruthoneducationreform.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
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I think people are being awfully hard on someone who’s offered help and support. His initial post was just that – a post on a blog. How many of us make sure our grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization are all pitch-perfect before posting here. Throwing the first stone, and all….
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I agree, Dienne.
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Dear Readingexchange,
Thank you SO much for your support.
I don’t intend to err again in this manner. No crimes were committed, but we are educators are the models for English language arts. I violated that tenet, I admit. But no more. . . .!
I hope you enjoy the cartoon blog and find it useful. I am beginning to muster up some realistic optimism for pushing back against privatizing tentacles. We stand to gain power in numbers.
http://thetruthoneducationreform.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
In Solidarity,
Robert Rendo
artwork88@aol.com
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“We stand to gain power in numbers.”
That is what is most important in these challenging times. I appreciate your efforts and creativity. Thank you for sharing it with the “reform” weary.
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Dear Readingexchange,
You’re very welcome, but don’t get weary or teary yet.
We will all continue to fight together. We outnumber the politicians, lobbyists, and even reformers. And parents are beginning to see the truth more and more as we educators inform them. Hardly anyone wants the public schools to be privatized any more than they do Social Security, the United States Postal Service, or Medicare.
Feel free to offer any constructive and honest feedback about the site. I will be adding cartoons little by little each month and growing the collection over time. The site and images will remain free permanently and indefinitely.
Fasten your seatbelts. . . . we’re in for a bumpy ride.
http://thetruthoneducationreform.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
artwork88@aol.com
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Agreed. There are times we can relax and put down our red correction pens. Robert offered his excellent and very personal art work free to all public school advocates. He deserves a community ‘thank-you.’
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I agree. So he made a mistake look at the art work on education. This is good messaging.
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Dear Jcgrim,
You’re more than welcome. Thank you for your kind note.
I thank you, Diane, and each and everyone of her like-minded readers who is advocating for educational and social justice!
I hope you find my blog to be useful in your advocacy.
http://thetruthoneducationreform.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
I’m waxing a bit philosphical, and in one sense, I can very comfortably refer to it as “our cartoon blog” . . . it is a resource that represents all of us who believe in maintaining education as a public trust.
We see ourselves or someone we know in the illustrations themselves. It is my intention that the cartoons encapsulate what we’re all going through and feeling. Hopefully, the illustrations will also reach parent and caregiver audiences as well, who will have just as big a say in the fate of this reform movement.
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
artwork88@aol.com
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Dear Dienne and Diane and Readers,
The original comment has been graciously corrected (thanks to the publisher).
This is my last comment about this particular situation.
The readers were right to express their discontent, but this is, as I’ve stated, a teachable moment for all our colleagues. I encourage teachers to take it into the classroom to show children the importance of audience and mechanics in the writing process. Proper spelling and capitalization are indispensable, in part, to an author’s “writing etiquette”.
Cite me as an example. How empowering this little derangement would be in a lesson to children who are learning how to write!
Go for it, in all sincerity!
But please take a look at the blog . . . . I’d welcome any sort of feedback on it.
http://thetruthoneducationreform.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
artwork88@aol.com
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Wonderful blog and great visuals. Thanks so much, Robert!!
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Dear Fremont,
Thank you for your encouragement and feedback. It is my hope that we (true educators and advocates) all do what we can to empower each other. If you end up using anything, would you consider sending me a URL? Seeing the work in hardcopy or digital print potentially gives me feedback for improving the illustrations.
Sincerely,
Robert
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I like his cartoons. CTU has been using cartoons and great videos also to get out the word. Some teachers in L.A. just started to do videos also. They really work. Be creative, that is a big part of the answer to winning against big money and power with only people and imagination.
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Dear Mr. Buzzetti,
You make a strong point.
It seems that one byproduct of this reform movement is the drying up of creativity because so much time and effort are devoted to test prep and curriculums that focus far too much on a narrow scope of skills.
Creativity and imagination are perhaps better judged qualitatively than measured quantitatively. . . . an arrangement that lends itself poorly to the efficiencies of standardized and profitable metrics.
By all means, please do anything you can to get the blog of cartoons out to teachers in your area and maybe throughout the state you reside in.
Thank you for your valuable feedback. Feel free to write if you any questions about the blog.
http://thetruthoneducationreform.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
artwork88@aol.com
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Not to detract from Mr. Rendo’s fine work (which I will be using, at the very least, on Facebook), but I explored a link that was connected to a link mentioned in one of Diane’s posts today and saw this for the first time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXUPDAMc_6o
It’s probably more entertaining if you’re from a certain generation and can remember School House Rock. It could be useful for explaining ALEC to the uninitiated, either way.
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Dear Ron,
You’re welcome, and thank you for facebooking my work. I confess, I am facebook phobic, but at some point, I should learn the medium.
I looked at the animation, and indeed it was great but truthful satire.
Is there anything out there in the United States that is more evil than ALEC?
Feel free to send me any examples of how you incorporate the images into facebook.
Best wishes,
Robert Rendo
artwork88@aol.com
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Thank you so much Robert! I am definitely one who can use your cartoons on my blog when I vent against “ed reform” and standardized testing.Thank you again!
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Dear Oldschoolteach,
I would love the URL to your blog. Thank you for your feedback and confidence in my work. Together, we can all counterbalance this awful reform movement.
Sincerely,
Robert Rendo
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I like your artwork. Keep up the good work!
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http://oldschoolteach.blogspot.com/
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