Aw, shucks.

Robert Shepherd writes:

“To Diane on Her 75th Birthday, July 1, 2013

“She is our Boadicea, our warrior queen, our courage grubber and prod, our fierce maternal spirit, the one who shelters the humane heart of our teaching from the heedless technocrats and rapacious profiteers. Under her withering gaze, the lords and would-be lords of the land, and the puffed-up toadies who serve them, shrink to their proper size. We see them for what they are and know that we can, we shall, give no further ground—that we shall, moreover, retake what they have already stolen. Under her nurturance, and following her example, we grow stronger daily. If she, at her age, girds on her sword, and wields it so mightily, shall we stand idly by? Certainly not, not when our livelihoods, our freedom, our learning, and our children’s well-faring are at stake. It is time, it is far past time, for teachers to take back the teaching profession.

“May Diane’s birthday be hereafter remembered as the moment when we all vowed to miss no opportunity to strike back at the invaders and at those who collaborate with them, the day when we vowed to give them no respite until we have taken back what is ours. May her birthday be the day when we all vowed not to accept serfdom, for ourselves or for the children under our care. May this be the day when we all vowed to say no, loudly, clearly, at every opportunity, to their crude, boorish “standards”; to the mind-numbing drivel of their “teacher proof” online curricula; to their presumptuous, inane evaluation checklists and standardized tests; to their easy answers to difficult problems; to their crony capitalism and theft.

“And to you, Diane, from the kids, on your birthday, thank you.”