Peter Greene, high school teacher in Pennsylvania, read Anthony Cody’s article about teachers taking action, and he remembered why he had been reluctant when he should have spoken out. Then he realized that the time had come to speak up and not allow his profession to be diminished by uninformed critics.
In this post, he gives practical advice about how teachers must overcome their reluctance and become warriors on behalf of their students and their profession.
He boils it down to four principles:
Trust your judgment.
Network.
Speak.
Act.
To fill in the details, read his post.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Here’s the first response I’ve gotten from my petition letter. Sending for thoughts:
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the Common Core State Standards Initiative (Common Core). Your thoughts are important to me as I work to represent you effectively in Congress, and I share your concerns.
I agree that Common Core’s one-size-fits-all standards will damage our ability to address the varied needs of our students. Each student deserves to have an education that prepares them for college or a career. I represent a diverse constituency in Southern Ohio, however, and I understand that success cannot be measured by a national test. Parents, local school boards, and the states can best define the rigorous academic standards that will equip students to succeed in their chosen field, including farming, manufacturing, or a profession requiring a college degree. Furthermore, implementation of Common Core will burden schools that are already facing considerable financial and administrative pressures.
The establishment of Common Core in Ohio does not fall under federal jurisdiction. Common Core was adopted independently by each state, and the state of Ohio must decide whether to implement or repeal it. As your representative in Congress, however, I am working to confront the federal overreach that pushed the hasty acceptance of Common Core. Although Common Core is not officially sponsored by the federal government, the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top Fund, a $4.35 billion competitive grant program, enticed states to adopt the common K-12 standards before they even existed. This program was part of the Obama Administration’s practice of offering temporary waivers from some of the most burdensome requirements of the the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In exchange, states had to comply with mandates established by the Department of Education. In effect, the Obama Administration has independently reshaped federal education policy, bypassing Congress and overriding the role of states, school districts, parents, and taxpayers in determining academic content, standards, and testing. For this reason, I signed a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan to express my concerns with the Department of Education’s role in coercing states to adopt Common Core standards.
The NCLB was the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA); however, its authorization expired six years ago. Failure to update and reauthorize the ESEA is actually what opened the door for Obama Administration to circumvent Congress and encourage Common Core. This is why the House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, which would reauthorize and reform the ESEA. This legislation would prohibit the Secretary of Education from imposing conditions on states or school districts in exchange for waivers. It would restore control over education to the states and to teachers, administrators, and parents by replacing current one-size-fits-all, federally-mandated evaluations. Under this legislation, states and school districts would be allowed measure student performance, develop improvement plans for struggling schools, and create a more accurate teacher evaluation system. H.R. 5 would also repeal federal funding requirements, giving states and school districts greater flexibility to distribute resources most effectively. H.R. 5 was passed the House with my support by a vote of 221-207 and awaits consideration in the Senate.
Again, thank you for contacting me on this issue. I invite you to visit my website, http://www.wenstrup.house.gov, where you can email me your thoughts or concerns on this or any other issue important to you, and sign up for my regular email updates.
Sincerely,
(signed)
Brad Wenstrup
Member of Congress
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Here’s the form letter response I received from Senator Schumer regarding the petition. I responded by telling him he has not only lost my vote but my respect fro democrats as well. The canned CC talking point make me want to move to Canada
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns with the Common Core State Standards Initiative and federal funding. I agree that federal funding plays a vital role in public education in our country, and I will continue to fight to keep these investments for New York and our country.
As you know, in the global ideas economy, we must maintain our knowledge advantage if we are to maintain our place in the world. In addition, without top-notch schools we won’t be able to afford any of the other things that are also critical and we so badly need—a strong defense, better health care, a fair Social Security system. So we need our public education to be the best it can be. Along with our schools, teachers, families, and students, the Department of Education is an integral partner in this effort.
In addition, I am also working with my colleagues on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). As you know, the last reauthorization of ESEA, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), became law in 2001. While the goals of NCLB are admirable, I believe that the law does not provide states, school districts, and educators with the flexibility and support they need to accomplish them. The education of our children cannot wait any longer, and I am pushing for the Senate to continue careful consideration of ESEA as soon as possible. I will continue to work closely with my colleagues to make sure that New York schools, teachers, and students get the resources they need to support a high-quality, well-rounded education.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts and mathematics that states voluntarily adopt. The standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared for entry courses in two or four year college programs or enter the workforce. The standards are clear and concise to ensure that parents, teachers, and students have a clear understanding of the expectations in reading, writing, speaking and listening, language and mathematics in school.
The nation’s governors and education commissioners, through their representative organizations the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) led the development of the Common Core State Standards and continue to lead the initiative. Teachers, parents, school administrators and experts from across the country together with state leaders provided input into the development of the standards. Each state independently made the decision to adopt the Common Core State Standards, beginning in 2010. To date, there are 45 states along with our territories and the District of Columbia that have voluntarily adopted to use these standards. Local teachers, principals, and superintendents lead the implementation of the Common Core. The federal government had no role in the development of the Common Core State Standards and will not have a role in their implementation. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that is not part of No Child Left Behind and adoption of the standards is in no way mandatory.
Again, thank you for contacting me regarding this important issue. Please feel free to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance on this or any other matter.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
Please do not respond to this email. To send another message please visit my website at https://www.schumer.senate.gov/Contact/contact_chuck.cfm . Thank you.
Click here to Reply or Forward
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sorry for the double post below. Schumer: what a bummer! He ws my Park Slope rep 25 yrs ago, used to wave to him running about the nbhd. Looks like he’s bought into the neoliberal crap. Shame on him!
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Disgusting. They’re all sucked into the Black hole that formed when democracy collapsed.
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Received the same form letter, and my reaction was much like yours. I am quite disappointed with his response.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I sure like what he says about HR-5. Reading thro it, tho, can’t be sure it does what he says. that’s just me; it may be good
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I like what he says about HR-5. Reading thro it, not sure it is what he says, but that’s just me. Hopefully he’s on the right track.
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“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
― Frederick Douglass
Teachers must start direct action against the neoliberal corporate bloodsuckers and their paid politicians who are bent on privatizing not only public schools, but everything that is considered the commons of the people. Don’t count on your
Follow the lead of our Mexican brother and sister teachers, as they take on the corporate “ed-reformers” in their country.
http://www.france24.com/en/20130914-teachers-clash-riot-police-mexico-city/
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Part of the problem CT is that, like most education discussions, we can’t seem to agree on much. I’ll bet if this thread were to grow, that we couldn’t get the majority to agree to just THRE DEMANDS.
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx So sad that the Mexicans ape our ed-reforms, yet says a lot that a corporate police state [propped up by drug-profits] like this is intent on quashing teacher voices. Not sure why NY teacher below thinks we have nothing in common. Seems nothing much has changed in Mexico since I was there in ’68; in those days the ‘hippie’ & left-wing Catholic movements were settled with tanks & grenades.
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Not much traffic on this post, but I’ll include the next response to the petition from my presidential party line supporting senator:
Thank you for sharing your views on the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
American students must be able to compete in an international economy. This voluntary initiative seeks to set national standards for math and language arts that are benchmarked to international standards. Since 2010, states have had the option to join the initiative and to implement the standards that were established by local educators. Over 40 states and the District of Columbia have elected to adopt the standards.
Your views on this and other aspects of education reform are welcomed, and I will keep them in mind as Congress moves forward with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Thank you again for being in touch with me.
Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown
United States Senator
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx What a disappointment from Sherrod Brown. This changes my idea of him as a legislator.
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So who will sign this White House petition to get rid of the standardised testing plague infecting public ed?
The petition was started by two respected public ed advocates – Victoria Young and Susan Ohanion…
It’s been live for a month, several of us have been pushing it hard on all social media and into various groups and we are nowhere near the 100K signatures needed, by April 16th….
Look at it – a month it’s been circulating and we havent even hit 5,000 signatures…. Such a simple thing to do…. and we cant even make this happen…. we are our own worst enemies… I’m ashamed of us all…. Our kids don’t deserve this…. we are failing them….
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/direct-department-education-congress-remove-annual-standardized-testing-mandates-nclb-and-rttt/1lSSvnYK
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We only have ourselves to blame. Excellent effort with your petition. To be honest the log-in procedure probably deters a lot of potential signers. take a look at this one:
I started this at Petition2Congress Sunday morning. It is very easy to sign, copies are automatically sent to President Obama, and your own senators and your House representative. Please take the time to read and sign the petition entitled:
STOP COMMON CORE TESTING.
Thank you all.
http://www.petition2congress.com/15080/stop-common-core-testing/?m=5265435
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1,000 signer in less than 3 days, but things are slowing down somewhat. Most of the country has not experienced the full roll out yet. That could be another reason.
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Reply from one of my senators:
Dear Duane,
Thank you for contacting me about the Common Core State Standards Initiative. As a former teacher and university president, I am committed to ensuring the best possible education for all our children.
As you may know, Governor Nixon committed Missouri to the Common Core Standards Initiative in 2009. The Common Core Standards Initiative brings curricula from different states into alignment with each other by offering federal incentives from the U.S. Department of Education to participate.
I strongly believe that parents and teachers who are closest to students make the best decisions when it comes to educating our children. I have fought to maintain control of classrooms at the state and local levels–not in Washington, D.C. and will continue to work for policies that emphasize improvement in our schools and greater local control so our children can be successful.
A high quality education and hard work are critical to our children’s success. America’s economy and job creation depend on having a highly skilled and highly educated workforce that can compete effectively in the global economy. I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind and will work to prevent DC bureaucrats from making decisions that should be made at a local level.
Again, thank you for contacting me. I look forward to continuing our conversation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SenatorBlunt) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/RoyBlunt) about the important issues facing Missouri and the country. I also encourage you to visit my website (blunt.senate.gov) to learn more about where I stand on the issues and sign-up for my e-newsletter.
Sincere regards,
Roy Blunt
United States Senator
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Peter, thank you so much for your brilliant “boil-down.” Has worked for me in the ed. arena many, many times. It is most important to first, keep yourself informed–so much going on, we all need to be focused. I have to limit what I read online–I used to read NYC Educator daily (I enjoy his writing so much!), but now I can’t–have to read our local bloggers first (to know everything about everything in our area so that we can do something about whatever it is that must be done–act locally first!), then I read this one. So many posts, so little time! But–keep yourself informed, trust your guts & do what you must (esp. since your armed w/information), network, speak and act, just as Peter & Anthony advise.
Yes, WE can…and we WILL!
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After reading these four replies from Washington, the phrase “fallen on deaf ears” comes immediately to mind. WE can? WE will? Looks like a long row to hoe.
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Network, speak and act. Find people in our own communities, agree on something, and act. Go to the market Saturday morning and find others. No one action by itself will address this multi-headed monster.
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