Peggy Robertson, the leader of United Opt Out, is under attack. In this article in the “Denver Post,” administrators warn that she might lose her job if she doesn’t give the test. Even union leaders express ambivalence about supporting her.
Peg has Ben a hero of the Opt Out movement. She has been fearless and outspoken. She belongs on the honor roll of the blog as one of the indispensable voices who support children.
Please write letters and tweets to the Denver Post and tweet your support for Peg.
The Denver Post is @denverpost
Peggy Robertson is @pegwithpen
United Opt Out is @UnitedOptOut
Stand with Peggy and UnitedOpt Out!
#IsupportPeggyandOptOut
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Pls post email addresses we can use to support Peg. She has helped all of us and our kids with her heroic efforts to stop PARCC.
Even union leaders are express ambivalence???? That’s the biggest problem in my opinion. If the major unions truly supported their teachers, students/parents this would be a much more powerful movement.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
If some one refuses to do his or her job, it is cause for immediate dismissal in the private sector. Private sector dominates the US economy. Why should it be different in the teaching profession? Are teachers beholden to some other law which I am not aware of? The same for the unions, are they above the law?
I immediately fire you from this blog. Be gone.
You do not have the right to do so.
What if ethics trump what your employer is asking you to do? What if you work in a restaurant and your employer tells you not to serve people of color?
Adding to Violet’s list.
Grocery chain employees who are told to change the expiration dates on meat. Workers for a school lunch provider who know banned potentially fatal, strawberries are being served to children. Construction workers who know substandard materials are going into building projects.
As the oligarch-paid politicians abandon enforcement and protective consumer legislation (with complicity by judges), thank God for those who contribute to unions, from their middle class or working poor salaries. They provide the remaining firewall between the life Chinese workers/consumers have and the life Americans have/had.
Teachers are employed by the local taxpayers not testing companies.
This isn’t about law – it is about doing what is right for children. Also no need for the snotty attitude.
Your last question should be forwarded directly to the authority who doesn’t have any clue that they are nothing more than dancing puppets.
Speaking of ignorance. Employees have a right to sue employers in the private sectors. The reason why there are millions of lawsuits in the United States every year. Litigious culture. Thank you America for teaching me Who you are.
Sadly, that’s basically what I’ve been told about telling ANYONE about opting out of the testing, even if I am doing it on my time and my dime. Even the Utah Education Association lawyer has said that the state board of education is within their rights to take my teaching license if I tell anyone that they can opt out of the testing.
Do it privately with parents you trust; have them spread the word. UEA will not win a she said-he said law suit.
Raj, please remember that American public education is the backbone of the democracy in which you enjoy talking illogically in this website freely.
You are the SELFISH minority and against the public will that gives you democratic air to breathe and to speak your narrow and uncaring mind here.
Teachers and unions are too much in obeying and following the law, whereas private sector currently buy out certain government officials in order to manipulated the law, so that PRIVATE SECTORS can be ABOVE THE LAW.
Please remember that, the majority of middle class can take over the 1% as soon as all workers realize that they just pause and think about their children and grandchildren’s future of being choked and forced to be slaves without any means to speak, to live, and to fulfill their unique talents, except work without break and they are still STARVING.
You will not be the first or the last sucker who protect your own interest without concerning of the well-being of whole nation where you have borrowed and leaned on to live with democratic freedom which many original generations of Americans have fought hard to earn.
Maybe, it is time for you to go back where you belong (LIKE COMMUNIST COUNTRY?), so do all private sectors who do not respect the mutual appreciation of humanity, civility, democracy, and Public education autonomy.
I AM SORRY THAT YOU MAKE A MISTAKE TO LIVE IN AMERICA 😦
As professionals, teachers have ethical guidelines they must work with. It’s the same with professionals in the private sector.
Even in the private sector, if your employer requires you to do something illegal, unethical or harmful, you have a right to refuse and file a grievance. Your employer is legally prohibited from firing you or otherwise retaliating during this process. You really should do some research before spouting off and making yourself look ignorant.
This over-testing is WRONG! It is destroying children’s love of school and is destroying all creativity of thought which our future needs to survive.
A person who stands up for her children is a hero in my book. (I’m a retired teacher.)
I don’t see anything in this article that to support the assertion that “administrators warn that [Ms. Robertson] might lose her job if she doesn’t give the test.” What it says is that administrators say Ms. Robertson doesn’t have the responsibility to give the test in the first place. She disagrees, so perhaps something more will come of it, but at least as of press time, the district does not appear to have warned her that she might lose her job.
Reblogged this on The War Report on Public Education and commented:
War Report has your back Peggy. Whatever you need. We are here. # Solidarity.
Diane, I don’t want to take away anything from the need for everyone to do what they can to support Peggy Robertson and United Opt Out, but I wanted to alert you and the bloggers to this important, late breaking news out of Philadelphia:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/school_files/Green-out-as-SRC-chair.html
The SRC chairman, Bill Green, has been replaced by Gov. Wolf with Marjorie Neff, SRC member and former principal of the Masterman school. The Governor had wanted the SRC to not approve any new charter schools for Philadelphia considering the financial crisis there, but the Green-led SRC approved 5 new charters; Neff was the only member to vote against every charter application. Green was appointed chairman by former Gov. Corbett.
Wolf is that rare Democrat governor – one who is truly a Democrat. He clearly wants and appreciates the support of teachers.
I’m so disappointed in my union’s response to this article. The union that represents teachers should be LEADING this fight, not waffling about it. Peg is doing the right thing.
I am not surprised. The IFT in Illinois apparently didn’t think it needed to notify its members that the state legislature was holding a hearing on PARCC on February 25th, and that comments could be submitted electronically. Why didn’t they ask us to weigh in on this issue?
Instead the IFT sent the following, on the same day as the hearing:
“February 25, 2015
Put PARCC into action
Teachers, don’t miss out on this free workshop to help you learn how to put the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) into action in your classroom!
What: “Using PARCC Tools to Inform Classroom Instructional Planning” workshop
Date: March 14, 2015
Time: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: IFT Robert M. Healey Center, 500 Oakmont Lane, Westmont, IL 60559
This one-day workshop will be hosted by the IFT and is open to all K-12 teachers. Participants will learn the most recent updates from PARCC, and will gain a deeper understanding of how to use the PARCC Evidence Statements and sample tasks to inform classroom instructional planning. Attendees will also engage in discussions and activities in content-specific (ELA or Mathematics) and grade-band collaborative groups.
There is no cost to attend. Participants will be eligible for a $150 stipend and will be reimbursed for travel expenses.
Space is limited, so click here to learn more and to register by Wednesday, March 4.”
Then this should make you proud Suzanne… All of us should realize that the Denver Post picks and chooses what they print.
http://www.denverpost.com/guestcommentary/ci_27612734/education-reformers-denial?source=infinite
I support Peggy Robertson, a teacher of professional conscience.
Administering this punishment to children is immoral. Peggy is doing the right thing!
Intervening is the most profound kind of caring.
Teachers, please find your moral courage and join her in refusing to test!
There is a quote that I have carried with me for many years for personal reasons. It has become relevant now for reasons I could not have imagined when I first read it.
I’m sharing it here because what is happening to Peggy is happening more frequently than we are collectively aware. Moreover, where it is not yet happening, it is being threatened. Those threats are real as are the consequences.
The quote is from Alice Miller’s FOR YOUR OWN GOOD: Hidden Cruelty in child rearing and the roots of violence (1983).
. . . But those who have spontaneous feelings can only be themselves.
They have no choice if they want to remain true to themselves.
Rejection, ostracism, loss of love, and name calling will not fail to affect them;
they will suffer as a result and will dread them,
but once they have found their authentic self they will not want to lose it.
And when they sense that something is being demanded of them
to which their whole being says no, they cannot do it.
They simply cannot.
Alice Miller
I don’t do Tweets but did Google the Denver Post and got an email “Contact us” address. Here is the letter that I sent:
Dear Sir/Madam at the Denver Post,
I’m encouraged by people such as Peggy Robertson who has the courage to speak out against ‘education reform testing abuse’ of our children. The stresses of teaching in today’s classroom is certainly not the way to encourage our ‘best and brightest’ to attend teacher training universities. It is however, causing the ‘best and brightest’ to quit teaching with a sadness inside their hearts. There is only so much each person can take and ‘education reform’ today has reached that limit.
I am a retired elementary classroom music/band teacher who is very upset over the barrage of testing that has overtaken U.S. schools. It accomplishes nothing except to make children hate to go to school every morning. Testing and more pretesting takes away learning time, stifles creativity and doesn’t recognize that the classroom teacher is the expert. It is a just plain poor policy put out by politicians and the wealthy who once went to school. They make themselves ‘experts’ and have no idea of the damage being perpetrated.
Testing kids will not improve the gap in achievement between the economic haves and the have not’s. Such testing will, however, measure the economic and education level of the parents. Do we really need this waste of public funds on testing to know that the cause of low achievement in schools comes from poverty?
How many financially struggling communities have had to dismiss art and music teachers, librarians, social workers and school nurses because there isn’t money for those support services when Apple & Microsoft laptops, computers and Pearson Publishers have money to be made?
I do hope this letter makes a difference in how Peggy Robertson is treated. Peggy is a hero. I hope my letter opens a few eyes to the ongoing abuse of American children that takes place when they walk to school each day.
There is no ambivalence, CEA will support Peggy if there is any job action take against her. We will do all that is within our power.
Clearly Denver Post writers did some picking and choosing from my comments provided to them.
Check out my guest commentary in the Denver Post on the same issue:
http://www.denverpost.com/guestcommentary/ci_27612734/education-reformers-denial?source=infinite
I SENT MY LETTER WITH LINKS TO THIS SITE TO
openforum@denverpost.com
dpo@denverpost.com
newsroom@denverpost.com
Dear Susan:
Have you check if three provided links work. I cannot open them. May
Hi May, They are not address links, they are addresses to put in an email field…I looked them up on the Denver Post site. They are 3 email addresses at the paper.
Hope you are well. It just never stops snoing here, and it is 17 degrees tonight.
Dear Susan:
Thank you for your reply. How are you doing?
I really love what you wrote in other post. I would reply soon, but my nerve is acting up so that I could not type as much as I want to.
I see that you cheer for Dawn, Rick Lapworth, and Flerp who only beat around the bush.
I wish that I am healthy enough to answer Dawn who challenged Dienne on that post.
Dawn, Rick and Flerp should RE-read what they wrote in order they could answer their own challenged MIND that is quite TWISTED. Love. May
Dear May, I love your honest appraisal. I get the feed from this blog, so I see and skim read, all the ‘conversations’, deleting most of them. I look for LL, Duane , Robert and others who never fail to offer relevant ideas and infer.
I am too busy to enter conversations that are irrelevant at this moment when the war on public education is in full battle mode.
I have just finished reading the Rolling Stone article on the Koch bros,, and the enormous disregard for our people, our laws and our future, that these oligarchs show. Our future is for sale. EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS, to see what the word ‘scofflaw’ means when you have more money that entire nations and a total disregard for humanity.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-the-koch-brothers-toxic-empire-20140924
Moyers sees it, too. Here are just a few links to really important pieces which I often post here.:
http://billmoyers.com/2014/12/19/web-extra-new-robber-barons/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/opinion/politicians-extortion-racket.html?nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20131022&_r=0By
http://billmoyers.com/2015/02/25/end-big-moneys-chokehold-democracy-amend-constitution/?utm_source=General+Interest&utm_campaign=3e81ce4555-Midweek12171412_17_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4ebbe6839f-3e81ce4555-168347829
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/opinion/sunday/the-growing-shadow-of-political-money.html?emc=edit_th_20150125&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=50637717&_r=0
Behind the scenes, big money is ending the road to opportunity for our people, so that only the scions of the wealthy will get a chance to be really educated.This is the road to income inequality which is the PLAN.
After taking out the veteran teachers, and making it impossible for teachers to have any voice in their practice, the current crop of legislators and governors are attempting to put the schools under their control, which means under the control of their backers.. In Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, North Carolina, and many other school systems are going down. It is war, and the public is ignorant to how fast the institution of public education is being dismantled.
Thus, esoteric conversations about who said what, are just so much static, and arguing over evolution does not belong on any site where truth is the rubric, no matter how strongly one feels.
It is the rich source of reporting by Diane, that brings me here. Only here, through Diane’s sources and her vigil as to what is ‘up’, do I see the big picture.
I put it all together at a news site which does not speak only to educators. Writing there and putting together my own blog site, and a site to host my photos takes up whatever time is left to me in a day that is often spent with family, and with editing my photographs for competitions… I have a life, and I do not spend it sitting at computer and arguing irrelevancies. You and I see things in a very similar light.
I hope you are feeling well and looking forward to spring.
Best, Susan