I have not read this book yet, but it looks like a must read. People are always asking, “What can I do to save our public schools? What can I do to stop the hideous explosion of testing?” This book offers answers.
An Activist Handbook for the Education Revolution
United Opt Out’s Test of Courage
Edited by:
Morna M. McDermott, United Opt Out National
Peggy Robertson, United Opt Out National
Rosemarie Jensen, United Opt Out National
Ceresta Smith, United Opt Out National
Published 2014
Contributions by: Rosemarie Jensen, Shaun Johnson, Morna McDermott, Laurie Murphy, Peggy Robertson, Ruth Rodriguez, Tim Slekar, Ceresta Smith, United Opt Out National
Forward by Ricardo Rosa, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
This book is intended for educators, parents and community activists interested in reclaiming our public schools and reclaiming the public narrative around education policy. The book infuses research about the recent history of education policy reform, the strategies United Opt Out uses for fighting back against these policies, and proposes solutions that work to create sustainable, equitable, anti-racist, democratic and meaningful public education. This book is for anyone interested in an “insider’s look” behind the scene of forming an organization, or leading a resistance. Simultaneously the book provides scholarly-based research about the broader issues, policies and data around education reform, and the opt out movement.
Education policy has been heating up ever since NCLB but especially since the roll out of Race to The Top and the Common Core State Standards. Nationally publicized debates and discord over these policies are garnering public attention of teachers, parents, and whole communities. We hope this book will add to the library of other recent books such as Mercedes Schneider’s A Chronicle of Echoes (2014), Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error (2013) and Bowers & Thomas (eds) Detesting and Degrading Schools (2012), that have exposed the complex corporate interest in shaping education policies and the destructive influence such policies will have on our children and on our democracy. This book uses first person narratives infused with research and scholarship, to create personalized accounts into the life of education activism. Each chapter includes an Activists Handbook section to provide support for our activist/readers in their own efforts. We hope that our experiences will inspire others to take this charge upon themselves as well.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements. Forward by Ricardo Rosa. Introduction- by Peg Robertson. CH 1: Predators, Colonizers, and Corporate-Model Reform- By Morna McDermott. CH 2: Who We Are- By Morna McDermott. CH 3: Changing the Narrative- By Ceresta Smith. CH 4: Occupy This- By Peg Robertson. CH 5: Taking Action- By Shaun Johnson, Ceresta Smith, and Morna McDermott. CH 6: Every Narrative Has a Lens: The Value of Social Justice- By Ceresta Smith and Morna McDermott. Ch 7: A Case Study in Reform Failure: The Inconvenient Truth- By Ruth Rodriguez. Ch 8: Strategizing 101- By Laurie Murphy. CH 9: Where Do We Go From Here -By Tim Slekar. Conclusion- By Rosemarie Jensen. APPENDIX.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Just checked Amazon and the price for this handbook is shockingly too high at $59.99 for the hardcover and $25.48 for the paperback—not many will buy at that price.
http://www.amazon.com/An-Activist-Handbook-Education-Revolution/dp/1623969328
Doesn’t Information Age Publishing know that they can publish through Amazon under the Information Age Publishing imprint and get a much better Print on Demand price for production and retail? Amazon sells more than just e-books. It also uses Create Space to print books on demand. The cost of the paperback should be less than $15.00.
Here’s the link to the IAP website page for this book.
http://www.infoagepub.com/products/An-Activist-Handbook-for-the-Education-Revolution
Forward by Ricardo Rosa, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
This book is intended for educators, parents and community activists interested in reclaiming our public schools and reclaiming the public narrative around education policy. The book infuses research about the recent history of education policy reform, the strategies United Opt Out uses for fighting back against these policies, and proposes solutions that work to create sustainable, equitable, anti-racist, democratic and meaningful public education. This book is for anyone interested in an “insider’s look” behind the scene of forming an organization, or leading a resistance. Simultaneously the book provides scholarly-based research about the broader issues, policies and data around education reform, and the opt out movement.
Education policy has been heating up ever since NCLB but especially since the roll out of Race to The Top and the Common Core State Standards. Nationally publicized debates and discord over these policies are garnering public attention of teachers, parents, and whole communities. We hope this book will add to the library of other recent books such as Mercedes Schneider’s A Chronicle of Echoes (2014), Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error (2013) and Bowers & Thomas (eds) Detesting and Degrading Schools (2012), that have exposed the complex corporate interest in shaping education policies and the destructive influence such policies will have on our children and on our democracy. This book uses first person narratives infused with research and scholarship, to create personalized accounts into the life of education activism. Each chapter includes an Activists Handbook section to provide support for our activist/readers in their own efforts. We hope that our experiences will inspire others to take this charge upon themselves as well.
I clicked on the link you provided and found it at Amazon in the Kindle edition for $9.99.
That good. I didn’t see one for $9.99.
Whoopeeeee!
Cross-posted at
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/A-Handbook-for-Education-A-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Activist_Courage_Diane-Ravitch_Education-150328-577.htmlCross posted at Oped
with this comment;
Things are happening fast as the corporations are monetarizing education. Hedge funds are pouring millionsinto charter schools.
http://www.democracynow.org/search?utf8=✓&query=hedge+funds+charter+schools&commit=Search
There is dark money involved,
http://billmoyers.com/2014/09/22/5-signs-dark-money-apocalypse-upon-us/?utm_source=General+Interest&utm_campaign=94370722aa-Midweek_0924149_24_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4ebbe6839f-94370722aa-168347829I
and if we citizens are to reclaim our INSTITUTION of PUBLIC EDUCATION –which is the road to opportunity for all of us who are not the scions of the wealthy,– then WE MUST BECOME INVOLVED!
Legislatures are taking over local districts now that schools have been labeled failing. Nevada, Colorado, Ohio, Louisiana, Alabama are all under assault” which is why this book is important.
They invent failure
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/opinion/paul-krugman-trillion-dollar-fraudsters.html?emc=edit_ty_20150320&nl=opinion&nlid=50637717&_r=0
by removing teachers, and then they ‘fix the schools’ by closing them and opening charter schools WITH PUBLIC MONEY. When the schools failed, they blamed the teacher!
Go to my quicklinks series here,
http://www.opednews.com/author/quicklinks/author40790.html and see the privatization movement IN FULL SWING”Now, in the legislatures across the nation see them deal the final blow!
With 15,880 school districts, this is a genius strategyto take over public education, in vulnerable states by vulnerable state like they did in the elections.
Moreover, there are NO EDUCATORS on these legislative committees that plan to run education. Mayoral control in NYC did this!
And now, NY the governor (flush with hedge fund money)
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/3/11/new_york_hedge_funds_pour_millions proposes to make standardized tests 50% of teachers evaluation, even as parents are opting out of this bogus, and harmful policy.
It is imperative that we th people, and the parents get active or education in this nation will land in the hands of the oligarchs –who need to dumb down our citizens, and rewrite history” as the Koch Brothers did in North Carolina.
https://dianeravitch.net/2014/12/05/north-carolina-plans-to-adopt-koch-funded-social-studies-curriculum/
And, the way they ensure that no real educators run the schools, is by inserting into the legislation, mandates that would make all school teachers and administrators fire-at-will employees without due process rights.
It would have destroyed the last remaining teacher union contract in Arkansas. It allowed for the permanent end of democratic control of a school district or those portions of it privatized. It would have captured property tax millage voted by taxpayers for specific purposes, including buildings, and given them to private operators. It would have allowed the seizure of buildings for private operators at no cost.” This was the proposal, in Arkansas, where Walton money was at work!
https://dianeravitch.net/2015/03/16/max-brantley-follow-the-walton-money-in-arkansas/
AND they lost there” because the people got involved! That is why this book is crucial, and organizations like the NPE are critical!
Read this genuine story of how they did it in LA:
http://citywatchla.com/8box-left/6666-lausd-and-utla-complicity-kills-collective-bargaining-and-civil-rights-for-la-s-teachers
See how they made teachers into ’employees at will,” so the budget could be trimmed of benefits, and so they can fire them ‘at will’ with no due process protections”.as if they were workers at Walmart.
Let me explain something: Tenure is NOT a job for life” it is just a contractual assurance that a professional who does a good job, cannot be fired at will and is entitled to due process. The Duncan rant about those incompetent teachers who are protected by the union is just another total lie disseminated by the media, which is owned TOTALLY by these billionaires.
They want to be able to keep the state budget low, by ensuring that no teacher reaches a time when they are vetted and can get benefits”THAT is what tenure gives to thee educated, experienced, dedicated Americans who enable our children to LEARN.
Become informed. Tell others!
Do get the feed at the Ravitch blog …such brilliant and often humorous conversations, these are the kind of smart folks who we remember as great teachers– and they talk all about education as it is unfolding).
Also, go often to the NPE site. N is for Network, get the real facts about what is ongoing among the genuine academics, educators , teachers and parents, in the NPE News Briefs.
http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/news/
The following is a letter to the editor I just formulated. One local paper allows 300 words and this is exactly that. It is subject to revision before sending it in but think that this is about the final form of it.
It may be of interest to some of you. In copying and pasting the “bullets” did not transfer.
Before enrolling your child in a charter school consider:
Are corporations bottom lines the public, children’s interests or making money?
Have charters proven better than public schools?
Do experts in education wholeheartedly endorse charters? If not, why not? Who is best qualified to understand your child’s education, educators and scholars who have studied assiduously for years the many aspects of education or politicians and corporate CEOs? Why are professional teachers quitting, college enrollment for prospective teachers decimated?
Can you trust the politicians who circumvent a duly elected superintendent who garnered more votes than the circumventing governor, emulating the policies of a disgraced Tony Bennett?
Do you wish to promote political policies which interfere in public education, destroying public schools?
Do you believe that hiring teachers who may not have been thoroughly trained to teach in its many aspects, been licensed by the state, often with minimal training will give superior education to those who have?
Does an education which prepares your child as a widget for millionaire CEOs better than an education which strives to prepare children for a democratic society, develops their potential as a human being, while preparing them for the work place? Which have the public schools striven to do? Which corporate mentality?
Can you trust charters who do not answer to the public, are not subject to regulations demanded of public schools?
Do you care enough about the future of your child to educate yourself, read what experts in education, scholars, child psychologists have to say concerning charters or do you take at face value the propaganda demonizing our public schools which have arguably made this nation great?
Begin by familiarizing yourself with Dr. Diane Ravitch. Read her blog. Study the tenets of “Reign of Error“, her impeccable research. Find, study, other educational experts. Then decide.
Eagerly looking forward to reading this. Just finished Micah Uetricht’s Strike for America, which was terrifically inspiring. Hope the Handbook is even half as good.
In Arizona, the opposite of pro-public education activism is occurring.
http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/28/1374000/-Arizona-school-officials-protest-education-cuts-so-the-legislature-makes-their-protests-illegal?detail=facebook_sf
DEB, I REPOSTED the article you linked here, at Oped, with a long comment which you should read there, as it has links to many posts at this site, which describe the legislative moves to take over control of schools and use taxes to fund charters.
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Arizona-school-officials-p-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Budget_Education_Educational-Crisis_Employees-150329-963.html#comment539120
Reblogged this on Who's Minding the Children? and commented:
Must understand it is not the NUMBER of tests, but the high stakes attached to the test you take. OPT Out to save your community schools and improve the lives of school children everywhere.
Can you tell me if this book has more than history and general strategy? I need to-dos, checklists, task lists, direct instruction.
Have you read the book yet? Where may I find a review? We so depend upon you every day. Thank you. Mary Patee Jefferson County Schools, CO
Sorry. I hadn’t scrolled down far enough. I found your info just now. Thanks. Mary Patee