This is a terrific column by Valerie Strauss describing the work of the Network for Public Education. I wish she had been there to share the excitement of the 600+ education activists from across the nation–teachers, parents, students, retired teachers, principals, school board members. Wherever they came from, they feel isolated and powerless as the anti-public education forces rampage through the lives of children, teachers, and schools, claiming that their rush to turn the schools over to entrepreneurs is “all about the kids.” Yet in Chicago, they met many others and felt the positive energy of being part of a movement. It was incredibly energizing to meet others who are waging the same battles in Ohio, Michigan, Florida, California, New York, Indiana, Washington, Texas, and many other states. There was a genuine spirit of camaraderie, even joyfulness, as we interacted with the leaders of the Newark Student Union, BATs from everywhere, and parents who had crossed the country to join us.
The keynotes were wonderful. The panels were led by activists sharing what they had learned. Most of them had overflow crowds. One in particular was especially enlightening–Jesse Hagopian’s discussion of the racist history of standardized testing, accompanied by Rita Green, the Director of Education for the Seattle NAACP, which has endorsed the opt-out movement. Green told the audience that the NAACP locals do not share the enthusiasm of the national organization for standardized testing. The room for that session was packed, with audience members sitting on the floor and lining the walls.
The keynote speeches and most of the panels will be posted on the website of the Network for Public Education as soon as they are ready. (Here is a picture of the Grand Ballroom at the Drake Hotel with Karen Lewis in the forefront.) We will soon announce the location of our 2016 conference. We aim to top the previous conferences of 2014 in Austin and 2015 in Chicago. We are many, they are few. We will reclaim our schools and make them far better than they are today. We want transformation, not privatization. We want schools that are places of joy and learning for all children, schools that respect children and parents, schools that prepare children for today and for lives of purpose.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I would love to join NPE. How does one do so?
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Here’s their website: http://www.networkforpubliceducation.org/ You don’t really “join” per se, but there are links to donate and to sign up for the newsletter. If you lead an organization you can sign your organization up as an “ally” of NPE.
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A bit off-topic, but have you read Jose Vilson’s post mortem of the conference? http://thejosevilson.com/raisins-exploding-in-the-sun/#comment-127753 I guess I can’t tell him what his experience was, but I have to say I’m rather surprised and saddened that he feels racial issues were overlooked.
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A rather timely outrage, considering what’s been going on this week in Baltimore etc…
Sounds a lot like how I felt earlier this month when black voters handed over our city to corporate shill Rahm Emanuel for the next four years. They marched in the streets in this city yesterday to demonstrate support for their fellow black citizens of Baltimore, but they did nothing to stop the continuance of white overlords and police who are running Homan Square, a Gitmo for people of color, right here in their own city: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/24/1366521/-Chicago-Police-Have-Their-Own-Black-Site-Homan-Square
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I understand Jose’s outrage about what’s going on, but I certainly didn’t get the feeling that anyone at the NPE conference was overlooking what’s been going on (although Baltimore hadn’t yet boiled over at the time of the conference, so it wasn’t mentioned that I was aware of). But certainly no one at NPE was a Rahm supporter or a police violence apologist. Several speakers at the conference – black, white and otherwise – spoke out against racial violence and in strong support of social justice education.
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The Jose Vilson” as he refers to himself, really called you down from a position filled with arrogance and disdain. Not a way to win over allies.
Glad you posted this Dienne.
Schools Matter also posted anti NPE stuff today. As a mediator, I find it disheartening that there is jealousy and infighting amongst individuals who should be on the same page in educating about, and beating back, the Rheeformers.
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Friend asked me to clarify that I meant it was Vinson who wrote with arrogance and disdain…not Dienne who always is informed and measured in comments. Please read her link to Vinson’s blog.
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Dienne,
I read Jose Vilson’s post and concluded we attended different conferences.
I heard the leaders of the Newark Student Union; Jitu Brown of Journey for Justice; Yong Zhao; and I sat next to Jose when Jesse Hagopian discussed the racist history of standardized testing. I will tweet the picture of the two of us–Jose and me– smiling together.
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I would encourage you to try to have a conversation with Jose about this. I attempted to say what you just said and got a very defensive response from Jose (along with a comment from Xian Barrett saying that my comment was intruding into a “safe space” and making other people less likely to share their experiences).
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Diane,
Let’s call it for what it is: for many folks, especially of color, NPE hasn’t been a safe space for racial issues. That’s the reason for Jitu and Xian and Kennet and Julian’s presences on the board and we can call that out. Many of the folks who went to the conference felt similarly, so maybe it’s not just me. I’m often asked to be the mouthpiece because, as is evidenced by the last year, maybe I and those of us who speak out on issues of race are onto something. Plus, I will lead.
I also gave you props for showing up at the #BlackLivesMatter workshop because everyone in the room needed to know that yes, the NPE president endorsed the views that were there. That picture was my way of thanking you for doing so, besides the fact that, when you first saw me, you called me friend. And I’m still grateful for you endorsing and reviewing my book. These feelings were genuine. Tweeting out my photo would have been nice in *that* context, not as a reply to my blog.
At the Lily / Randi convo, for many of my colleagues (and not just me), it felt like we wasted all that goodwill by not addressing issues of cultural competence at that table, as if Jesse’s workshop was an aside and not at the center. People of color didn’t land on education reform; that landed upon us. And first, before the rage seeped into the comfy suburban confines.
Indeed, I give credit to those within NPE who spoke up about issues of color, who got Jitu and Tanaisa to kick off the conference, and who, yes, invited me knowing full well I don’t hold my tongue. I don’t *need* to give credit to Deb Meier, Chris Thinnes, and Fred Klonsky, all of whom have been able to speak to this without any prodding. But, as is always my challenge, I’m often disconcerted with the visceral reaction of people even bringing up the idea of race as a point of contention.
I’m not appreciative of folks commenting on your blog trying to “tell on me”. That’s unbecoming, alienating, rude as hell, and the very reason why so many activists (of color and white, many of whom fall under the resistance umbrella) come to me with their complaints. The question is, how can we work harder to ensure everyone feels like it’s a safe space and make these issues front and center, inescapable for attendees? These are the questions that will persist so long as folks continue to see people like me as beneath them and unworthy of critical engagement. Dismissal is bullsh …
You know where to find me.
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Jose Vilson,
You know that I respect you. NPE has made a sincere and genuine effort to achieve diversity, not to make anyone feel unwelcome and marginalized. We had a great conference in Chicago and next year will be better still.
I hope you are there!
Diane
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With nothing but respect — for you, and for the NPE conference, attendees, and leadership — I have to say that *I* attended ‘the same conference’ as Jose.
The issue at hand for *me* in many ways — I do not presume to speak for Jose, but I think my post shared some similar concerns — is summed up well by the examples on which you’ve drawn. It was conspicuous to each of us that Tanaisa Brown, Jitu Brown, Yong Zhao, and Jesse Hagopian made explicit appeals to race, who called for ownership of white folks’ cultural incompetence in ongoing resistance, and who urged us to understand the racialized dynamics not only of ‘their’ reforms but of ‘our’ resistance. It seems a worthwhile to question to ask why people of color are positioned or expected — or, in this case, seemingly rejected — continually to speak to issues of race without which *none* of our shared commitments can be reasonably understood or effectively addressed. And a reasonable question to ask why more white speakers, leaders, or attendees don’t or can’t.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Chris
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Chris Thinnes, no speaker at the NPE conference was told what to say or even given topics. Everyone made his/her own choices. The Newark Student Union is racially diverse, and they spoke about the lack of democracy in Newark and the disregard of their voices. Maybe I’m dense, but the quickest way to help the enemies of democratic public education is to fight among ourselves.
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Thanks — I understand and honestly didn’t mean to suggest that folks were instructed on what to say. I trust that everyone made their own choices — and it’s the choices that weren’t made that concern me. I’m just noting what people of color tended to say, and what other folks did not or would not.
The intent of such commentary isn’t to abet those opposed to democratic education — I am sorry if it comes across that way — but hopefully to suggest that dialogue about democratic education, spaces that support it, and organizations that defend it, could and should be more actively and intentionally inclusive…
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Chris,
I don’t know of an organization that is more actively committed to open and honest discussion of education and social justice than NPE.
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Agreed completely — and in that spirit, I hope & think it should be acceptable — mission-critical, actually — to raise such questions and voice such concerns in a shared effort continually to improve.
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Dienne,
At this point, I’m not so sure that Jose is that interested in necessarily having a “conversation” but more in having what appears to be a diatribe. I read his “Raisins exploding. . . ” post which at the beginning referenced another of his posts. So I went to that post to read it so I could have some background information that he obviously felt important to include.
In that second post he wrote: “For years, some of us have pleaded with people of all backgrounds to reflect on the ways in which race, class, and gender work within our educational dialogue, mostly ignored or deflected. Saying such things at a large anti-testing conference this year, for example, earned me an epic finger-wag from an audience member who thought it best to lecture me on why the Tea Party wasn’t inhuman (even though that’s not what I said),”
I asked him yesterday on his blog if the “large anti-testing conference” was last year’s NPE conference in Austin because I had a similar conversation with him directly after the panel discussion featuring Jose, M. Schneider, another lady whom I don’t remember and R. Weingartner. (He has taken that post down with no explanation not that I need one he can do what he wants, it’s his post, and yes, Jose that may seem to you to be a good example of whites condescending to blacks) I thought I had heard him say that the “tea partiers were inhuman” or something to that effect and I asked for clarification. He stated that he didn’t say that. I accepted his explanation and left it at that.
It seems that he didn’t and has used it as an example of that ever pervasive racism that he perceives. And his description, if it was indeed the incident in which I was involved, certainly doesn’t accurately describe the conversation. (if anyone knows where to find a video of that panel discussion please post it).
You see the visceral feeling that I got in talking with him that day is that he “pre-judged” me (big rural bearded white boy-ha ha) before I even had a chance to talk to him. That he was doing much the same thing that he is decrying in how we “white folks” supposedly treat “colored folks”. In contrast, Jose was on a book publishing panel in Chicago and I didn’t get any of those vibes at all.
I can’t account for Jose’s perceptions as they are his own just as my perceptions are my own. But I thought his take on the NPE conference in Chicago was way off base.
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Although some racial issues were addressed at the sessions I attended, they were limited. One issue not mentioned is, when we opt out of the test, what will we put in place as a viable alternative to assure parents that their children will be well served.
Of course a discussion about how students can avoid dangerous situations is another area that must be addressed. More importantly, addressing teachers as to how to approach all students with dignity, humanizing them. The approach taken by CPI, Crises Prevention Institute, as it is the approach that causes problems.
As educators, we too must be prepared for any situation that arises. Many forget that the first step to resolving a crises situation is support. Remember, that in urban schools, half of the students still drop out. The antiquated system is a goodly part of the problem, however, how we as teachers approach kids is also an issue. Why have so many young black youth died unnecessarily? One part of the puzzle goes to the original approach to students. Do we all take the approach that humanizes? If so, why are there so many drop outs?
As my colleague Dr. Dye stated after seeing tweets about the conference, “where’s the color”
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Unfortunately, Strauss uses the “corporate reform” meme. And I wasn’t able to get anything to post on that site, I’ll try again tomorrow. See Diane’s earlier post today for a discussion of that.
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“Green told the audience that the NAACP locals do not share the enthusiasm of the national organization for standardized testing. The room for that session was packed, with audience members sitting on the floor and lining the walls.”
Interesting, because this seems to be what is happening with the teachers’ unions too. The Nationals voice support for Common Core while some states and many local district union branches do not.
Who eventually decides policy at the national level? Will national policy for the unions eventually peculate up from the locals until they are mostly on the same message?
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Bill Gates has bought national policy decisions from NAACP, Urban League, AFT, NEA, et al. Search his site and you can see how much money they all took from him over the years to promote CC etc. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/Quick-Links/Grants-Database
While NEA & AFT leaders pledged to not take that money anymore, other important commitments would be for them to pledge to not send money to support political candidates who promote the corporate “reform” agenda, and to poll and listen to their rank and file before deciding on what they will support as well.
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National union leadership is running counter to the interests of the rank and file to satisfy its self-advancement requirements. Nothing is perculating.
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Instead of attacks on allies, I’d prefer to see outrage directed against “The Black Mis-leadership Class,” including Obama and civil rights groups that have been paid off by billionaires to promote their agenda, rather than supporting what’s in the best interests of African Americans and other oppressed and marginalized people:
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AMEN!
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