Janet Van Lone left a comment on the blog, sharing a letter she sent to Campbell Brown, who advocates for charters and vouchers and for eliminating teacher due process.
Janet writes:
I was really annoyed at Campbell Brown the other day, so I wrote her a letter:
Dear Campbell Brown,
I used to like you. I remember watching you on the Today Show and CNN awhile back. To me, you felt like a friend, someone I’d like to have over for a cup of coffee or as a member of my bookclub. I see now that you have joined the ranks of school “reformer” and “child advocate”.
I have two kids who attend public school. I am a former special education teacher. I’ve spent years working with children who are living in poverty, dealing with it’s disastrous effects. Currently I am pursuing my doctorate in education, in an effort to continually work on the real problems we face in this field. I have enormous respect for the teaching profession, and I want to do everything that I can to recruit and train great teachers to put in all types of classrooms across this country. I want them to stay in their jobs for many years, and once they become master teachers, I want them to inspire and mentor the next generation of educators.
Teachers, unions, and tenure are not the problem with public education. It seems that you have waged war on teachers because of all of the “teacher sexual predators” who are apparently running rampant in our schools. Let me be clear. The very large majority of teachers are hard working people who decided to teach for the love of the profession, to inspire youth, and to make a difference in society. If a sexual predator makes it into our ranks we would be the first to be outraged and disgusted. Our job is to protect children and we take that very seriously. To my knowledge, I have not met any teacher sexual predators in the almost 20 years I’ve spent in public schools. Teachers, unions, and tenure is NOT the problem with public education.
YOU and your corporate billionaire funders are the real problem. You provide no significant data to support your claims, you refuse to address poverty (the real issue), and your goal is to dismantle the public school system, all in the name of more profits for you and your greedy billionaire donors.
You are not a school reformer, nor are you an advocate. Child advocates spend time with children. Advocates are voices for those in need. They act on their behalf to ensure they receive adequate nutrition, healthcare, education, and they work to help each child meet their own individual potential. Advocates fight tirelessly against poverty. They fight against predators who seek to personally profit off of the most vulnerable children in our society.
Diane Ravitch, a real hero for public education and the teachers and children it serves, has offered to talk with you about the actual problems with public education. Please do that. You are misinformed and misguided. She can help.
In the meantime, I’m going to pay attention to who is benefitting from your scheme, both financially and politically. And I’m going to tell everyone and anyone who will listen.
Please reconsider your actions so that you and your friends don’t destroy public education.
Janet Van Lone
Diane Ravitch's blog 
If not her, it will be someone else, because the plutocrats are pouring vast fortunes into their goal, to control the public education of the future citizens. It is imperative that they remove the real professionals forth practice so the patients will fail. Like all dictators, they know that they need to get them young. By taking over the schools in the legislatures these kings and barons (who own most of the wealthy this nation while the middle class struggles) re-write history and science, and tell the people that their version of what our Constitution means is THE version. The preamble with its promise to promote the common good, will never be known by adults for whom television is the prime educator.
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This letter to Campbell Brown is very well put. I wish that the public would wake up to the realization that many education reformers’ true goal is to make money off the backs of our children.
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As teachers, we must continue to be strong advocates for each other and for the students that we serve. We must not let people like them take the control; of the educational system.
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Janet Van Lone: Don’t expect much sympathy from your letter. Brown’s husband is Dan Señor, a BIG war profiteer from the Bush invasion of Irag. It’s all about the money for Mr. & Mrs. Señor.
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Even though we probably won’t get much sympathy from them, we must continue to speak out against these issues that affect teachers and students. There is strength in numbers.
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We have learned not to expect replies from letters sent to Brown and her ilk. Even cogent ones, such as Janet Van Lones, it remains critical that every day educators, students, parents and community people continue to express their disapproval, indignation and outrage at the continued deformation and destruction of public education. Active resistance is growing. It is only a matter of time before progressive people such as Janet Van Lone move from letter writing to active resistance.
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This was a very well written letter. I too have spent the last 20 years in public education as a special education teacher and have not met a sexual predator. My mantra to the school boards or those that are looking for pertinent information to guide their decisions, is to spend a week or month in my classroom before you make a decision that will affect my students. Thanks to all the advocates who work tirelessly for the best education for our students.
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I spent 30 years in elementary education as a tracher and a school site administrator. I, too, am happy to say, never met a “sexual predator” among my colleagues.
The bulk of my career was spent in schools in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. The teachers I worked with over 30 years cared deeply about their students and worked diligently to help them achieve to the highest level possible. They often gave their own time and money in pursuit of this goal.
Because the children came much less prepared, and lived lives
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Somehow, my unfinished post got posted.
I spent 30 years in elementary education as a tracher and a school site administrator. I, too, am happy to say, never met a “sexual predator” among my colleagues.
The bulk of my career was spent in schools in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. The teachers I worked with over 30 years cared deeply about their students and worked diligently to help them achieve to the highest level possible. They often gave their own time and money in pursuit of this goal.
Because these children come much less prepared, and often live lives that are less than ideal for success in school, teachers’ jobs are very difficult. Yet they continue to work for children due to love and commitment, despite the barriers put up by the “reformers” of today.
The “reformers”, in my opinion, are heartless and soulless individuals who have no business trying to privatize public education. Our children are not a commodity.
Public education needs to be a not only a source of learning facts and figures, but a place where ideas can be developed and tested, a place where children learn how to develop relationships, a place for liberal and fine arts – a place for “everybody”!
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This is fantastic! I think with a few changes it could be adapted to the entire spectrum of reformers…
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I applaud this teacher who stated it well. Reforming education is not attacking teachers, but all hands on deck to help support teachers who are trying hard to do their job. Start with reforming how we look at the social issues that are affecting our children today and give them support as well (mental health professionals in schools and social workers that will help address their poverty issues and so on. This is real reformation.
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