Anthony Cody, co-founder of the Network for Public Education and retired teacher, describes the day nearly three weeks ago when education activists from across the nation met in a grimy warehouse in Brooklyn to tape videos about the fight for better schools and against privatization.
I posted a request on the blog inviting people to join the audience. Several readers asked if the day would be live-streamed. The documentarian Michael Elliott told me it was a filming, not an event, so live-streaming was impossible. Some speakers did retakes. There were long pauses while the cameras were readjusted. No, it was not right for live-streaming. The end result will be a number of short videos, featuring some terrific speakers.
By the way, the audience was full of teachers, BATs, parents, and other educators. They were very patient and very enthusiastic.
The filming was a project of the Network for Public Education. It is part of our ongoing efforts to inform the public about the fight against privatization and the importance of improving our public schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Great project.
Diane (loud applause).
I think “the public,” however, is mostly unaware of how CONCERTED the efforts are since “think tanks” came on the scene and were so well-funded; and WHERE they are coming from–mostly from the right-wing wealthy (the so called 1 percent), from what I can tell (ALEC, the Bradley Foundation, DeVos’s corporations, the Koch brothers, Bill Gates, the Waltons, etc., and some mentioned in Meyers’ book on “Dark Money”).
People are busy with their work and families and only get bits and pieces of what’s going on, at best. They are, as it were, rearranging deckchairs on what is coming as “Titanic.”
I fear that, without a similarly MASSIVE, CONCERTED, and ONGOING information campaign, to break into the stream of consciousness of “the people,” the damage to public schools will be so far along that turning back will be practically impossible.
Agree with you completely Catherine. I am amazed that virtually everyone who comes to my RESIST meetings have NO understanding of why charter schools are not the best choice for students and that the uber wealthy vulture donors to candidates in LA, and the winning of their $14 Million dollar charter-supporter babies, Melvoin and Gonez, was a disaster for our public schools. It has been (is) grueling to try to educate disinterested and uninvolved voters here.
BTW..less than 12% even bothered to vote.
Less than 10%
Ellen Lubic I’ve been thinking about this. For instance, a TV commercial that shows contrary pictures–some that reflect public and public education, the opposite depicting corporate donors and, worse, pictures of oligarchs, like that woman billionaire in Texas with the cowboy hat and the horse right behind her in a stable somewhere. Now THERE’s someone who looks like she understands what education is all a bout.
But an ad could show, under “public,” a beautiful picture of the U.S. Constitution on one side and, on the other side, under “Charter” or “Voucher,” a corporate logo or a group of them. And a picture of a bunch of school kids looking up at the Statue of Liberty or another symbol of our culture, on the one hand, and then the same kids looking up at, again, at a corporate logo, or better, the Statue of Liberty with a corporate flag or banner strung across it.
I swear–I don’t think corporate America will be happy until they can tattoo their logos on our foreheads, or at the bottom of the toilet bowl, so we cannot help but see them–at every turn.
Great ideas to both make videos and to produce ads…but who will pay for their distribution?
Ellen Lubic It was just some speculative thoughts. Nothing good happens without first reaching forward. Maybe some greedy capitalist will have a conversion and actually understand what damage they are trying to do. (Ha!) What’s happening is historic. But don’t bother if we cannot afford it.
Over and over this statement proves to be frighteningly true and so hard to digest in 2017: “I am amazed that virtually everyone who comes to my RESIST meetings have NO understanding of why charter schools are not the best choice for students…”
ciedie aech My guess is that, again, most are busy with work and children, etc., and are able, but are not accustomed to thinking about either politics as such or, more to the point, how public education is intimately connected with the democratic principles they already stand on. Where do busy people find a place and time to talk about such things–at the water cooler? The election of trump, ironically, seems to have waked up a sizable part of the electorate–but it’s reactionary, I think, and not substantial? The optimists among us can hope, however.
Of course, the lack of money will play a big part in the push back that’s going on; however, I do think there is a kind of communication out there that would work to reach people deeply, especially those whose children’s future of being able to live in a democratic atmosphere is REALLY at stake.
Diane AFTERTHOUGHT: I’m thinking of a television campaign with the effect of “you totaled your car, . . no one was hurt, but . . . ” Think of it: They must make a lot of money on insurance to fund such a campaign–but the issue for us is changing present understanding and bringing that understanding to actionable MEMORY. Just some thoughts.
Thanks!
Our adversaries are well funded and use the media, social media, faux grassroots campaigns, celebrity, politicians, and advertising to pump out their message of failing public education. We have to respond in our own way. We have an enormous reach in social media and we have our kids in the very schools they deem failures. I hope this is just the beginning of our own efforts to message on behalf of the essential need to support public education. We need help to push this message out and what Anthony talks about is asking for public support. There’s a sign up link in the blog for anyone who wants to be part of sharing the messages to create our own viral campaign. Please sign up and help!!!!