Just received. He gets it!
Bernie Sanders
Sisters and Brothers –
There is something happening in Los Angeles that you need to know about and that we all need to do something about.
Today, for the first time in 30 years, more than 30,000 Los Angeles public school teachers are on strike fighting for smaller class sizes and decent wages, for nurses, counselors and librarians in their schools, and against a coordinated effort from billionaires on the right to make money privatizing public education.
Public education is fundamental to any functioning democracy, and teaching is one of its most valuable and indispensable professions.
So how is it that the top 25 hedge fund managers in this country make more money than the combined salaries of every kindergarten teacher?
How is it that the billionaires of this country get huge tax breaks, but our teachers and children get broken chairs, flooded classrooms and inadequate support staff in their schools?
That is what a rigged economy looks like.
In the richest country in the history of the world, our teachers should be the best-paid in the developed world, not among the worst-paid.
So I stand in solidarity with the United Teachers of Los Angeles. Because a nation that does not educate its children properly will fail, and I applaud these teachers for leading this country in the fight to change our national priorities. Today, I am asking you to do the same:
Add Your Name: Tell the striking teachers in Los Angeles that you are following their struggle and stand in solidarity with them. We will make sure your messages of support get to these teachers.
But what we really need in this country is a revolution in public education.
What we accept as normal today with regards to education, I want your grandchildren to tell you that you were crazy to accept.
And in my view, that conversation starts, but does not end, with early-childhood education.
That is not just my opinion. Research tells us that the “most efficient means to boost the productivity of the workforce 15 to 20 years down the road is to invest in today’s youngest children.”
So it is not a radical idea to say that we need to provide free, full-day, high-quality child care for every child, starting at age three, so that they will be guaranteed a pre-kindergarten education regardless of family income.
That is common sense.
But in the twenty-first century, a public education system that goes from early childhood education through high school is not good enough.
The world is changing, technology is changing, our economy is changing. If we are to succeed in the highly competitive global economy and have the best-educated workforce in the world, I believe that higher education in America should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few.
That means that everyone, regardless of their station in life, should be able to get all of the education they need.
Today in America, hundreds of thousands of bright young people who have the desire and the ability to get a college education will not be able to do so because their families lack the money. This is a tragedy for those young people and their families, but it is also a tragedy for our nation.
Our mission must be to give hope to those young people. If every parent in this country, every teacher in this country, and every student in this country understands that if kids study hard and do well in school they will be able to go to college, regardless of the income of their family, that will have a radical impact on primary and secondary education in the United States—and on the lives of millions of families.
That is what we can accomplish by making public colleges and universities tuition-free, because every American, no matter his or her economic status, should have the opportunity for a higher education. And, at the same time, we must substantially lower student debt.
But getting there will take a political revolution in this country, and a radical change in national priorities.
Instead of giving huge tax breaks to billionaires and profitable corporations, we must create the best public educational system in the country. Instead of major increases in military spending, we must invest in our kids.
And today, the most important step in that direction starts with standing in solidarity with the teachers in Los Angeles.
Add Your Name: Tell the striking teachers in Los Angeles that you are following their struggle and stand in solidarity with them. We will make sure your messages of support get to these teachers.
Through our support for these teachers, we have a chance to reaffirm our support for quality public education and the right of all children to receive the best education possible.
Thank you for standing with them.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
ADD YOUR NAME
Paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders
(not the billionaires)
PO BOX 391, Burlington, VT 05402
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Great statement of support from Bernie, thanks for posting and for being our onsite rep to the strike. Let’s hope it grows from here.
Amen to that, Ira. & Bernie still needs to have a discussion with you!
(I commented on Bernie’s message in the previous post; thanks, again, carolmalaysia, for posting it in its entirety.
& then, thanks, Diane, for making this a post.)
Oh, & always “Paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders (not the billionaires).”
Gotta love that message!
This is a good start. But Bernie needs to mention one of the major reasons for the strike: class size. He also needs to call out charters and give full support to public schools.
While I believe Bernie supports public education, I do not think he totally understands the whole picture as Vermont has not enacted charter legislation, and privatization is not a big issue in Vermont.
Reblogged this on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé.
I wish he had pushed Hillary harder on these issues in 2016….maybe he will push Harris….I believe he and Hillary’s time is gone, but speaking clearly on issues never hurts.
It is Hillary pushing him out in 2016 resulted in Trump becoming president. But lots of Dems still do not want to admit this.
When I spoke with various members of Congress for 4 consecutive years, Bernie is the only one who I thought understood the issues and didn’t have an agenda of test, test, test, and common goring kids. I spoke to a lot of people, DEMS, GOPers, Tea Party folks, Independents, and others. Yup, I crossed state lines. Didn’t limit myself to speaking only to those in congress from Colorado. I felt that would be a waste of my time to speak only to those elected from CO. Besides, Congress should be working for us, not the monied.
I don’t think Bernie’s time is over. Go Bernie. I am a patron re: Friends of Bernie. Can you imagine what Congress would be like without him there? HORRORS! What a frightening thought.
Correct, BA!!! Including Elizabeth Warren.
The reason Bernie gets it is quite simple. He thinks for himself. He has consistent principles throughout his life. He’s not afraid to admit when he’s been wrong and makes amends. He doesn’t equivocate, whether he agrees with you or not. Unlike most Democrats, from Tom Perez on down, who have to read a poll before deciding what to “believe” or stand for.
Finally someone wrote him a good speech. But he should be careful with “brothers and sisters” to not be seen as a mini-Stalin.
Ah, so he is for reforms, just not THIS kind of reforms, but reforms anyway.
Pre-K academic education is really pointless. Kids must be left to play, and without screens. In Finland kids go to school at 7 years old and are not expected to know how to read, write or count. They pick it up quickly with proper curriculum (not with Whole Language junk).
“PreK academic education” is not what universal PreK is/ should be about. That sounds like a problem w/ private PreK’s that intro excessive seat-time/ age-inappropriate academics [& consequently too little unstructured play]. Granted, that is a problem that needs to be pushed against– & it’s an uphill battle, especially in wkg-lowermid-class PreK’s getting $/ taking orders from state DofEds infiltrated by trickle-down CCSS. Those who can afford it will choose Montessori or Waldorf instead, We have there already [since 2010!] the now-usual problem of harmful fed/state ed policy– I do not minimize it. Our struggle for quality, age-appropriate ed led by experienced teachers is not just K12: it’s [already] PreK-12.
However, that doesn’t mean we don’t need universal PreK. The idea is to expand early exposure to vocabulary/ 1-on-1 talking w/adults & being read to by them– to poor kids– who are otherwise going to be placed in cheap lo-qual daycares, or w/ busy [maybe non-Eng-speaking] relatives/ babysitters who park them in front of a TV.
Let’s not be silly & compare ourselves to Finland. Child poverty in Finland in 2014 was 3.7%; ours in that year was 21.1%. As to the 7y.o. “start”: in Finland, daycare & PreK are virtually free– 98% 6yo’s & 68% 3-5yo’s attend pre-primary; 28% of 0-2y.o.’s are in daycare.
Love it. Thanks, Bernie.
Bernie has a ways to go on public schools — he needs to speak out on charter schools and the billionaires and corporate interests who are trying to gain control a suck resources out of our schools.
But he is still so much better than most on this issue, and I think it will just take a little grassroots activism to show him the light. I am going to call his office, I hope others do the same.
If he decides to run for president again, he has my vote.
#RunBernieRun
He’ll get there.
oh, that he truly WISHES to learn where he has been misled and dangerously complicit: this is key for any of the candidates, making themselves HEAR and believe those willing to explain the horrible mess
Bernie for Prez and AOC for Vice-Prez . . . Or vice versa.
The old arthritic establishment Democrats and GOP need to wither, fade, and perish. All of their million dollar homes and over-the-top lifestyles will never free them from their addiction to money and power. It only makes them more isolated, more ideologic, more indifferent.
What the hell. They weave the fiber of their own hemp noose, and it will be pure joy to see them hang themselves with it.
Once an addict of greed, always an addict. It’s a matter of time before they overdose.
Here is the crypt – I mean lair . . . . I mean home of Pelosi. I feel her pain. The GOP are no better.
Sorry. . . . Here’s the link:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/morganbrennan/2013/07/30/touring-san-franciscos-most-expensive-home-for-sale/#6cbcf08546c9
Bernie!!!!!
I am going to use this to rally the troops tomorrow as we continue and amplify our strike for justice.
Bernie!!!!
A little too much attention to creating an educated workforce, but I get that that is a good message with which to start. However, I think the self actualization/fulfillment aspects of education and the importance of an having educated citizenry are equally important.
Good point on “educated workforce”!
Just leaving this here as well: https://tinyurl.com/yccc477b
Bernie and AOC provide reason for hope.
I think the Dem establishment made plans to give aid to the plot of Wall Street and tech oligarchs to confiscate Main Street’s schools.
Politicians like Z-berg’s Schumer, Neera Tanden’s (CAP) Corey Booker, O’Leary’s Newsome, the hedge funds’ Cuomo and Hakeem Jeffries and, the wealthiest 0.1%’s Jared Polis should be asked about the suspicion.
Unfortunately the posted link to Bernie features a strike fund for teachers using ACTBLUE which defends its practice of giving pages to DFER to raise money for privatizing candidates.
So far I love AOC and I think she will be great for public schools.
I’m still skeptical of Bernie even though he is terrific on so many issues. Bernie’s endorsement of the pro-reform DFER candidate Tom Perriello in the Virginia Governor primary concerned me. I’m certainly glad he made this statement, but it doesn’t convince me he doesn’t still believe that “good public charters” (whatever that means) are fine instead of understanding that any public funding of charter schools that are separate from the public school system is dangerous and one of the main reasons that public schools have been undermined. Getting union teachers a raise or some more money for slightly smaller class sizes won’t help as long as charters are there to cherry pick the easiest to teach students and throw out those kids they don’t want to teach and send them back to public schools.
I suspect that eventually it will come down to whether supporters of public education are willing to make support of public education a litmus test for the politicians they support or not. For me, real support of public education by Democratic candidates is my litmus test. And that means I will support politicians who take a strong stand against charters over politicians give lip service to supporting teachers while giving help to the privatizers’ agenda by continuing to promote the idea that “good public charters” are perfectly fine and admirable.
Having public education be my personal litmus test means I will support a pro-public education primary candidate over one whose positions I prefer on other issues but who is wishy-washy on public education. I certainly understand that everyone has their own litmus test and mine is no better than anyone else’s, but I don’t think there will be a real sea change until voters force democrats and progressives who are wishy washy on this issue to either strongly support a moratorium on charter school expansion or face a primary challenge from someone who will support that.
Public education is my litmus test also, for both voting and for campaign donations.
Establishment Dems are thick as thieves with charter/Corey Booker-loving CAP which is funded by Gates and corporations so, it’s a no brainer for me to be in the Our Revolution camp.