When President Obama visited Memphis, he was introduced by a handsome, articulate teen, Chris Dean.
Read what Chris wrote about his life after the President left town. Read about the details that the “no excuses” reformers dismiss.
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Looks like we will get a sizable number of people to write letters to President Obama on October 17.
Tim Furman suggests we set up a place to collect copies and share them.
I don’t know how to do this. Anyone have an idea?
Jersey Jazzman wonders how our two candidates for President spent two hours discussing domestic issues without noticing our nation’s greatest scandal: the nearly one in four children who live in poverty.
Education was mentioned several times in the debate, yet got very little attention.
President Obama mentioned Race to the Top three times (at the Democratic convention, neither he nor Arne Duncan mentioned it even once). He claimed it was already showing results. I wish Romney had asked him what the results are. The President seems to think that the fact that states have adopted the Common Core standards shows that reform is working, but it will be years before their effects will be known. Might be good, might not. No one knows.
The President has this strange belief that Race to the Top was not top down, but that’s simply not the case. To qualify for the $5 billion in federal funds, states had to agree to meet specific federal requirements, such as evaluating teachers by their students’ test scores and opening more privately managed charter schools.
Many teachers know Race to the Top as a singular disaster for children and for their profession. The Chicago strike was a revolt in part against Race to the Top’s punitive ideas.
Not surprising that Romney sort of praised both Arne Duncan and Race to the Top, since Duncan has made it his mission to placate the nation’s most conservative governors. But by the same token, large numbers of teachers dislike Duncan and may not vote because of this administration’s fondness for placating governors who are hostile to teachers, like Chris Christie.
Obama said nothing about the attacks on unions and on teachers. It seems both candidates love teachers as long as they compete for a bonus and don’t have tenure.
Romney boasted that Massachusetts has the best schools in the nation, but didn’t mention that he had nothing to do with their success.
The Massachusetts reforms were passed by the Legislature ten years before Romney became Governor in 2003. The reforms doubled state funding of public education from $1.3 billion in 1993 to $2.6 billion by 2000; provided a minimum foundation budget for every district; committed to develop strong curricula for subjects such as science, history, the arts, foreign languages, mathematics, and English; implemented a new testing program; expanded professional development for teachers; and tested would-be teachers. In the late 1990s, again before Romney assumed office, the state added new funds for early childhood education.
So, yes, the Massachusetts reforms were costly, but Romney has no plans to fund anything new other than charters and vouchers, which were not part of his state’s academic success.
All in all, the little that was said about education by the candidates was empty rhetoric, disconnected from reality and offering no real change from the failed policies of the past decade.
This came from a parent in California, who revised my draft:
Submitted on 2012/10/03 at 6:02 pm
I second the motion for a similar letter coming from parents. Here’s my draft…
***
Dear President Obama,
We assume you know that there are many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of parents, who are disappointed in your education policies.
We assume you know that some will vote for you reluctantly, some will vote for a third party candidate, and some will not vote at all. Our votes will make a difference.
Given the choice between you and Mitt Romney, who seems to view public education with contempt, we want to help you win back the hearts and mind of teachers and parents.
Here are ways to do that.
Please, sir, stop talking about rewarding and punishing teachers. As a parent, I wish for my children to be taught by a well paid professional, not a piece-worker in some factory. I wish for teachers who are managed by experienced, qualified principals and administrators, not given top-down contrived hurdles to jump over.
Please, sir, stop encouraging the privatization of public education. Many studies demonstrate that charters don’t get better results than public schools unless they exclude low-performing children. Public schools educate all children. Charters are tearing our communities apart, pitting parent against parent and created a “them versus us” situation in what were once tight neighborhoods.
Please, sir, speak out against the spread of for-profit schools. These for-profit schools steal precious tax dollars to pay off investors. Those resources belong in the classroom. The for-profit virtual schools get uniformly bad reviews from everyone but Wall Street. In business, what’s bad for your competitor is great for you. The “competition” your policy is fostering is of the typical corporate “cut-throat” variety. It gives private companies incentives to destroy our public schools. Charter school supporters in my town have fought against funding for public schools because the worse it is for our public schools the better it is for their charter school. This is madness.
Please, sir, withdraw your support from the failed effort to evaluate teachers by the test scores of their students. The American Educational Research Association and the National Academy of Education issued a joint paper saying that such methods are inaccurate and unstable. Teachers get high ratings if they teach the easiest students, and low ratings if they teach the most challenging students. I don’t want my children growing up only knowing how to fill in little bubbles. I don’t what my children growing up never learning the things I learned in school because they aren’t on the test.
Please, sir, stop closing schools and firing staffs because of low scores. Low scores are a reflection of high poverty, not an indicator of bad schools or bad teachers. Insist that schools enrolling large numbers of poor and minority students get the resources they need to succeed. I am lucky and my children are easy–they don’t need as much resources to teach as the less fortunate do.
Please, President Obama, recognize that your policies are demoralizing teachers. Many are leaving the profession. Young people are deciding not to become teachers. Your policies are ruining a noble profession. I don’t want my children taught by “what is left over”.
President Obama, we want to support you on November 6.
Please give us reason to believe in you again.
I am a parent.
/signed,
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Earlier I posted the draft of a letter to President Obama and asked for your help.
I got some excellent suggestions.
To begin with, this is not an online petition, but an invitation to join together to write your own individual heartfelt letter to the President and to email the White House on the same day.
The President should understand that he can’t take educators for granted–or parents. We want change. We want a constructive education program, one that supports children and teachers and schools, not carrots and sticks and sanctions and punishments. We want support for public schools, not privatization.
So if you are willing, everyone should turn October 17 into the target day, for maximum effect.
One excellent idea came from a parent, who changed the letter to make it a letter from parents to the President.
If you don’t agree with any part of the parent or teacher letter, feel free to add or subtract your own ideas and language.
Or write your own letter, from scratch.
The important thing is that we should try to get thousand of parents, students, teachers, administrators, and concerned citizens to join in sending a respectful email to the President on October 17. I will republish my letter, for your use, to copy, revise, or change at will.
Based on your many comments, I have drafted the following letter to President Obama. Please tell me if you have any changes or corrections. Once the letter is edited, I will post it again, and whoever wishes to do so will send it on October 17, two weeks from today.
The letter is called:
Teachers’ Letter to President Obama
Dear President Obama,
We assume you know that there are many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of teachers, who are disappointed in your education policies.
We assume you know that some will vote for you reluctantly, some will vote for a third party candidate, and some will not vote at all. Our votes will make a difference.
Given the choice between you and Mitt Romney, who seems to view public education with contempt, we want to help you win back the hearts and minds of teachers.
Here are ways to do that.
Please, Mr. President, stop talking about rewarding and punishing teachers. Teachers are professionals, not toddlers. Teachers don’t work harder for bonuses; we are working our best now. Waving a prize in front of us will not make us work harder or better. We became teachers because we want to teach, not because we expected to win a prize for producing higher scores.
Please stop encouraging the privatization of public education. Many studies demonstrate that charters don’t get better results than public schools unless they exclude low-performing children. Public schools educate all children. The proliferation of charter schools will lead to a dual system in many of our big-city districts. Charters are tearing communities apart. Please support public education.
Please speak out against the spread of for-profit schools. These for-profit schools steal precious tax dollars to pay off investors. Those resources belong in the classroom. The for-profit virtual schools get uniformly bad reviews from everyone but Wall Street.
Please withdraw your support from the failed effort to evaluate teachers by the test scores of their students. The American Educational Research Association and the National Academy of Education issued a joint paper saying that such methods are inaccurate and unstable. Teachers get high ratings if they teach the easiest students, and low ratings if they teach the most challenging students.
Please stop closing schools and firing staffs because of low scores. Low scores are a reflection of high poverty, not an indicator of bad schools or bad teachers. Insist that schools enrolling large numbers of poor and minority students get the resources they need to succeed.
Please, President Obama, recognize that your policies are demoralizing teachers. Many are leaving the profession. Young people are deciding not to become teachers. Your policies are ruining a noble profession.
President Obama, we want to support you on November 6.
Please give us reason to believe in you again.
I am a teacher.
/signed,
A reader suggests we try these routes to get the attention of the White House. As you know, they take teachers and principals for granted and they don’t hear our voices. They assume our votes are already counted. Let’s help President Obama by contacting him and sending him a message.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/how-why/frequently-asked-questions
Who will review petitions that cross the signature threshold?
The White House will convene a regular meeting with representatives from all of the major policy offices (like the National Economic Council, Domestic Policy Council and others) that will review petitions that have crossed the signature threshold for a response. This group will help determine which policy office in the White House or federal agency should review and respond to petitions and ensure that petition responses are posted as quickly as possible.
Dear Mr. President,
I have received your daily emails and phone calls – please take me off your lists.
I gave you some money in May, even though I didn’t want to – your phone volunteers are very persuasive!
I voted for you in 2008, and I will again in November.
What choice do I have? The alternative isn’t better, and probably worse overall. Though, I will vote for you reluctantly as I know your policies, and those of your Secretary of Education, like those of your predecessor, are destroying the profession I love and harming the students I teach.
I will instead be using my “$14 or more” to help fight childhood poverty. I will give one of my students a grocery gift card. I wish I had enough money to provide each of my students a healthy dinner at home with their families.
i will do this instead of donating to your campaign as you and many in the Democratic party will not acknowledge the devastating effects of poverty on children’s lives, and then blame teachers and schools.
Our schools need to improve, incompetent teachers need to be fired – as it is in EVERY other profession (including corporations and the financial industry – how is accountability working out there?)
But do not destroy public education because you will not tackle the real problems that face communities – violence, hunger, illness, homelessness…and hopelessness.
I know dealing with these issues is not as easy as a test score, and carrots and sticks. It would probably cost more money. Making education about winners and losers does not have a home in my classroom, and it is not good for our schools.
If our school had a library full of books (or digital readers), access to a full and holistic core curriculum, ability to enjoy art and PE every day, had adequate health care (and didn’t have to miss school for the free clinic), had a clean (and warm) place to live, were able to have a healthy meal, and were able to go home not worrying about having their basic needs met…it would go a long way toward improving student academic performance.
I had “hope,” I believed in “change,” now I’m a pragmatist when dealing with my elected political leaders.
It’s a Sunday night. I’ll go back to grading papers, giving my students formative feedback, and preparing lessons for tomorrow… trying to find one of my students a place to live in since she and her daughter were kicked out of a low income apartment (her income is too high now because of a new job), and secure childcare for another student so he can access an after school arts program. I will be organizing volunteers for a faith based organization trying to solve the issue of homelessness in our community, and will need to figure out which day I can volunteer for our Optimist club’s Christmas tree lot – all proceeds going back to our youth organizations.
I teach at an alternative school that keeps at-risk students and teen parents from dropping out. I see the effect of poverty each day. It’s tough for a teen mom who has been up all night with her own child to perform well on a one-time assessment, let alone graduate on time with the skills necessary to be successful.
As a parent, I am appalled by the 8 days of testing my 6 year old son will endure this year. I have excused him of all testing and data collection that does nothing but line the pockets of Pearson and ETS – The same folks who will be making a LOT of money off of the new Common Core Standards and ancillary products that will be peddled to our schools. Yes, I’ll sign him out of the new Common Core testing too.
If you’d like to talk some time, ring me up. I have many stories to share and ideas about how things could change for the better. Though, teachers are never asked what they think. Politicians and corporate donors get the most airtime – even though most of them have never spent a day in a classroom. I suppose it is because they have deep pockets. Money “talks” right?
Maybe if I had donated 10K or 100K to your Super PAC I could meet you and share my ideas. Perhaps if I started a non-profit that solicits money from corporate donors, then works to privatize schools you would listen to me. But I don’t have the money, and my ethics keep me from using public schools for profit…
Please consider the professional experience of your teachers in the trenches. It’s hard work helping our students achieve their dreams. We are willing to do it even after the bell rings at the end of the day. We teach because we believe in our students, our schools, and America.
I’ll be expecting the requisite form letter…so thank you in advance for listening.
Your constituent,
Ed
Linda in Connecticut is one of the regular commenters on the blog and also one of the wittiest. She often makes me laugh out loud.
But her last comment was serious, and other readers responded positively. She said we should write a letter to the President. And she wrote a draft indicating what she thought it should contain.
Here’s the thing. President Obama is preferable to Mitt Romney, who would dismantle public education without a second thought. But Obama has so demoralized teachers that many may sit home or not encourage family and friends to vote. The teachers who feel betrayed by this president might cost him the election. He doesn’t seem to have noticed.
So the letter must help him change his policies so that teachers feel excited about him again.
What do you think of Linda’s letter?
In this atmosphere of teacher bashing, it’s imperative for teachers to go on the offensive and come up with their own answers. I too am incredibly disappointed with President Obama and have refused to send money this time around (But I will vote for him – what choice do I have?)
For me, a far better approach would be to stress what we know in regard to the education of impoverished kids and then ask the President to support these measures. We need to remind him that he wanted to be the “data president” but he is in fact ignoring over 50 years of data on education. He is also ignoring what we know from countries such as Canada and Finland. Everything about Canada is so similar to the USA that there should be no reason why we trail them in education. Let’s just find out what they do and copy it.( Oh, I forgot that our country doesn’t do that. Sorry).
So basically I would like us to ask President Obama if he would take the common sense applied to the education of his own daughters and apply it to other children, at least to some degree. He needs to be reminded that other kids also need good health care, two teachers to a room (with one being experienced) low class size and an enriching curriculum devoid of a year of test-prep. We need to remind him of the voluminous research that informs us of the critical importance of the child’s first five years of life. He needs to be reminded that testing experts have told us repeatedly that test scores correlate with the socioeconomic status of the child and not the perfomance of a teacher. To evaluate a teacher fairly other professionals must be personally familiar with the progress of the students in her class. I’m certain he is smart enough to know that this can’t be done with one whole group test!!! ( But Arne Duncan doesn’t seem all that bright and likely does not understand the function and limitations of standardized tests. I’d be willing to bet that he thinks the kids at Sidwell Friends score above the 90th percentile because they have “good” teachers while the kids in Chicago public schools have low scores because they have “bad” teachers).
And of course I’m certain the President knows that our American habit of educating kids by zip code is a national disgrace that has to stop now. Is there something he could do to support low-income housing in ALL communities? Could he stop our American tradition of placing the least experienced teachers in schools located in the poorest neighborhoods? How about open enrollment for all public schools?
About twenty years ago I sent a letter to the Department of Education telling them that we need to have high quality preschool for all impoverished children so as to get them ready for formal education. I received a reply from an “aide” who told me that “everyone” suggests that. If this is the case why don’t we do this one thing to help our least privileged children?
It’s time for parents, professors and teachers to go on the offensive. There is a mountain of research telling us what to do. How about a letter citing that research and asking the President to respond to the data?
(Yes, I’ve done it myself but my writing skills never get more than a form letter in response. A better writer needs to do it.)
Diane Ravitch's blog 