"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Real News on the Fake Education Reform



More testing, more accountability for teachers and public schools, more data collection, merit pay for teachers based on worthless test scores and crap curriculum supplied by Pearon, McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin, more computer learning, more charters and more privatization. Yes, that is the agenda of those who profit from this fake education reform in the name of closing the achievement gap.

The grassroots organizations referred to in this video such as United Opt Out, Parents Across America, GEM in NYC, Save Our Schools who are fighting this Prussian-style pedagogy that has led to a mindless nation that still tunes in to mindless news stories about Warren Buffet's prostate or Dick Clark's life history, go unnoticed and one of the most important stories in the country goes untold. Meanwhile, on the ground and in the trenches, parents all across the country are fed up with high stakes standardized tests and are opting their children out, questioning the validity and value of these tests and the emphasis on data and measuring. They know intuitively that the insanity has reached its tipping point.

In this video by Real News Network, Joel Klein and his buddies are calling for more tests in more subjects because apparently there just aren't enough kids prepared for the military and who will protect us. These scare tactics used to justify this ridiculous hoax called education reform that has made a lot of people very rich, but the curtain is wearing thin as parents, teachers and students are increasingly weary from the onslaught of these meaningless and expensive tests their children are forced to take and they are forced to pay for with their taxes while Draconian budget cuts gut their schools by eliminating things like libraries, nurses, social workers, music, art, dance, gym and many other valuable and worthwhile programs.

It's time for teachers. students and parents all across the country to boycott the corporate network television news organization who continue to ignore a story that is impacting millions of families and communities in destructive ways. Turn these stations off, boycott their advertisers, call them and send them emails and letters. It's time to hold these so-called journalists accountable for NOT doing their job. As Justice Louis Brandeis noted, sunlight is the best disinfectant and boy does it stink in here!

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