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

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

Help Wanted, or Will Work of Real Results

I am looking to become aligned with a group, a band, or a cell, of individuals interested in acting to achieve the three goals below by any non-violent means necessary.  

A group of ten souls will constitute a quorum, and upon reaching this number, the group will meet to elect officers, develop by-laws, and priortize a course of action to achieve these goals:
  • adequately and fairly funded public schools for every parent who wants them;
  • safe public schools administered and staffed by professionally prepared educators and support services professionals who are committed to supportive, challenging, economically-integrated, and humane schools that are open to all;
  • curricular, instructional, and assessment methods and content that reflect local values and priorities and that are enacted by elected school boards.
In order to achieve these three goals, basic changes are required as to the present conceptualization, prioritizing, and operations of schools that receive public dollars to operate:
  • all charter school expansion will be halted, and existing charter schools, whether non-profit or for-profit, will be closed as public schools re-integrate these students;
  • grouping of students in segregated classrooms, whether by ability, ethnicity, religion, sex, or sexual preference, will be discontinued;
  • all school voucher programs, regardless of the name used to disguise the intent of such programs to fund private or parochial schools, will be discontinued.
  • Standardized assessment of any kind whose results can be identified with individual students or teachers will no longer be required of school personnel or public school students;
  • All student educational or demographic data will remain the property of students and parents, and no student data of any kind will be gathered, stored, or shared among private entities, whether corporate or otherwise;
  • The use of technological devices and programs in schools will be determined by current pediatric medical standards and social science knowledge bases with regards child physical and mental development, child health, and child learning.
  • The National Assessment of Educational Progress will follow the long-ignored recommendations of national testing experts to establish cut scores that reflect realistic expectations and accomplishments by the nation's students.
  • All public school employees will be guaranteed representation from collective bargaining units and/or unions, with the stipulation that any such collective bargaining unit will agree to and abide by these principles and goals.
Please contact me at ontogenyx@gmail.com.  Suggested changes are welcomed.



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