Changing the conversation

Parents and teacher must work together.

We must start shifting the public conversation on education.

We must loudly challenges the myths and downright lies that underlie the corporate reform movement.

The misinformation campaign disempowers communities by ignoring parents, treating teachers like assembly line factory workers, and students as data points.

The myths:

Education in America is not failing. In fact, it's brilliant! Or it was. NCLB, RttT and more overtesting are the problem, not the solution.

Parents are involved in their kids education. Teachers know how to teach.

The achievement gap between wealthy/middle class schools and schools dominated by children from low income families is the physical and medical consequence of poverty. Higher standards and more testing does nothing to fix the vision problems the 50% of low income children suffer. Nor the hearing problems. Nor the lead poisoning, asthma, or just plain hunger or even malnutrition.

The non-partisan Economic Policy Institute put out a paper last month on this topic. Everyone should read it.