Speaking Truth to Power on NCLB

I have a joke with one of my friends, another kindergarten teacher, that I have an altar in my house dedicated to education writer Alfie Kohn, to which I bow down every day. If I do have such a thing (and I'm not saying), here is one reason why:

Published on Thursday, May 31, 2007 by USA Today

NCLB: ‘Too Destructive To Salvage’

by Alfie Kohn

It’s time to say in a national newspaper what millions of teachers, students and parents already know: No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is an appalling and unredeemable experiment that has done incalculable damage to our schools — particularly those serving poor, minority and limited-English-proficiency students.

It’s a stretch even to call the law “well-intentioned” given that its creators, including the Bush administration and the right-wing Heritage Foundation, want to privatize public education. Hence NCLB’s merciless testing, absurd timetables and reliance on threats.

Let’s be clear: This law has nothing to do with improving learning. At best, it’s about raising scores on multiple-choice exams. This law is not about discovering which schools need help; we already know. This law is not about narrowing the achievement gap; its main effect has been to sentence poor children to an endless regimen of test-preparation drills. Thus, even if the scores do rise, it’s at the expense of a quality education. Affluent schools are better able to maintain good teaching — and retain good teachers — despite NCLB, so the gap widens.

Sure, it’s senseless for Washington to impose requirements without adequate funding. But more money to implement a bad law isn’t the answer.

Indeed, according to a recent 50-state survey by Teachers Network, a non-profit education organization, exactly 3% of teachers think NCLB helps them to teach more effectively. No wonder 129 education and civil rights organizations have endorsed a letter to Congress deploring the law’s overemphasis on standardized testing and punitive sanctions. No wonder 30,000 people (so far) have signed a petition at educatorroundtable.org calling the law “too destructive to salvage.”

NCLB didn’t invent the scourge of high-stakes testing, nor is it responsible for the egregious disparity between the education received by America’s haves and have-nots. But by intensifying the former, it exacerbates the latter.

This law cannot be fixed by sanding its rough edges. It must be replaced with a policy that honors local autonomy, employs better assessments, addresses the root causes of inequity and supports a rich curriculum. The question isn’t how to save NCLB; it’s how to save our schools — and kids — from NCLB.

It was distressing, when NCLB first reared its ugly head, to see the number of politicos who signed onto it. (Even Dennis Kucinich!!) Did any one of them even think to ask a teacher what s/he thought? Because this is nothing new. The problem with NCLB has never been the fact that it is chock full of unfunded mandates, but that it is LOUSY POLICY, embraced by people who know NOTHING about children and learning.

And, like absolutely every last Bush Administration initiative, the first question should always be this: WHO PROFITS? From duct tape to war, all you have to do is follow the money.

YAY!

I'm back. The garden will go to weeds. The guitar will go unplayed. Mr. Ether will whimper about neglect. Life is good. Okay, everything in moderation. (It's actually a little disturbing how out of sorts I felt without internet service.)

Ground Control to Major Tom

Congress is in recess for Memorial Day, and our representative, Tammy Baldwin, used the week to hold a series of "listening sessions" in my area. I took the morning off of work and went to a small town city hall to be a part of democracy in action. First of all, I was pleased to see Tammy looking so, well, normal. No red power suit today. She gave brief opening remarks and then simply went down her list of people who had signed up to speak to her. The room was packed, and it was not the usual suspects. It was ordinary people, some representing different nonprofit agencies and some just representing themselves.

With a few notable exceptions (one who was anti-choice and one who was anti-immigration, everyone
eventually got around to the issue of impeachment. What was really cool is, I'd be sitting there thinking about the National Livestock Identification requirements ... and then a woman got up and spoke about it. And then I was thinking about the little provision that was slipped into some bill or other, giving Bush the power to declare martial law in the case of a national emergency, that was not mentioned in any mainstream media outlet ... and a woman stood up and asked about it. It was like a lively Quaker Meeting.

I was something like speaker number 20, and I began to fear that I'd have to leave before my turn came. But 25 minutes before I had to be back at school all the way across town, my name was called. I spoke out for impeachment. I used my husband's argument that, if you are a law enforcement official and know a crime has been committed, you cannot decide that prosecution is "off the table" and maybe you'll just use oversight to keep it from happening again. I pointed out that no part of the Democrats' agenda is going to move forward as long as this administration is in power. I reminded her that she took an oath (as did Nancy Pelosi and every other member of Congress) to uphold the laws of the land, that this administration has broken law after law after law, and if that doesn't constitute "high crimes and misdemeanors" I don't know what does. I implored her to sign on to the motion to impeach Cheney. I got kind of emotional; okay, I actually cried. And I got huge applause. And then I had to book it back to work.

But it felt good to be able to speak directly to my congresswoman. Far more empowering than the peace rally this week, which I have yet to write about. It felt like she was listening.

Update: So I got a phone call from a friend at 6 this morning, saying she had woken up to me on the radio! Unfortunately it was on a fairly right wing program -- they were there recording yesterday -- and another colleague told me that people were calling in as "incensed taxpayers" because a public school teacher had taken a day off to go talk to Tammy Baldwin. The radio host vowed to find out who the teacher was. Blah blah blah. It pisses me off that people feel as if they own teachers. Their tax dollars go to pay for a lot of things that are far worse (like illegal war) but they don't yammer about that. I'm half expecting repercussions ...

So much to say, and so little time ...

Still no internets service at home. Something must be blocking the tubes. Maybe that's where my Twinkles, my pet hamster, has got to. She's been missing for the last week. But, as always, I have something on my mind. So stay tuned for:
1) the Memorial Day peace rally I attended
2) my visit to an upscale Fair Trade clothing boutique
3) thoughts on Cindy Sheehan ... I am grieveing her departure ... What is wrong with the Left, that Democratic Underground would attack a person who has given her all (and more) in the name of peace?

Well, I got a lot of gardening done over the weekend, and I have a sore back to prove it. I'll be back in earnest one of these days ...

MIA

Blogging will be slim for a while. Our little local internets provider just got squashed by the big guys (we think) and we were notified that as of yesterday, they will no longer be providing service. Hmmm. That's a little awkward. I'm on my work computer, but unfortunately it's powered by ants and it's just the beginning of picnic season ...

No email either.

See you soon (I hope.)

Just askin' ...

I can't help but notice a hierarchy of coolness in the lefty blogging world. It bugs me sometimes, but it seems to be a natural human tendency, and I don't worry about it a whole lot. I've never been one of the cool people, I never will, and to paraphrase my hero Howard Zinn "what's wrong with being number two?"

But this is really getting my undies into a bundle, and I need to vent. Why is it, on so many blogs in the upper echelon of lefty coolness, that when they link to a bookseller it is almost always Amazon? Amazon donates primarily to Republicans! Yes, to those Republicans -- not the nicey- nice, touchy-feely, pro-choice, anti-war, cuddly bunny Republicans. The ones who wish they could diddle pages (not the kind you get from Amazon) and demonize homosexuals. The ones who cozy up to the Christian Right.

What gives? Do they not know? Do they think there aren't viable alternatives? Do they not care?

Today I am venting in particular about Crooks and Liars. But This Modern World and Bob Harris link to Amazon as well, on a regular basis.

Crooks and Liars also has an advertisement for Marriott Hotels on their site. Apparently you can get a special "Crooks and Liars" discount. The problem is, according to The Hightower Lowdown, that Marriott International made total political contributions of $230,000 in 2006, 82% of which went to support the very crooks and liars that that site skewers!

I have a problem with that. A big problem. I believe that their high visibility in the progressive blogosphere makes it important -- no, imperative -- that they put their money (and ours) where their mouth is. No exceptions. They do not need to advertise for companies whose policies are ruining our country (not to mention Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Colombia ...)

If you are reading this, and you have personal connections with any of the aforementioned blogs, please feel free to pass along my concerns. Thank you.

(I want to quote Ed, from the comments section: "Every dollar you spend is a vote. When you buy Republican, you vote Republican. Where you do or don't spend your money probably has a greater impact than how you vote at the polls." Bingo! You have to vote with your wallet. And your feet. I probably will not be visiting those blogs so much anymore.)

An Earful

Yahoo! Tammy Baldwin has scheduled a series of "listening sessions" with her constituents in southwestern Wisconsin in the next week. The one closest to me is during a work day, but I think it's worth taking a half day, don't you?

Our representatives -- particularly the Democrats -- need to hear that their constituents care about more than who will win on American Idol.

Irrelevant?

So, the White House thinks former president, elder statesmen, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter is "increasingly irrelevant"? I think that Jimmy Carter has more relevancy, more intelligence, more human decency ... in one of his fingernail clippings than any of those shills in the White House. How dare they?

Honey Bees

I've been thinking a lot about the honey bee die-off. Until I get too freaked out. Then I have to stop. One of my trains of thought goes like this: If factory farming is leading to mad cow disease, e coli bacteria in organic spinach, bird flu, melamine in pet food, etc. etc., does it have anything to do with the honey bees dying?

And if it does, wouldn't part of the solution be for beekeepers to start spreading their hives over a larger geographical area, perhaps even keeping backyard beehives the way some people keep backyard chickens? (My husband was delighted when I told him I no longer wanted chickens in the backyard ... until I told him I wanted a honey bee hive.)

So I felt quite smug when I got the latest issue of The Hightower Lowdown and found this little piece. Nor was I surprised to see that, as is the case with so many other foods, agribusiness has been breeding "super bees" at the expense of biodiversity, so if a virulent strain of a virus comes along, the entire population collapses. Really smart when you're talking about a major link in the food chain.

Are humans (or should I say, Americans, as in the U.S. variety) going to learn or is it too late?

"The Hollywood Librarian" trailer

I'm as excited about this as my daughter was about Return of the King a few years back! A documentary about my favorite profession -- woo hoo!

Happy Birthday (yesterday) Studs Terkel

Awwww .... Shucks

I'm feeling very loved right now. My friend Potato Prints came to visit me in my natural environment yesterday, i.e. my classroom, and blogged about it here.

I often say that I see teaching as a radical act (yup, you can read it for yourself right there in my profile) and you might think it means that I teach Kommunism for Kindergartners (I don't) or refuse to lead my students in daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegience (I do ... refuse, that is. It's my right.) What I really mean by that is the essence of my teaching, and I am so pleased that it is so easily apparent to an outsider's eye.

I believe to the core of my being that what teachers really convey to their students is themselves. My students know without any doubt that I love them and will always treat them with dignity and respect, that in my classroom we are a community of individuals who love, accept, take care of, and celebrate each other. We don't get our community out of some canned curriculum: do activities 5, 10, and 12 in the Tribes book and -- VOILA! -- instant community. We build it from day one, and it's hard work, but the results are worth every gray hair.

I'm no pushover either. My students learn that being part of a community requires them to take responsibility. And they do. Early on this year I had a student who, it quickly became apparent, was a compulsive thief. In an amazing demonstration of self-awareness for a 6 year old, he told me, "I take things and I can't help it." He moved in January, but his classmates were helping him, NOT tattling on him and NOT shunning him. And he was coming up to me all on his own and saying, "I took this. I'm really sorry" as he returned some item.

Today I had a student who -- to put it delicately -- smelled like he had not crossed paths with running water in quite some time. Not one child said a word about it. And believe me, he was fragrant!

I can't be any other way in my classroom. It is simply who I am. And year after year, my students respond to it. It is interaction on an entirely human level. And I'd like to think that they will carry some essence of it with them as they grow up. Even if they don't, it's a positive place for them right here and now.

I take great pride in what I do.

Last Saturday I went to the Madison Area Music Awards (MAMAs) -- because my husband was performing there and my school was being awarded a grant to buy new instruments ... So I walked into the pre-show party wearing my very best t-shirt and clogs, and stopped in a panic when I saw all the sparkly evening wear and "little black dresses." I felt like I should check the bottom of my shoes for cow manure -- and this is Madison! Anyway, in an effort to quell my anxiety I had to tell myself, "OK, I may feel like a fish out of water, I have NO schmoozing skills, but I'll bet 99.9% of the people in this room would feel the same way if they walked into a room full of 5 and 6 year olds. And I know how to work a room full of 5 and 6 year olds!" And after throwing a little tantrum at my husband, I had a glass of wine and it was all good.

Anyway ... I'm rambling.

Yolanda King, 1955-2007

ATLANTA — Yolanda King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died. She was 51.

King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. The family did not know the cause of death, but relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said.

"She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," the King family said in a statement. (More at HuffPo ...)

I know there is something fundamentally wrong about mentioning Ms. King in the same sentence as Jerry Falwell, but this has led me to think about "heart problems." The blogosphere was filled yesterday with many references to Jerry Falwell's metaphorical heart problem -- i.e. lack of a heart. It sounds like Yolanda King was a gracious and big-hearted person who died way too soon. My heart goes out to her family.

Fidelity: Investing in Genocide

I admit, I have been guilty of pleading "compassion fatigue" and letting others carry the torch for Darfur. (One of those others is Quaker Dave, whose blogs The Quaker Agitator and Daily Darfur are excellent places to become educated. So please visit ... )

It's bad enough that profit is Fidelity's bottom line, but using strong-arm tactics on media outlets (and them capitulating) is ... well, par for the course in our brave new world. Unfortunately. And unconscionable nevertheless.

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager (episode 1)

OK, I just needed a little lightness around here. I get an extra kick out of these because they are filmed at my beloved local grocery co-op. The apples never jump into my hands. One episode even has our mayor in it. Enjoy!

Kirsty MacColl - Don't Come the Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim

Kirsty MacColl put out some wonderful pop albums in the eighties and early nineties. The daughter of Scots folk legend Ewan MacColl, she inherited his songwriting talent, but was quoted as saying "I hate fucking folk music." Tragically, she was run over and killed by a speedboat while snorkling in Mexico a few years ago. Her family is still pursuing a just settlement in the case. But here she is. (Sounds a lot like folk music, doesn't it?)

Has anybody been impeached yet? I didn't think so.

It's been a busy week. On Monday night I went out to see a festival of plays by young (high school) playwrights, 5 well written and entertaining plays written by our daughter's classmates. (And our daughter was an assistant stage manager.) Each one was directed by a seasoned director and acted by theater students from the university. (One of the directors was someone I used to babysit, 35 years ago -- I feel old!) Thank heavens for creative and engaged young people.

In the wider world, I feel so discouraged about the lack of will in Congress to see that justice is served against this despotic administration. Our own Russ Feingold, who has taken a courageous stance more than once in the last 6 years, turns a deaf ear to the voices of his constituents and refuses to consider impeachment.

(from the Appleton [WI] Post-Crescent)

Feingold also told constituents he would not support Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich's resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney.

"Clearly he (Cheney) is not telling the truth, over and over in Iraq. There's got to be something in the general category of high crimes. I don't think it would be very good in terms of our ability to move this country in the right direction of health care and other issues, if we become consumed by impeachment procedures," Feingold said.

This just infuriates me! He acknowledges that he believes high crimes have been committed, but says he does not support doing anything about it! No, he thinks it's important to work on moving forward on more bills for the Commander Guy to spitefully veto. I realize that, because Feingold is not in the House, at this point his support for impeachment would be largely symbolic ... But he, like most of the other Democrats, is putting the good of the Democratic Party ahead of the good of we the people, and what's truly absurd is, it has been proven time and time again that the more progressive candidates win handily. The mainstream strategy is a recipe for failure. And fascism creeps closer ... and closer ... (Does Russ know that Gitmo orange is simply not his color?)

Oh yeah, and locally, the "progressive" school board voted on Monday night to stand by their decision to name the new elementary school after guerilla fighter, CIA toady, and alleged drug runner General Vang Pao. They were downright peevish about it, despite massive community outcry.

It all makes me want to talk like a pirate. Arrrrrrr!

Outlaw for a Day

I was driving home from Meeting going the back way on residential streets because my brake lights are malfunctioning (mal-what??) and saw my friend -- I'll call her "Terry" -- out doing yard work. "Terry" and I briefly became outlaws a year and a half ago on July 4. She is one of the most active activists I know, and she organized a party in her back yard, to create antiwar/anti Bush signs to put up around town. We painted a bunch of signs with pithy messages on them, and a few of us urban guerillas agreed to meet at about 11 p.m. on July 4th to place them prominently around town.

Giggling like naughty school girls, we made our first stop, at a darkened tennis court alongside a heavily traveled bypass. We got the sign up, and in about 2 seconds a patrol car pulled up. The officer looked like he was about 14 years old (and us, a handful of nearly middle aged women.) He said, "You want to take that down?" "OK," we squeaked.

I secretly wanted to go home. I'm not cut out for a life of crime! My intrepid companions wanted to have another go. And we did. We put up two signs at a bridge along another heavily traveled street. It was pretty cool.

Anyway, today "Terry" and I chatted a bit before I continued on my way, thinking about freeway blogging. And in a wonderful moment of synchronicity (oh how I love it) I got home and found this linked from Michael Moore's website. Here's the best part:

At a dinner honoring Pelosi Saturday evening, pro-impeachment activists slipped elegant placecards onto each place at the table. The cards read:

        Remember, We’re the Deciders.

        Impeachment is on the table.

        Investigate and Impeach Cheney and Bush!

Whoever came up with this idea of table-blogging is brilliant!

And all hail the freeway bloggers, who have more guts than I have!

May Day!

Well, a couple of days late.

I get so caught up in tilting at windmills (and writing about it) that I sometimes forget about other things. This was brought home a few days ago when I bumped into some friends with whom we used to be in a folk dance group and they asked me what my husband and I have been doing for fun lately. Uh, er, uh ... "Fun?" I said sheepishly. "What's that?" Time to start paying attention!

But what I did for fun this week was to celebrate May Day, which, along with Groundhog Day is right up there among my favorite holidays. In my city there is a lovely place called Picnic Point, a wooded peninsula that juts out into one of our lakes. (Fun fact: Picnic Point is in the background on the cover of Joni Mitchell's album Hejira.) Anyway, the local Morris Dance team gathers at the end of the point every May Day to dance up the sun. They erect a Maypole (the operative word being erect, because it's all about fertility), build a bonfire, and sing May Day songs.

Most years May Day falls on a work day, so it means getting up an hour earlier to get out there, and then rushing back across town to get to work on time, and coming in to school smelling of campfire. Too often I look out the window and whine, "It looks like rain, maybe ..." and roll over to go back to sleep. That's exactly what I've done for the last couple of years, but this year I went with my daughters, and it was a lovely time. I love that this very pagan thing is going on, and 99.9% of the city doesn't have a clue.

And the walk was wonderful; the birds were singing and the woods were carpeted with blood root and trout lilies. As you approach the end of the point, you start to hear the Morris bells and the concertina ... it's very magical.

So I do know how to have fun. I just have to make it happen more often.

(Note: I wish that American workers would reclaim May Day as our rightful Labor Day.)

Hey Sandy

I've been following the news about the possible re-opening of the investigation into the 1970 Kent State shootings with interest. One more event that seared itself into my impressionable childhood brain.

A number of years ago the very fine Irish folk singer Christy Moore recorded a moving song about one of the shooting victims, Sandy Schuer, called "Hey Sandy." I can't find a download of it to post here, but you can read the lyrics. I'm sure the recording is still available and I encourage you to find it.

Does MoveOn Finally Get It?

MoveOn has a survey here, asking their membership if they support impeachment. Pardon me while I bang my head against the wall. Anyway, I went to the site and responded to the survey with this comment:

IT'S A NO-BRAINER! Impeachment is the process that the framers of the U.S. Constitution put in place to prevent tyrannical rule in our country. It is a legal process that is set in motion when our leaders in Washington do not follow the rule of law. HOW MANY TIMES DO WE ALLOW THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO BREAK THE LAW BEFORE WE USE IMPEACHMENT??? Contrary to Republican belief it is NOT for presidents who get blow jobs in the Oval Office. Contrary to Nancy Pelosi's belief, it is neither partisan, vindictive, nor a distraction. Impeachment is at the heart of saving our Republic. Period. Duh.

I'm sure the computer that tallies the responses will appreciate the subtlety of my comment.

For what it's worth, please go to their site if you want to see the Commander Guy and his puppeteers impeached. (I can't believe he just referred to himself as "the Commander Guy." Every kindergartner in my classroom has more sophistication and maturity -- not to mention compassion -- than Dubya.)

Enemy of the State

WASHINGTON - Folk singer and anti-war activist Joan Baez says she doesn't know why she was not allowed to perform for recovering soldiers recently at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as she planned. (Read more ...)

This goes in the "What are they afraid of?" department. If they think they're doing the right thing, then what's the problem? They clearly know they are in the wrong. Sometimes I wish I believed in a Judgement Day. Absurd and outrageous.