The Center for Education Reform, who received $518,273 last year from the Walton Family Foundation, mocks this weekends, SOS March in Washington DC.
WASHINGTON – This Saturday’s Save Our Schools rally is holding itself out to
be an effort to restore parent and student influence in education, but a rundown
of the participating groups raises questions about the authenticity of this
goal. Many of the participating groups are strong, vocal opponents of testing,
accountability and school choice.The National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and
their allies have long advocated for more money, less accountability, no high-stakes testing, and against anything the gives parents more control over their child’s education, such as charter schools and vouchers.“This coalition is the same coalition of the past 35 years,” said Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform. “It advocates for the status quo and reform to them is about money, control, and no high stakes tests
or accountability
Hope the Walton family knows what sort of rot they’re getting for a half million dollars.
All-in-all, this is pretty amateurish stuff. I’m surprised they actually used “high-stakes test” as a positive thing. Looks like they didn’t get the memo. Spinning this as an NEA and AFT event is laughable couldn’t pass a Google search by a five-year-old.
They can take this to the bank we are marching, we are marching, and we are marching for every child, parent, and teacher in America. Last year I walked 400 miles in 40 days just to tell them in Washington DC that our children are more than test scores, and I am marching in DC today for the same reason. Tell Mr. Wallmark I won’t be shopping at his stores anymore, and tell him to keep his money and his hands off our schooling?
I am marching,
Jesse Turner “The Walking Man”
Money talks. They cannot sell the need for preschool assessment and the “new generation” of more standardized test along with the national student longitudinal database from preschool through college, so they trivialize what they cannot justify. We see the tactic.
I didn’t march yesterday as a union member — as a matter of fact my local wasn’t there yesterday. My building rep wasn’t present at the march. I had a horrible time trying to get my colleagues to march with me. Maryland teachers were not there in force like when they marched on the state house for their pensions and funding this past spring (I was there too). Our state wasn’t even mentioned in the role call at the march. But I was there along with many other teachers, parents and community members who are concerned about the privatization of our public schools, the high stakes testing and what it is doing and going to do to our students, our schools, our communities and our teachers. I was there because this is a grass roots effort. Be careful on what you write. Yes, I understand at the last minute, the AFT and the NEA did throw money into the even;.and, yes the vice-president of the NEA spoke at the march. But the “unions” were not present “in force so to speak”. In my opinion had they really backed the event, the mass would have been so much larger. In my opinion the NEA was fairly silent in this march, after all they have already spoken to endorse Obama, which in my opinion is too bad. When I heard about the vote, I sent a text message to one of my representatives who was at the NEA Convention and asked them not to vote for endorsement this early. It they did, they clearly didn’t represent me. So don’t get your facts mixed up about the teachers who were present at the Save Our Schools March. However; you are correct in your comment as trying to pass this off as a NEA and an AFT event because it REALLY WAS NOT!!!
Let’s kick it up a notch….teachers and their supporters need to take the next logical step: boycott Microsoft and Wal-Mart.
Long live Target! Long live Apple!