Please read this post and respond to Arne Duncan who met with Diane Ravitch.

[Orlandodem]

This was on my Facebook group of Florida teachers who are against the testing testing testing testing mantra....

Arne is evidently getting some heat and he is getting desperate as he is now resorting to complete lies.

I know you've written before, but this battle is nowhere near over. I know you're discouraged because of all the talk about tying your entire career to one test per year and making huge decisions for your students based on one test. But, please, keep fighting the good fight. Diane Ravitch is fighting it for us, state by state, speech by speech, blog by blog. Please help her help us. I don't even know this lady but I'm in love with her thoughts on education, curriculum, and effective schools. Anyway, here is the FB post.....


NEED YOUR HELP! URGENT !!
DIANE RAVITCH MET WITH DUNCAN'S ADMIN YESTERDAY IN DC.
She was told that teachers LOVE this concept of merit pay accdg to test scores, bonuses associated, and ending tenure. Additionally, 40 teachers met with Duncan and ALL told him they LOVED his plan--LOVED Race to the top - high stakes tests... are the way to go. They say they have zero opposition. PLEASE WRITE TO PRES OBAMA & COPY DUNCAN'S PRESS GUY, PETER CUNNINGHAM. If you can, please use both email & US Mail. PETER CUNNINGHAM, DEPT OF EDUC, 400 MARYLAND AVE SW,
WASHINGTON, DC, 20202, [e-mail]

PLEASE THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AND URGENT--TAKE A MINUTE TO WRITE A BRIEF MEMO OPPOSING THIS DIRECTION.

[lamp_shade]

1. What lies is he telling?

[Orlandodem]

3. His administration (him by extension since they speak for him) thinks teachers believe

more testing is the way to go.

[lamp_shade]

12. How is that a lie?

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Guess someone is not reading all the news .... or even his own mail

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8573904&mesg_id=8573904

The article is a definite MUST READ

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/16/35haimson.h29.html?qs=Woestehoff

Shutting Out Parents
Obama's Disappointing Blueprint for Reform
By Leonie Haimson & Julie Woestehoff


As public school parents and parent advocates, we have grave reservations about the Obama administration’s "blueprint for reform", laying out its proposals for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Along with 16 other parent activists from throughout the country, we recently wrote a letter to the president and Congress, which hundreds more signed on to, registering our opposition to the administration’s agenda for the nation’s schools.

As this letter from “parents across America” pointed out, the parent voice has been missing so far from the national debate on education, and is entirely absent from the top-down, often draconian policies put forward by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Secretary Duncan’s approach not only ignores the central role parents should play in their children’s education and lives, but also gives scant attention to the reforms we believe are necessary to improve our schools. Overall, we strongly maintain that the blueprint’s proposals would undermine rather than strengthen the public education system, particularly in the urban districts whose parents we represent.

<snip>

[LWolf]

4. It could use a little help staying on the front page in GD. Not flashy enough. nt

[mzteris]

5. the (union) teachers I know here in Madison -

aren't opposed to merit pay at all.

[Orlandodem]

10. It depends on what the merit pay plan is. What form of merit pay do

these Madison (where in the world IS Madison) teachers support?

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. How do you know Ravitch met with Arne?

I certainly don't believe everything I see on Facebook. I'm going to be a skeptic and ask for more evidence that this is true before I spend anytime writing a letter which will just be ignored anyway.

[YvonneCa]

7. He needs to read his own blog. I hope he is talking to Ravitch...

...and that he listens to her. But back when he started his "Listening Tour" (and was still allowing comments on his blog at ED. Gov.) many educators spoke out about tesating, NCLB, and Education Reform in general. All he has to do is go to ED.gov to know what we think:

http://www.ed.gov/blog/2009/05/secretary-arne-duncan-takes-listening-tour-online-invites-comments-on-raising-standards/


And I hope you will get this info to both President Obama and the Peter Cunningham person. ;)

[Catshrink]

8. He's covering his ears and singing la-la-la

so he won't hear anything he doesn't want to hear.

[YvonneCa]

9. Wonder how that's working...

...for him. :7

[Catshrink]

11. Pretty well

and he has the big microphone so no one will hear the truth. Well, there was the CORE victory in Chicago that got some attention.

He has his mission and is hell bent on destroying public education as we know it.