Christian Churches Oppose Race To The Top.

[Orlandodem]

Seems like there is a little momentum gaining against RTTT. Please send this to 10 people NOT in education. Sending it to other teachers is preaching to the choir (no pun intended). One of the big issues is that there is not much being done for kids who remain in public schools while people like Obama are pushing charters and others like Jeb want to privatize the whole damn thing.

SNIP

Christian churches oppose Race to the Top, Obama blueprint

Here is an extraordinary letter that should erase any doubt that opposition to the Obama administration's $4 billion Race to the Top is wide and deep.

Sent recently to President Obama and U.S. lawmakers by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, a community of 36 communions with a combined membership of 45 million people, this letter expresses deep concern about the education priorities of Race to the Top and of Obama's “blueprint” for education reform.

It criticizes the administration's effort to push states to increase the number of charter schools, its plan to turn some of the federal money used to help poor children into competitive grants, its punitive approach to dealing with low-performing schools, and the "ugly" demonization of public school teachers.

The letter says:

*“We are concerned today when we hear the civil right to education being re-defined as the right to school choice.”

*“While competitive, market based “reforms” may increase educational opportunity for a few children, or even for some groups of children, do they introduce more equity or more inequity into the system itself? We reject the language of business for discussing public education.”

The pastoral letter is long but worth the time to read every word.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/no-child-left-behind/christian-churches-oppose-race.html

[mediaman007]

1. Finally someone gets it! Shame on the education departments of

colleges, public school boards and administrators for not voicing opposition. The emperor has no clothes!

[stray cat]

2. Common ground between evangelicals and DUers?

[mzteris]

6. things that make you go,

"hmmmmmmmmmm........"

[eppur_se_muova]

3. "We reject the language of business..." but but but look how much business has done for us!

Well, maybe not lately, but the point stands. :evilgrin:

[Hannah Bell]

4. about time.

[mzteris]

5. what strange bedfellows you have . . .

hmmmmmmmm makes you wanna stop and rethink that doesn't it?

[Hannah Bell]

7. charter schools' strange bedfellows include george & jeb bush.

you might want to rethink that too.

the national council of churches is about as mainstream christian as it gets. i'm surprised to see you representing them as some kind of questionable organization.


"The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches or NCC) is an ecumenical partnership of 36 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African-American, Evangelical, and historic Peace churches. Together, they encompass 100,000 local congregations and 45 million adherents."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_of_Churches

[mzteris]

8. did I hit a nerve?

:evilgrin:

[Hannah Bell]

9. not at all. still not sure why you talk to people you have on ignore, though. kind of defeats the

purpose.

if you want to use the ignore function, please ignore & quit trying to have it both ways.

[mzteris]

10. i just love imagining the teethgnashing...

:rofl:

[Hannah Bell]

11. ? why do you continue to reply to someone you have on ignore?

i really don't understand it.