Organizing
for Education. . .
There is a tremendous
amount of misinformation and destructive rhetoric being touted as fact about
our public school systems in recent days.
While this isn't a completely new phenomena, the most troubling thing is
that now there is significant legislation and policy that supports the
rhetoric. Supporters of public education
face a real battle on many fronts as we seek to defend a valuable societal
resource.
We are trapped in a cycle
of anti-public education rhetoric, followed by implementation of anti- public
education policy which then creates circumstances that allow anti-public
education forces an opportunity to continue their attacks.
We are facing well
funded, corporate forces who are willing to bend and twist the rules in order
to profit from their activities.
Educators find themselves
trapped in the middle. We are a strange
combination of superhero and supervillain.
On one hand, we are considered first responders with a duty to serve and
protect our students and families. At
the same time we are given little support in many circles and our activities
are scrutinized and critiqued at every turn.
Educators have not been
idle while their profession, schools and students are under attack. While the overall picture presented in the
media and in political circles may be bleak, some positive strides have been
made as well.
What we are seeing is a
need to counter the misinformation and misleading data provided by the
education "reformers" with a different set of data and narratives
that show the power, and potential, of our public schools. This means changing the dialog about our
schools. It also means organizing our
efforts in different ways. Our opponents
have the resources and the access to power here in Wisconsin that allow them to dictate the
debate. While we can't give up and must
continue to testify at hearings, present our views in the press and engage in
other more traditional policy impacting actions, we also need to look for other
ways to get our message out.
One of the primary
problems in the debate over public education policy is the fact that every
school has different needs and different issues are of importance to different
communities. While all involved in our
public schools recognize the need to deliver quality instruction to all
students and to provide the maximum educational opportunity possible, how we
deliver this instruction and what quality and opportunity mean are often
debated.
On a larger, policy making
scale, these issues become highly politicized, generalized and often lose their
focus on the actual students, families and communities involved. Those who work and learn in our public
schools become political "footballs" and pawns in a game that
benefits groups and individuals who are distant from the classrooms where the
real work needs to be done.
The challenge is to find
ways to get the different groups in schools talking together. Often there are barriers to having these
discussions. They may be institutional,
personal or societal barriers, but whatever the source, the effect is the
same. We see discussions about public
education happening, but it is happening in isolation with the same people
talking to each other in the same ways.
Often offering up the same solutions that haven't resolved our problems
in the past.
Breaking these barriers
and changing the way we talk about our schools is challenging. The primary difficulty is that the major
parties involved are so segregated.
Educators talk only to educators, parents only talk to parents with
similar backgrounds and experiences, political figures and other leaders talk
to constituents who have the same ideological ideas, and so on. This isolation of thinking only builds more
barriers to real conversation and problem solving around our public
schools. The current climate is toxic to
compromise and proactive solutions.
Many participants in
discussions about public education also feel powerless to enact change in the
system. This is true for families,
community members and even many educators.
We feel caught up in a system that is large and bureaucratic in
nature. As individuals we have little real
power to act in ways that can positively impact the overall picture.
It is possible to combat
the isolation of ideas and the feelings of powerlessness. One positive way to share information and
make positive change happen in public education is to make personal connections
between the different groups and interests in each school community. We have been trying something new in my
school community for the past year. A
few parents and educators have organized a group called SCAPE (School Community
Alliance for Public Education) that meets regularly to discuss issues related
to school reform as well as issues of policy relating to our school and
district. We have spoken and written to
local decision makers and have acted on several issues that were defined by
members.
The real strength of the
group is the fact that we are making an effort to break down some of those
barriers that exist in the conversations around public education. Having educators, families and community
members in the same room talking about issues changes the dynamics of the
discussion and gives insights to all parties involved. The group consists of over 50 educators,
family members and community members with a range of backgrounds and
expertise. We have met in different neighborhoods
and are working to increase the diversity of our group's demographics and
increase our diversity of ideological beliefs as well.
The premise of SCAPE is to
get dialog about public education started and then determine ways to influence
the policies being implemented in our schools.
We are encountering many of the expected challenges in our efforts, but
are firmly committed to this process. A
process that seeks to widen the involvement of all in discussions about public
schools, something that our society could use much more of.
The
Good, The Bad, and
The
Ugly. . .
The Good- While
most sources focused on the struggles of UPS and FedEx this holiday season, the
successes of the U.S. Postal Service should be highlighted instead. The USPS provides another example of how
public services are often vilified, usually under appreciated, but continue to
provide valuable, quality service to all Americans.
Yet, we continue to hear
about how workers need to sacrifice in order for business to prosper. Until we change this dialog and give respect
and power to the people who do the work, we will continue to see the gap
between the wealthy and the rest of us increase.
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