Education activists
Op Out.
Valerie Strauss
Education activists
opposed to corporate-based school reform are converging on Washington D.C. next
week for the second annual United Opt Out National
event on the grounds of the U.S. Education Department. Among those who will
be speaking at the event are education historian Diane Ravitch, Chicago
Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, veteran educator Deborah Meier, and early
childhood expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige.
The four-day event —
to be attended by teachers, students, parents and others — will start on April
4th and include a march to the White House in an effort to get the attention of
President Obama, who has been a big disappointment to people who thought he
would push progressive school reform policies. Instead, his Education
Department has pushed a corporate-based reform agenda that includes an
accountability system based on standardized tests — against the advice of
assessment experts — and initiatives that have fueled the privatization of
public education and attacks on teachers.
The Opt Out event is
part of a growing revolt
against standardized test-based school reform. Students have staged protests in
different states; school boards across the country have passed resolutions
against high-stakes tests; teachers staged a strike in Chicago and in
Seattle refused to administer a standardized test they say is flawed;
principals, superintendents, researchers and others have signed petitions
urging an end to the abuse of high-stakes testing; a growing number of students
are opting out and refusing to take standardized tests.
The event next week will bring together some of
the leading voices in the anti-reform movement. A full schedule of the event is here.
From Washington Post. Answer Sheet blog.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/03/29/key-education-activists-protesting-in-d-c-next-week/
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