Voices of Dissent 3: Interview with Mickey Vanderwerker

[Peter Campbell <campbellp@mail.montclair.edu>]

The state of Virginia has long been in favor of high-stakes testing  
through its Standards of Learning (ironically referred to as "SOLs").  
The state is also a Republican stronghold: the Republicans control  
the state House, Senate, and the Governor's Mansion. But Virginia has  
come out strongly against No Child Left Behind, going so far as to  
create legislation that would remove Virginia from participating in  
NCLB. Great news, right? Wrong. Very wrong.

In this interview, (http://netdrive.montclair.edu/~campbellp/ 
mickey_vanderwerker.mp3) Mickey Vanderwerker, one of the founders of  
Parents Across Virginia United to Reform SOLs (PAVURSOL), tells us  
why. She paints a picture of what has happened in Virginia over the  
last several years, an eerily prescient tale of what will likely  
happen to the rest of the country in the next few years. Her story is  
both inspiring and chilling.

The web site (http://www.solreform.com/) descibes PAVURSOL as "an  
internet-based, growing grassroots network of over 6,000 parents,  
grandparents, and concerned citizens who want to ensure that the  
standards and assessments used with our children are educationally  
defensible. As parents, grandparents and supporters of school-aged  
children, we recognize the need for ensuring that all students  
acquire the knowledge and skills needed for success in school and  
beyond. However, we believe that our current 'one-size-fits-all' SOL  
system will fail to accomplish this and will hurt, not help,  
students, schools, and communities."

--
Posted by Peter Campbell to Transform Education (http:// 
transformeducation.blogspot.com)