Re: CRCGS--George S. DON'T OPEN

[Judi Hirsch <judih@OUSD.K12.CA.US>]

sign me on.
Judi
----- Original Message -----
From: Susan Ohanian <SOhan70241@AOL.COM>
To: <ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU>
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2000 8:58 AM
Subject: CRCGS--George S. DON'T OPEN


> Dear ARN,
>
> A small group of us formed an "Emperor's Clothes" committee to figure out
how
> we might give an award to George Schmidt for his courageous act in
publishing
> questions from the CASE exam in Chicago. Our plan is to seek funds from
> individual donors, from foundations, and from celebrities known for their
> beneficence. We hope that individuals may decide to hold "Emperor's
Clothes"
> fundraising events in their
> own locales. For starters, how about public readings of test questions
(some
> brown paper wrapped items could be sent to individuals spearheading such
> events), a simulated exam, and/or a reading of the names of people who
> struggled in school, followed by a short paragraph about their struggles
and
> achievements.
>
> We believe that no protester should be an island, AND that the time for
> fellow parents and educators to join George is long overdue. Remember: he
> has been without his teaching job for more than a year and The Chicago
Board
> of Education is suing him for $1.4 million.
>
> We also believe that it makes strategic good sense to rally our anti-high
> stakes testing around George's brave act, i.e., we hope that if we can
raise
> enough money to make a splash, then perhaps the media will (at long last)
> actually pay attention to the significance of George's act in particular
and
> the very negative impact of high stakes testing in general.
>
> For purposes of creditability, we will seek the support of professional
> organizations, such as NCTE, to join us as institutional sponsors or
> co-sponsors but since that will take some time, we are going ahead and
> announcing the award, contacting other people, organizing events, and
asking
> for contributions.  Frankly, we will move ahead with or without that
> institutional backing.
>
> We're calling it the "Emperor's Clothes Award"*, and our fundraising goal
is
> $50,000.
>
> Will you help us? We hope so.  We suggest that each person consider
donating
> an amount equal to 1/2 day's pay.
>
> NOTE: When discussing this project, please use "CRCGS" [Our original name
was
> the Committee to Recognize the Courage of George Schmidt] . We have
advised
> George that a group of us have decided to "recognize" him, and he has
> expressed
> appreciation and a desire to not know any more information. Therefore, if
all
> posts
> on ARN carry the CRCGS as the subject, George will know not to read those
> posts.
>
> Linda Christensen
> Eric Crump
> Rich Gibson
> Deborah Meier
> Mary O'Brien
> Susan Ohanian
> Cao Quan
> Wayne Ross
> Dave Stratman
> Laura Van
> Mickey Van Derwerker
> Chuck and Pat Wemstrom
>
> *The "Emperor's Clothes" award refers to the fairy tale "The Emperor's New
> Clothes," about an emperor who leads the town parade naked, believing he
is
> wearing a suit made of the finest material. He was afraid to admit he
> couldn't see the material of which the suit was made as the tailors
advised
> him that only fools could not see the material.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
> to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.