Re: Contact for George Miller

[aburke5054@aol.com]

Civil rights groups have been pounding on Mr Miller's door arguing for strengthening NCLB. They were one of the drivers behind NCLB in the first place.  
Accusing Mt Miller of being a Republican in disguise or claiming that he is dominated by corporations or political conservatives simply shows how out-of-touch the writer is and his letter is going into the file marked "wacko."

Art

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>
To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
Sent: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 8:40 pm
Subject: [arn-l] Contact for George Miller










>From: DuaneCampbell <campd227@PACBELL.NET> 

> 

> 

>I have my students writing George Miller from district addresses. 

>here is the letter which I wrote. 

>Duane Campbell 

> 

>You certainly make it difficult to contact the 
>Congressman.  Is he responsive to the electorate? 

>I have read your statements on NCLB.   You are 
>not getting to the heart of the issues. 

>I write from the Democratic wing of the 
>Democratic Party.   and, I do not accept your 
>present commitment to NCLB.  It is a Republican 
>bill, drafted by Republicans, and you are negotiating the margins. 

> 

>The domination of school reform dialogue by 
>conservative political forces and corporate 
>financed institutes (1983- 2008) produced a 
>shift in discussion of school issues away from 
>equal opportunity and toward analysis of the 
>“achievement gap”  the gap in scores between 
>ethnic and economic groups. . The accountability 
>movement stressed  increased testing  rather 
>than relying  upon teacher curriculum  decision 
>making.  It is noticeable  in this debate that 
>the conservative policy advocates did not have 
>their children or grandchildren in low income 
>schools  where the curriculum and teaching has 
>too often been reduced to drill and test.  Their 
>children are in middle class schools – higher 
>achieving schools- where the curriculum and 
>teaching strategies remain more open, more child 
>friendly, more divergent and where schools 
>pursue multiple goals, not only improved test scores 

> 

>  In political  terms this shifted 
> responsibility for children’s educational 
> achievement from the  unequal 
> government  funding and placed it at the feet 
> of teachers and education professionals while 
> also  demonizing teachers’ unions and other 
> education professionals.   The accountability 
> and testing movement 
> changed  the  educational  debates away from 
> discussion of democracy and multicultural 
> education toward  measuring  achievement in 
> math and reading.  These shifts were not 
> accidental nor are they politically neutral. 

>             We are in a difficult situation; 
> our students’ futures and the health of our 
> democracy depend upon engaging in the struggle 
> for democratic education. If we want democracy, 
> we must educate for democracy. Democracy 
> depends upon the participation of its members 
> in the political, social, cultural and economic 
> institutions.  We do this through public 
> schools. The current federal law,  No child 
> left behind  (NCLB) and most state school 
> reform plans  remove teachers, students and 
> parents from active involvement in decision 
> making about standards, testing, and 
> curriculum, and restricts the decision making of elected school boards. 

>The fundamental issue is you need to start 
>listening to teachers, not to "educational 
>experts" who make their living by commenting on teachers lives. 

> 

>I will be publishing your response, or your lack of response, on my blog; 

>www.choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com 

> 

>Dr. Duane E. Campbell 

>author, 

>Choosing Democracy; a practical guide to 
>multicultural education.  ( 2004) Merrill/Prentice Hall. 

>new edition written for 2009.  It will comment 
>on how the Democrats did, or did not , improve NCLB. 

> 

> 

>272 E. 12th. street. 

>Vacaville, Calif.  95687 

------------------------------------------------------- 

ARN-L archives: 

http://interversity.org/lists/arn-l/archives.html ;



 


________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com