San Diego Education Association on NCLB

[Rich Gibson <rgibson@pipeline.com>]

http://www.sdea.net/Column_VP/column_VP.html


It is Time to Stand Up
(Past Time, Actually)
By Marc Capitelli, SDEA Vice President

We have waited for someone else in our unions or in politics to put 
an end to the atrocity called No Child Left Behind. As we have 
watched our schools move more and more into becoming test preparation 
factories with children going in and test takers coming out, 
politicians and union leaders have tried to play the "fix it and fund 
it" game. NCLB cannot be fixed and it will never be funded properly!
How long have we waited for the feds and the state to properly fund 
programs like they promised?

<mailto:%20cap@alum.calberkely?subject=fwd%20to%20M%20Capitelli>
[ Marc Capitelli ]


The time has come for a national discussion about what public 
education should be. We believe that public education is the 
cornerstone of our democracy. We believe that NCLB is an ongoing 
attack on the foundation of a free and democratic people. We believe 
it is time to lead the movement to restore a sane, stable, well 
funded, ACCOUNTABLE by all stakeholders, public education system. 
Accordingly, the Board of Directors passed the following resolution 
and recommendation to present to the February Representative Council 
of the San Diego Education Association.

Whereas Great Public Schools are the foundation of a strong, vital 
democracy; and

Whereas Great Public Schools are the foundation of a just and moral 
society; and

Whereas every child deserves to attend a Great Public School; and

Whereas ESEA (NCLB), in its current authorization, is destroying 
public education by:
Devastating Public Education as an institution and Promoting 
privatization of Public Education and Discrediting Public Education 
and Creating impossible requirements for schools to meet and Creating 
meaningless workloads for teachers that are driving teachers from the 
profession and Diverting scarce funding from the primary goal of 
educating our children to be productive participants in our democracy 
and Dividing parents, schools and communities from working together 
to educate our children and

Whereas it is the belief of the San Diego Education Association that:
ESEA, in its current NCLB authorization, can not be overhauled, fixed 
or properly funded and ESEA, in its current NCLB authorization, 
should be re-written by a commission comprised of stakeholders in 
Public Education and Such commission be comprised of representatives 
from 1. NEA 2. AFT 3. Universities and Colleges engaged in the 
training and preparation of teachers 4. Bipartisan members of 
Congress 5. Parental groups Such reauthorization should embrace 
proven programs, like 1. Smaller classes, and 2. Advocate for 
additional targeted resources to help low-income and minority 
students achieve their basic right to a quality education, and 3. 
Emphasize factors crucial to ensuring a great public school for every 
child such as; Parental, family, and community involvement and 
engagement, and Adequate, equitable, and sustainable school funding, 
and A qualified, caring, diverse, and stable workforce, and Such 
reauthorization be completed by July, 2009 Therefore it shall be the 
policy of the San Diego Education
Association to endeavor to scrap the current ESEA (NCLB) by:
Instructing its members to the State Council of the California 
Teachers Association to introduce a motion (NBI), at the earliest 
time, at the State Council consisting of the above points and 
Instructing its representatives to the Representative Assembly of the 
National Education Association in Philadelphia in the summer of 2007 
to introduce a similar motion (NBI) at the Representative Assembly, 
should CTA not bring forth an NBI that supports the policy of SDEA.