Fwd: a column, radio, events at the capitol, a letter to Obama.

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Whats going on in CO.

Susan

Begin forwarded message:

  From: "dperl" <dperl@myexcel.com>

  Date: Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:53:55 AM US/Pacific

  To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>

  Subject: a column, radio, events at the capitol, a letter to Obama.

  Dear Colleagues and hermanos de confianza,

  Thanks to the technowizardry of sister Conny Jensen, we can access my guest
  column which appeared yesterday in the Greeley Tribune:

  The seedy truth of CSAP

  The Greeley Tribune recently sponsored advertisements encouraging parents to
  approach CSAP testing as a positive force in their children's education.

  7B7B,7B7B,7B7BMar 15, 11:13 PM

  0000,0000,0000or copy and paste:
  http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20080316/READERS/351044754/-1/TRIBEDIT

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

  In about an hour you can tune in to a debate on CSAP.  This comes to us from
  a number of sources, from sister and panelist Angela Engel, and scholar Conny
  Jensen:

  The Colorado Matters CSAP special program airs this coming Monday, March 17
  at 10am and 7pm. It's an hour long, and you can hear it on 1340AM in Denver
  or online at kcfr.org.

  Learn about the panelists:

  1999,1999,FFFFhttp://www.kcfr.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=330

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

  Watch Angela's testimony to the House Education Committee:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cop-AGO9h_E

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

  And, at the capitol on Thursday, two CSAP reform bills will be on the floor. 
  Can you join us?  The press release is at 1:00 on the west steps of the
  capitol. 

  Representative Judy Solano is sponsoring two CSAP reform bills this session.
  On Thursday, March 20th at 1:30pm, the two bills will be presented in the
  Senate and House Education Committees at the Capitol. Representative Solano
  invites you to testify on behalf of HB 1186 and HB 1357.

  HB 1186 pertains to a no school penalty for non-participation in the CSAP due
  to misadministration or parent refusal. This bill will be heard in Senate
  Committee Room (SCR) 354 on the 3rd floor at 1:30. You can view the bill
  1999,1999,FFFFhere.

  HB 1357 Eliminates excess CSAP testing aligning Colorado to Federal mandates
  and will be heard in House Committee Room (HCR) 0112 in the basement of the
  Capitol. You can view the bill here.

  Please plan on testifying no longer than 3 minutes on behalf of one or both
  of the bills and please confine your testimony to the purpose of the specific
  bill. If you don't feel comfortable testifying, please still come and show
  your support because Representative Solano would like as many people as
  possible to attend in support of testing reform in Colorado. If you have
  questions or would like more information please call Sarah McCall at
  303-866-2918 or email Rep. Solano at judy.solano.house@state.co.us . Please
  RSVP to Sarah if you plan on attending.

  We hope to see you on March 20th at 1:00pm for the press conference on the
  west side of the capitol steps!

  Sincerely,

  Sarah McCall

  Legislative Aide to State Rep. Judy Solano

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

   - I have collected a number of letters from parents who have been bullied by
  administrators simply because they spoke out on behalf of their children and
  chose to exempt them from CSAP testing.  I plan on distributing these letters
  to the Senate Education Committe on Thursday.  If you have an anecdote to
  share, please write to me at dperl@myexcel.com, and I will include your
  experience as well.  Please keep these letters brief.  Brevity is power. 
  Anecdotes are data too.

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

  Sister Becky Snell wrote a wonderful letter to the Obama campaign on the
  importance of redirecting education.  She titles the letter redirection
  versus reform.   The letter, much of which is printed below,  is a wonderful
  example of what we too can write to the political candidates:

   1.  Our failure to address education problems in this country results
  from the emphasis on reform, not redirection (maybe revisioning).  We need to
  examine our goals; what is the mission of education.  Educating each and
  every student?  Educating students to meaningfully participate in democracy? 
  Preparation for the workforce?

  2.  Our reform movements have accepted that schools should exert extrinsic
  discipline.  A revisioning/redirection would build schools that develop
  intrinsic discipline.

  3. We are stunting the growth of our children by emphasizing the intellectual
  (memorization) domain over the personal and social.

  The Obama campaign is encouraging citizen input to his platform.
  http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/mypolicy

  Here is what I (Becky Snell) sent in (please excuse the redundant proud moma
  stuff, I present it to give legitimacy to my experience):

  Reconsider the purpose of education in this country. 

  The root of most of our problems in education --underachievement, dropouts,
  violence, and teacher malaise--is the unstated mission that the education
  system is to prepare workers who respond to extrinsic discipline. As a
  result, we continue to tweak a factory education establishment, with more
  quality control demanding higher standards and more testing, but not more
  quality or relevance to our changing world. We rate schools, but fail our
  students.  Over the past two decades, our crazy approach  has been doing the
  same thing over and over again (NCLB especially) and expecting different
  results. PLEASE.  A more humane approach is in order if we want to see
  results.

  A democratic society is only effective among an educated populace--a
  population who understands intrinsic discipline.  We as a society are
  suffering from uncritical thinking, a disengaged citizenry, and the
  suppressed anger that comes with it. 

  Schools based on intrinsic discipline and higher standards are not as
  difficult to implement as it may sound. Experimental schools, based on an
  understanding of child development and time tested teaching such as the
  Socratic method, have long existed.  While these schools are dismissed as
  "fringe" their records of success should be examined more carefully to
  understand how a different mission could provide improved results where more
  governmental mandates do not.

  Some links: Self-directed learning  http://www.selfdirectedlearning.com/

  Coalition of Essential Schools

  http://www.essentialschools.org/  

  AEhttp://sc.jeffco.k12.co.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=296RO 

  http://www.educationrevolution.org/

  Jefferson County Open School

  My children have both attended Jefferson County Open School, a public school
  (PK-12), based on these principles. The goals of this school have guided our
  students to develop in personal, social and intellectual ways.   These three
  domains are included in each goal of the Open School:

  Rediscover the joy of learning.

  Engage in the search for meaning in your life.

  Deal with and understand the world that is.

  Prepare of the world that might be.

  Help create the world that ought to be.

  Even without grades to "reward" them, they have both very successfully
  accomplished their school work.  My daughter(23) has completed her master's
  degree and is pursing a career in museums at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  My son (17)has been accepted to at least four colleges (with scholarships) to
  study international studies and German.  Like many of their classmates, they
  understand that they are citizens in this world with responsibilities to
  their communities.  They are passionate about their fields of learning and
  aware as individuals, confident, and actually interesting people.  As a
  parent and proud American, I am asking for a serious look at the guiding
  principles of education in this country.  We CAN do BETTER.

  Because Obama is addressing concerns related to community, the lack of
  commitment, and low standards, I have hope he will understand the need for
  radical change in education.  I hope he will join us in our efforts to
  redirect (not reform) education.

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

  In solidarity,Times New Roman

  DonTimes New Roman

  1999,1999,FFFFwww.thecbe.orgTimes New Roman

  1999,1999,FFFFwww.susanohanian.orgTimes New Roman

  1999,1999,FFFFNCLB_CSAP_COLORADO@yahoo.groups.comTimes New Roman

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