Who speaks for the children? The Governor, the Mayor, or their parents?
Mayor Bloomberg said today that “The teachers' union represents the employees and the city represents the students." This comment reflects tremendous chutzpah. He and the Governor in recent days have claimed to be acting in the interests of the children who attend our public schools, yet both have ignored the priorities of parents and their right to have a voice in determining education policies.
We parents are the really the ones who speak for our children. What do New York parents want? The vast majority want equitable and adequate funding, smaller classes, a well-rounded curriculum, and less emphasis on standardized testing.
Instead, school budgets have been repeatedly cut, our class sizes have sharply increased and our children have been force-fed a steady diet of