We're The Real Parents And We Won't Back Down
Cross posted from WHYY's NewsWorks
Yesterday marked the kick off of NBC’s third Education Nation, which is billed as a “year-round initiative to engage the country in a solutions-focused conversation about the state of education in America.” The day’s events included both a student and teacher Town Hall, and a panel discussion on “Parent Engagement & Advocacy.”
My ticket to the event came through the hard work of Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters and Parents Across America. After parents were shut out of Education Nation in 2011, Leonie petitioned the network to give parents a voice. She was given a block of tickets for the parent panel and told there would be time for questions from the audience.
Although both the teacher and student town halls were two hours in length and had Q & A sessions, which according to attendees got quite lively at times, the parent panel had no Q & A, and out of 10 panelists, only two