Dear Melinda: I resigned because of your edreform. I hope that as a woman and as a mother, you will hear what I am saying and do something about it before it really is too late.
A teacher’s appeal to Melinda Gates…
Dear Melinda,
I’ve decided to go against the grain here and write to you instead of Bill, in the hopes that, as a woman and more importantly as a mother, you will hear what I’m saying and will do something about it before it really is too late.
The damage that I have witnessed in Boston over the past decade is alarming. YOUR ED REFORM IS HURTING CHILDREN. As a mother yourself, are you prepared to ignore this message that I and many other public schoolteachers are so desperately trying to convey to you and to those who have become the sole decision makers of public education?
It’s clear that an underlying presumption made about us (teachers) is that we are objecting to your “reform” measures because we don’t want to be held accountable for what we do in our classrooms. This notion is the polar opposite of our reality.
In 1998, when I was about to graduate with my Master’s Degree from Wheelock College, I presented my thesis to a panel of educators as part of the final step in determining my
