We Still Have Allies in the Fight
Author and advocate Mike Klonsky again writes to Deborah Meier today. The two are currently co-blogging on Bridging Differences.
"Well, the way I understand it, if a school's kids don't test well, they burn the school down. It's pretty high-pressure."—Louis C.K.
Yes, Deb.
Once again, as you point out, you've corrupted me, as you have so many times before. For me, blogging used to be three quick hits and out. My last post on Bridging Differences somehow grew to over 1,000 words. I blame it all on you. Your posts have me thinking about so many things at once.
In your last post you raised a really important question: Who do we ally with? It's a loaded one because it's not so clear who the we is. I'm assuming from the context of the post that you mean: Who do we, defenders of public education as a democratic institution, ally with? To answer that question, we need to start from an assessment of current conditions. How bad is it out there? Who are the forces in the field? How weak or strong are they and we?
You can't always plan for everything. There are always black swans. And allies pop up in the strangest places. Comedian Louis C.K. brought a smile to my face the other day when he, a public school parent, tore into the common core and the standardized testing madness. I wish we had more pro-education friends in the popular media. I remember how important it was to have Matt Damon and his educator mom, author Nancy Carlsson-Paige, speak at our Save Our Schools March in Washington in 2011. I also recall how panicked Arne Duncan became and how he tried, without success, to head Damon off at the D.C. airport. Duncan knows the power of popular culture.
The most recent place where the question of alliances has come up is around single issues like common core and testing. You and I have been clear on our opposition to the Common Core State Standards and the wildly expanding testing regimen that comes with it. Defenders of common core argue that the CCSS are purely standards and "not curriculum," and that they aren't trying to We Still Have Allies in the Fight - Bridging Differences - Education Week: