A CALL FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SOLIDARITY: “THIS IS OUR HOUSE”
Let me start with an image.
Whether you have witnessed this in person or on TV, picture a college football stadium during a special event game when the fans organize a “white out” (or other appropriate color). The effect is impressive with the stadium almost entirely one color, a statement by the fans that “this is our house.”
Now, let me make a case about creating that same sort of solidarity among educators and public education advocates through social media.
Historically and significantly during the last three decades, U.S. public education policy and public discourse have been dominated by politicians, political appointees, billionaire hobbyists, pundits, and self-appointed entrepreneurs—most of whom having no or little experience or expertise in the field of education or education scholarship.
In fact, the “white out” in the media is inversely proportional to the expertise in the field:
Across MSNBC, CNN, And Fox, Only 9 Percent Of Guests In Education Segments Were Educators. On segments in which there was a substantial discussion of domestic education policy between January 1, 2014, and October 31, 2014, there were 185 guests total on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, only 16 of whom were educators, or 9 percent. Media Matters
Next, allow me to chase what may appear to be a brief tangent.
While teaching high school English in rural SC for 18 years, I always enjoyed my U.S. literature unit on Arthur Miller’sThe Crucible. One of the lines from the play was particularly enjoyable—when Tituba exclaims, “No, no, sir, I don’t truck with no Devil!”
Having grown up in the 1960s and 1970s, my mind always goes to this [1]:
Art and property of Robert Crumb.
But students often found the phrasing odd, despite my affinity for the metaphor and power of Tituba’s language.
To this day, I am apt to adopt Tituba’s stance when expressing my allegiances, and that brings me back to the point of this call for social media solidarity among educators and public education advocates.
Over about two years of blogging at my own site and engaging regularly on Twitter and other social media platforms, I have gradually adopted a stance that I do not truck with those who are disproportionately dominating the field of and public discourse about education.
Yes, I have done my share of calling out, discrediting, and arguing with, but except on rare occasions, I am done with A Call for Social Media Solidarity: “This Is Our House” | the becoming radical: