"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

"No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution." -- Indiana Constitution Article 1, Section 6.

"...no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." – Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Who will teach the children?

Signature #22019, April Eason, speaks for many teachers. Hers is not the first comment talking about how the joy of teaching has been lost...but it is a clear indication that those people who are intent on destroying public education - President Bush and his friends - are succeeding.

Good teachers get discouraged and leave.
Young teachers find that they have to do things that are not good for their students and become frustrated.

April's comments are scary, because she's right. Her comments are sad, because she's right. Who is going to be left to teach our children?

"I'm a teacher -- or was when I started. Now I'm just a paper-pushing, harried, scared, implementer of mandates trying daily to "prove" I DID do my job, and student failures or deficiencies are not entirely my fault. I do not see myself sticking with this profession, as the opportunities for the personal rewards that keep most teachers in the classroom are being stolen by the crunch of curriculum cramming and teaching to tests. The joy and freedom of teaching simply no longer exist."

No Child Left Behind is leaving thousands of children behind!
Dismantle NCLB!
Sign the petition by clicking on the link on the side.
More than 22,000 signatures so far...

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