"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

Friday, August 5, 2011

Diane Ravitch Protests the Status Quo

Diane Ravitch spoke at the Save our Schools March last weekend. Some highlights...
  • Today we join to protest the status quo. The status quo of high stakes testing, the status quo of attacks on the teaching profession, the status quo of privatization. The status quo is wrong; don’t let them say you’re defending the status quo; the status quo stinks!
  • Carrots and sticks are for donkeys, not professionals.
  • We protest the idea of turning education into a race. Education is a right, not a race.
  • Free public education, open to all, with no lottery, is a cornerstone of our democracy.
  • The shame of our nation is that we lead the developed world in child poverty...Our problem is poverty, not our schools.
  • Education policy should be designed by educators, not by politicians.
  • Secretary Duncan, the achievement gap begins before children arrive in school for the first day.
  • Great schools can never be built on a foundation of fear, punishment and threats.
Watch it, below...

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