Tactic #1: Tell parents that “You are the only one who complained.”
O-M-G ! ! ! !
How many times did I hear that one?
Moving right along:
Tactic #2: Claim that “The research shows that what we are doing is best.” CHECK
Tactic #3: “We are the experts. You should trust us to know better than you.” CHECK
Tactic #4: Claim that children will suffer if the budget is not significantly increased. CHECK
Tactic #5: Accuse critics and parents who ask too many questions of being “against public education.” Hah! They don't dare try that one around here. Too many folks already sending kids to private school and too many other folks who would if they could scrape together the money after paying the highest property taxes in the known universe.
Tactic #6: Claim that FCPS is prevented from making changes by the No Child Left Behind act. No one has used this one around here, and that is to the district's credit.
Tactic #7: Avoid taking actions to change the system by ignoring good ideas. CHECK *
Frederick Education Reform briefings
*I'm adding this one to my list of "Signs that your child is attending a public school." Actually, I could add all 7 of these to my list of Signs that your child is attending a public school.
Thanks for the post!!
ReplyDeleteThere is a wealth of information available at Frederick Education Reform. I like the way that they have highlighted the importance of informing school board candidates and providing a forum on the issues.
They have made it very clear that parents are aware of the problems and will hold their school board accountable for improving the situation.
It's a great way to utilize the structure of the existing system to represent parents and students - as it was always intended to do.
That is a FANTASTIC site --- amazing.
ReplyDeleteWho put it together; do you know?
Are they maintaining anonymity? (Is that possible when you're asking questions of board candidates?)
I'm very interested in following their work, and will bring it to our school board & administration as well.
Check out their "about us" page. They are pretty open about who they are.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.frederickeducationreform.com/