Welcome to Going Public, a site for those who believe, as we do, that public education is the heart of our democracy.
It Can’t Happen Here… Really?
Sinclair Lewis wrote the satirical political novel, It Can’t Happen Here, in 1935, when the United States and Western Europe had been in a depression for six years. Lewis asks us to consider what could happen if some ambitious politician used the 1936 presidential election to make himself dictator by promising quick, easy solutions to [...]
What If Everyone Saw This Facebook Status?
“Remember when teachers, public employees, Planned Parenthod, NPR & PBS crashed the stock market…”
United Opt Out opposes High Stakes Testing
High stakes testing functions in opposition to QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION United Opt Out National is an organization of passionate, informed educators who have studied the ill effects of mandated standardized tests. They have issued a list of reasonable demands which I hope you’ll read and support: We, administrators of United Opt Out National, wish to [...]
Like Lemmings
In the eleven years I spent teaching at a suburban school I saw five principals come and go. Each new one was the exact opposite of the last. The hiring committee decided that Mr. A was not intellectual enough so they fired him and hired Mrs. B. She was intelligent all right, but no one [...]
They Are Occupying Wall Street So That You Don’t Have To. Or Do You?
We just returned from adding our support and thanks to the hundreds of people who are occupying Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. They are among the kindest, most polite people I’ve seen in a long time. The park was immaculate. Volunteers were sweeping the pavement, others were quietly playing music, a few were holding signs. [...]
Reading, Writing, ‘Rithmetic….and Responsibility
Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I listen to BBC radio. It’s on my local NPR station from 2 am until 5 (I know, crazy huh?). Last week I sat upright listening to a piece about the horrific journey some kids in Zimbabwe make to get a top notch education in Johannesburg. They have to cross [...]
Salon: The Bait & Switch of School “Reform” by David Sirota
Click to Read: Salon.com: The Bait and Switch of School “Reform” by David Sirota …Can you read this without wanting to join a movement? Or starting one?
