Why I'm Marching Tomorrow |

I am a teacher. ?I am a student. ?I am a daughter and a sister, a partner and a friend. ?I come from a family of teachers (music, math, special education, art), librarians, social workers, and journalists. ?And tomorrow, I will hold all these things in my heart as I march past the White House to tell President Obama that what he is doing has stolen my country.

President Obama does not know me. ?He has no reason to listen to me except that I am a human, that I think and feel and sweat and bleed like the rest of my species. ?That should be enough. ?I hope it will be.

So far, it has not been enough. ?On February 11, 2011, I wrote Governor Walker a long letter. ?I concluded it like this:

Although I am not a native, I have lived and worked here longer than anywhere else. ?I have grown to love this place and its character, and to value the education?both formal and emotional?it has given me. ?I would like nothing better than to continue my life here, to watch my students as sparks of curiosity, dedication, and hard work become the flames that light the way for the next generation.

I can imagine nothing more tragic than watching over the next few weeks as you, Governor?Walker, lean over and blow those sparks out.

He did not respond.

For weeks, I stood freezing outside the Capitol and sweltering in Capitol hallways, alongside my brothers and sisters from around the state, asking only for my voice to be acknowledged. ?Asking the democratically elected leader of my state to do something he was elected to do: serve the people of Wisconsin.

He did not meet once with those who opposed passage of the Budget Repair Bill.

So I gave up on him and moved on: to the President who was supposedly pro-teacher, pro-education, and who really ought to put his proverbial money where his mouth has been for some time now. ?I understand that right now he?s being distracted by the Republicans? collective temper tantrum. ?He?s being distracted by an economy in crisis, by greedy corporations, and by pressure from all sides.

That is no excuse. ?Teachers, too are distracted. ?We work long and hard, spending hours past those we are compensated for doing our jobs. ?Later, we do other jobs, like organizing protests. ?Sometimes, we even talk to our family members, when we?re not frantically writing emails over dinner.

Despite our obligations and for the most part at our own expense, we are coming together here in DC to say: we have said our piece. ?We have said it loudly and clearly, in print and on TV and on the radio. ?We have advocated for our students and for each other, and we have been systematically and sometimes forcibly silenced. ?Arne Duncan and other of his ilk have coopted our words and attempted to portray us as a fringe element.

We are not a fringe. ?We are the futures of your children. ?We are the futures of this country. ?We will not be silenced.

Tomorrow, holding a Wisconsin flag, I will be marching. ?I will be shouting with the voice I have been guaranteed by my country?s most venerable document. ?I will not be silenced.

Join us.

For the future of our children, we demand: Equitable funding for all public school communities -Equitable funding across all public schools and school systems -Full public funding of family and community support services -Full funding for 21st century school and neighborhood libraries -End to economically and racially re-segregated schools End high stakes testing used for the purpose of student, teacher, and school evaluation -Use multiple and varied assessments to evaluate students, teachers, and schools -End pay per test performance for teachers and administrators -End to public school closures based upon test performance Teacher, family and community leadership in forming public education policies -Educator and civic community leadership in drafting new ESEA legislation -Federal support for local school programs free of punitive and competitive funding -End political and corporate control of curriculum, instruction and assessment decisions for teachers and administrators Curriculum developed for and by local school communities -Support teacher and student access to a wide-range of instructional programs and technologies -Well-rounded education that develops every student?s intellectual, creative, and physical potential -Opportunities for multicultural/multilingual curriculum for all students -Small class sizes that foster caring, democratic learning communities

Source: http://saveourschoolswisconsin.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/why-im-marching-tomorrow/

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