It is Time to PUNCH

child speakingWe can continue to feed information to the public about the destructive impact of ill thought out school choice policies.  There is a danger, however, that we are simply preaching to the choir.   Those who should be aware may not be tuned in.

Our strategies to increase awareness must be more diverse.  What would prompt your neighbor, colleague, fellow parent to tune in?

It is logical that busy people preoccupied with families and jobs will respond to calls for action if they recognize the urgency and the possibility for a positive impact. 

I am working on a set of ‘headlines’ and slogans that communicate the immediacy of the need to preserve our public schools.   What do we value about our public schools?  What are the threats to public education?  Which solutions do we propose?

Can we come up with short, single sentences that encapsulate a need or something you value.   Then we can refer people to more in depth analyses and ways to respond.

Let’s see:

  • Vouchers segregate, not integrate schools.
  • Vouchers for the poor pay for poor quality schools.
  • Vouchers help the rich get richer.
  • Private schools get public money with no strings attached.

OR

  • Public schools innovate, charters stagnate.
  • Charters choose, parents lose.
  • Public schools invite students in; charters counsel them out.
  • Charters profit from students; public schools invest in them.
  • When housing patterns limit access to quality education, fix it!

OR

  • School choice means all schools are under funded.
  • Teaching, not testing helps students learn.
  • We need more time, not more testing.
  • School choice is a distraction not an option to improve learning.

You get the idea.  Send me your captions and communication strategies.  We will hone them and use them to target issues.  We will discuss these at the League’s Orlando leadership conference in January.

Posted in Achievement, Advocacy, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Florida, Funding, Public Education, Reform, Resegregation, Teachers, Testing.

5 Comments

  1. Sue, I saw in Diane Ravitch’s blog that you are looking for catch-phrases about education. Richard Gilman (of Boston Globe fame) in Tucson writes very thoughtful articles in his blog Bringing Up Arizona. His piece January 1 works on the idea that Public Education should be viewed and maintained as a Public Trust. I think his article may provide you with some succinct “phrasiology” that will be helpful. Please check out his article and contact him about using/quoting his thoughts: [email protected]

    • Indeed I will. I have drafted a new set of catch-phrases to include ideas from the comments on Diane’s blog. I want them to pinpoint the choices we are facing. I am backing them up with an updated fact sheet. Stay tuned. I will post them on my blog and send them to Diane. I need to present them to our Florida League of Women Voters statewide workshop on school choice in a couple of weeks. Thanks for your help. Sue

  2. Need some sort of catchy phrase about lack of accountability in charter schools.
    Who is making a profit on your child’s education? or something like that
    Follow the money and discover a charter school’s core value
    Who has education of your child as the primary outcome?

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