Frustrated educators to march on Washington

The upcoming "Save our Schools March and National Call to Action" has caught the attention of Education Week. The newspaper sent reporter Erik Robelen to write this article about the growing frustration teachers feel because of the mandates of the federal No Child Left behind Act.

At the heart of the protest is discontent over the test-driven accountability standards imposed by NCLB. As one teacher quoted by Robelen puts it, "Teachers lose the opportunity to teach anything beyond how to fill in the bubbles.”

The Washington protest is slated for July 28-31, and the American Federation of Teachers is one of the march's sponsors.

Organizers of the march state their mission thusly:

We stand united by one belief – it’s time for teachers and parents to
organize and reclaim control of our schools.

As concerned citizens, we demand an end to the destructive policies and
rhetoric that have eroded confidence in our public schools, demoralized
teachers, and reduced the education of too many of our children to nothing more
than test preparation.

A well-educated society is essential to the future of the United States
of America. Our students must have access to a fully funded, world-class public
education system, and it is our responsibility to hold our government
accountable for providing the means to achieve it.

The actual rally will be held at noon on July 30, starting at the capitol park ellipse. Other events are listed here.

For those unable to attend the Washington event, a list of local actions are posted here.