We will never defeat the ed reform candidates at the polls by defending our point of view, no matter how many facts we throw out. Voters who have bought into the ed reform “talking points”, without taking the time to analyze them, are convinced of them. It’s that simple…because human beings, once convinced of something, will continue to believe it…unless…unless we are willing to stop spouting our facts to them, and start making them analyze what they believe. Respond to such a person with a question…never a statement…always a question. Make them think about their belief! Below is an example. Try it. ED REFORM TALKING POINT: “PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE FAILING!” Which ones are failing and in what way? Answers may include: 1. “Those schools in the big cities!” Response: So, we should take funding from ALL public schools to fix them? How does that work? Doesn’t that make ALL schools underfunded? 2. “Our district schools got some ‘Fs’!” Response: Some of your schools got poor grades? What were those grades based on? Doesn’t your central office develop the goals and curriculum for all of your schools? Doesn’t it buy the textbooks for the whole district? Doesn’t it hire all your teaching staff? How do some schools in your district get good “grades” and others get ‘Fs’? 3. “Those schools with all those colored people.” (It hurt to write that…but, unfortunately, you will hear it sooner or later.) Response: Surely you don’t think that those kids can’t learn?? What do you think the highly diversified schools need to help them? 4. The ISTEP scores are really bad in so many schools!” Response: And, what does that mean to you? You do know that cut-off scores are set after the tests are graded, so that as many kids that get a passing score get a failing one…right? You do know that an immigrant child (even the “legal”ones) can come into a classroom on day and have to take the ISTEP in English the next? You do know that some children come into our schools with no previous education and take the ISTEP? Do you understand how a standardized test differs from the test your teacher used to give you? Right?? You do know that, no matter how much a child knows, if something happened to them or to their family the night before testing, they still have to take the test? What do you think that does to the test score? You know there are no “do-overs” right? 5. “Well, I know someone who owns a business, and he says he can’t find educated worker.” Do you understand what 14 years of standardized testing has done to our students’ ability to think on their own? Don’t you think that, for that reason alone, we should stop all this testing and grading?? These are just a small example…just to get you in the questioning frame of mind. Just take all the facts you know and throw them back in a question! See if this doesn’t help change some minds...and votes!
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 19:11:36 +0000