So here’s an online news magazine — National Journal (published by The Atlantic) — with a short article on teacher evaluation and a bunch of comments, some fairly thoughtful. BUT NOT ONE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER VOICE . It appears that one would need to be an “invited participant” to comment, so some teachers need to request […]

Do teachers hesitate speaking up ? NBC’s Education Nation does include some teacher voices — watch this video clip to see them. You don’t see them whining, either — but professionally explaining some of the realities of their work. And here’s the teachers town hall that took place Sept. 24th. More focused on teacher evaluation […]

Read this roundtable discussion of teachers speaking up about how we must join the national discussion on education and inform the public about what our work entails. This is the only way we are going to get smarter policy decisions for our schools. Now check out some strategies on this website to help you, and […]

The Chicago strike ends at last, but it has only highlighted the national debate over expectations for what schools can or should accomplish, what teachers can or cannot contribute, and how we meaningfully evaluate that contribution. The commentary has already begun, with raucous voices joining in from all sides. What we want to say at […]

Steve Zemelman and Harry Ross interview Teresa Ramos, a community organizer, on teacher voice. Teresa explains the power of one-on-one discussions with parents and community members to build support for your teaching. Parents and other public voices can in fact be more effective than your own in explaining the value of your work and what […]

When I left a comment on Diane Ravitch’s blog (http://dianeravitch.net) about this website as a support for the teacher voice that she advocated, an angry respondent thought I was blaming teachers for not speaking up. Teachers need to focus on their classrooms with no time for the larger fray, he/she argued. I don’t want to […]

One thing is clear: far too much of the public doesn’t understand the nature and complexity of what we do. As a result, when problematic “reforms” are imposed and teachers oppose them, we are seen as obstructionist, simply protecting our jobs and pay. But when we don’t tell the story of our teaching widely and […]

Our friend out in the Bay Area shared (on the Teachers Speak Up Facebook page) this slam poetry piece by Taylor Mali, “What Teachers Make.” It’s not a practicing teacher speaking, but it’s a great thing to send to any friend who disparages your work at a dinner party.

I just learned from a very supportive techie about a website called SignOn.org (listed on our “Plan Advocacy” page), which provides a tool for launching web-based petitions. It also offers tips and strategies for how to conduct an effective online advocacy campaign. Such campaigns have been powerful and effective tools for getting powerful organizations (such […]

The link to Anthony Cody’s blog on our “Reaching Out More Widely -Examples” page opens a dialogue with the Gates Foundation, following his visit to their offices. You can join this conversation too, with your comments. And read with other educators have already contributed to the discussion. Let’s use blog dialogues like this to get […]