DON’T BE A JOHNNIE-OR-JILL-COME-LATELY: Be proactive. Learn about and respond to new policy proposals, rather than reacting after it’s too late. Study education policy information. Keep informed on actions being considered by your district, city or state — it’s an essential part of your larger role as a teacher in your community.

A RECENT EXAMPLE: Over the past several years, several education organizations and states have been drafting and considering professional teaching standards and standards for teacher leadership. Comments are always requested on these, and the National Education Association just ended its own comment period. This represented an important opportunity for teachers to use their voices to influence important outcomes.

VALUABLE RESOURCES:

Many of the blogs and websites on the list to the right combine information and agendas for advocacy. Below are more.

Charles Blow column on lack of support for education, New York Times, Aug. 24, 2012.

National Center for education Statistics, Data on gaps in higher education access and persistence. An example of the kind of important information available to help make the case for specific education efforts.

Phi Delta Kappan survey on attitudes toward education,  Kappan, Sept. 2012. Shows mixed public attitudes. People still respect teachers, and want more funds for education — but they want budgets balanced first, and they. like charter schools and parent triggers.

Summary of the PDK survey by blogger Rick Hess. He’s pretty conservative, but the summary is handy.

Please share examples of your own efforts to stay informed and actions you were able to take as a result.