Jonathan Kozol, the award-winning author of The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, is once again making quite the statement. He has been on a hunger strike of sorts since early July. The 71-year-old has lost about 29 pounds, bringing the 5-foot-9 inch education activist to a mere 132 pounds—all for the sake of America’s schoolchildren. Kozol is protesting the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which is up for renewal this year. According to the Boston Globe, Kozol said he will continue his partial fast until Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy (a sponsor of the original bill) agrees to overhaul what Kozol called a punitive law that relegates urban schoolchildren to an inferior, stripped-down education and demoralizes teachers, who he believes are forced to teach to the test.
NAESP’s reauthorization recommendations detail what the Association believes should be changed to make ESEA more effective and less punitive on the nation’s schools. Learn how you can make your own statement by visiting NAESP’s Federal Legislative Action Center. Lawmakers need to know how ESEA affects principals and their schools, so what better way is there other than to hear from principals themselves?
re: Take a Stand on Behalf of Your Students
This is an intersting way to protest the education laws. There is a definate need to look at these laws because, sadly, teachers do feel demoralized. We are often times working with students who simply need basic social skills taught to them so that they can function after high school. All too often, teachers are required to teach to the test, often required by administrators. We are currently reviewing the English curriculum at my school to better teach to the test. Sadly, students are missing out on many of the higher order thinking skills found on Bloom's Taxonomy and instead are needing to focus on the basic areas of knowledge and comprehension. I say more power to Mr. Kozol. This may not be the way that I would protest but I applaud him for this try.