On July 25, there was an article that ran in the New York Times about how the No Child Left Behind Act's provisions are not being met by entire states! This candid article explains the results of the most recent reports from the Department of Education.

This article sheds light on the fact that the No Child Left Behind Act is very punitive in nature. Its system, instead of being one of incentives, is one full of punishments. Unless your students perform at certain standards (high-stakes standardized tests) millions of dollars of federal money will be taken away or never rewarded in the first place. Furthermore, some states are even being fined millions for their underperforming educational programs. This seems extremely backward, and provides further evidence for why our federal government is dangerously out of touch with the needs of local public education systems.

Posted by Stacy Tolos at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a busy but rewarding week here at Our Education as we talk with more and more students about involvement as leaders in Our Education's growing movement for better schools. Let me tell you about some of the students I've had the pleasure of talking with since Monday:

On Monday, I talked with Lindsay Norris, an Alabama HS student and one of the lieutenant governors on the Alabama state Key Club. I was actually introduced to Lindsay through Nicole Bohannon, another Alabama state Key Club leader, and both of them wowed me with their energy and passion for community service. Between the two of them, I wouldn't be surprised to see Alabama's youth represent as one of the strongest states in the movement--and one of the states in greatest need.

On Monday we also received a letter of support from a pair of high school students in Mequon, WI - Sasha Leykin and Tanya Fridland, written to help us in a grant request to the Ben and Jerry's Foundation (as I told them to their disappointment, this is a cash grant and not ice cream grant). I was fired up by their letter as they talked about their experience so far with Our Education & hopes for the coming year - it reminded me how awesome a job we have!

On Tuesday I talked with Matt LaFortune, a high school junior in Marion, Indiana. When he's not busy fighting for better schools in America, Matt volunteers with a local US Congressional campaign. Now that I come to it, volunteerism is not an unusual occurence as I chat with more and more students. Samantha Gouveia, from Yakima, WA, volunteers at her local hospital and is running a grassroots project to raise money for the hospital's cancer center. Alan Moore, who I spoke with on Thursday, is a Georgia student who has been active in a variety of causes as well. And Rolfe Retuya, a sophomore in Toms River, NJ, is getting excited about leading a petition drive at his school also, one of the largest and most diverse schools in the state.

In any case, I've dropped the ball a bit as I was hoping to provide a little more detail about each of the students we talk with, but this will do for now. I can't wait to watch these students in action in their schools as they get the word out about the petition for high quality public education as an American right!

Posted by Aaron Tang at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"For the 2002-03 school year, the most recent year for which data are available, only 51.6 percent of black students, 47.4 percent of American Indian and Alaskan Native students, and 55.6 percent of Hispanic students graduated from high school on time with a standard diploma, according to calculations for Diplomas Count by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center." [Education Week, June 22, 2006]

This is an emergency!! This is the equivalent of the global warming crisis except that it is the destruction and degradation of our generation and our future as a people that we are witnessing! What baffles me most about these statistics is that no one seems to recognize that just as this great divestment will lead to a national crisis in human capital and all kinds of social ills, an investment in public education would lead to a positive national impact beyond our dreams!

If we as a people and as a country decided to raise public education to the priority level of tax cuts or even flag burning (which both get hundreds of hours more debate time on the floor of Congress than education), we could dramatically improve our future for the better. All kinds of social problems linked to a lack of quality education would decline instantly including: the instance of crime, murder, drug dealing and addiction; the occurance of unwanted teenage pregnancies; and the money needed for welfare, food stamps, and subsidized housing. As the education level in the United States would rise, so would the entrepreneurship and creativity of our population, the development of jobs, and the quality of life for everyone.

How can we spread this message? How can we make this linkage between public education and a better quality of life for everyone?

Posted by Stacy Tolos at 07:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So every week for the past couple months, Ethan and I have the opportunity to meet students through Close Up and the National Young Leaders Conference here in DC. Both of these programs are renowned for offering high school students a terrific first-hand experience with the city, and we've been very blessed to meet a great number of young people who will play leading roles & be the faces of Our Education's growing movement to improve our schools.

But last night we had the chance to meet a number of equally inspiring students through the National 4H's Citizenship Washington Focus.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the 4H, it is a national program that offers leadership, service, & volunteer opportunities to young people in sites across the country. Although it is not exclusively in rural areas, a great number of successful 4H sites are located in less densely populated places - and so many of the students who have the opportunity to attend Citizenship Washington Focus are those who might otherwise not have easy opportunities to visit our nation's capital.

But even if they aren't from the biggest cities in the country or the nicest suburban towns, the students we met last night were among the sharpest, most passionate young people in the nation. When asked about the problems they see in their schools and the solutions they might recommend, they gave a variety of smart answers from more efficient school funding, to focusing on teacher quality (by addressing teacher hiring, firing, certification, and training practices), to more sensible school punishment systems, to realigning curriculums with student interests, and yes, to making high quality public education a fundamental, American right. I was especially impressed with a number of the students in the workshops I led - and as I hear back from them when they return home from DC next week I'll be sure to tell you about them & how they are planning to help change the face of America's education system.

A couple funny stories about one of the workshops I participated in. I wrote my name and some info about Our Education on the board before the workshop began, and it looked like this (mind you, I write in all CAPS):
Name: Aaron Organization: Our Education Website: www.OurEd.org Workshop: How YOU can Improve Your School

Well, one of the students saw the first few words, and raised her hand and asked, "Do you really go by either Aaron and Ganization?" The room fell deathly silent as we tried to figure out what the heck she meant before it dawned on us - she thought that I had written "Name: Aaron or Ganziation".

Funny moment... topped only by the girl (Kelsie) who sneezed like a concrete mixer and laughed like a warthog (snort snort). Sweet and sharp young lady though she was, she definitely had the entire room entertained by her ... unique... sounds!

Anyhow, the bigger point about our experiences with kids from all walks of life through Close Up, NYLC, and now 4H is that it just goes to show how the notion that all children should have access to an excellent school with great teachers that can prepare them to succeed in the world if they put forth their best effort is one that virtually all young people support, from cities & rural communities; from California to Maine; and regardless of ethnic, socioeconomic, or family background. I guess that's not saying too much, though - most people (adults included), when asked, will agree that education is the great equalizer and that everyone should have a fair chance...

But too few are willing to actually do anything about it.

Young people across the country, starting now - but especially when school starts back up in August & September - are starting to fill this action gap... Will you join us?

Posted by Aaron Tang at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So Ethan and I were talking today about how some of the best parts of our job are when we get to talk on the phone or via IM with students who are interested in leading Our Education petition drives to get their peers and classmates involved in our growing student movement for high quality public education. And then it dawned on us: what if we share those moments with you whenever they happen? Would it be monotonous and redundant? Or would it be exciting, personal, and entertaining? Well, we're about to find out.

Ok, so allow me to introduce to you student leader #1: Tamara Lopez, a high school student in Houston, TX. We first met Tamara through Close Up in DC, where she came and represented her peers admirably - immediately impressing us with her intelligence and awareness of her ability to make a difference in the world. I had a nice chat with her on the phone today; to give you an idea for the kind of student she is, I called at 11:30 EST (10:30 her time) and I was worried that might be a bit early for a high school student to wake up during the summer. Boy was I wrong. Tamara tells me she wakes up regularly at 8:30 in the morning to read and do other projects - and when school is in session she regularly walks (a mile) to school early to get there to help out teachers, read, and get involved with different service opportunities.

Tamara will be working with her peers in student council (and possibly starting a new Our Education club) to help get the word out about the A Million Voices, One Right campaign in her school this fall - and needless to say, we're thrilled to be working with her! She has a great game plan for what to do when August comes around... and here's hoping we'll meet more students like her.

Posted by Aaron Tang at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check out this new toy for all of you interested in tracking who all is signing the petition for an American right to high quality public education!

Also coming soon this summer: a bunch of new features on the website involving individual profiles, petition leaderboards, and more! Email us with any questions.

Posted by Aaron Tang at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Fourth of July everybody - go out and eat them hotdogs!

Posted by Aaron Tang at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)