Monday, February 28, 2011

How awesome is this??!!!

Austin, TX - A Texas school district superintendent sent an open letter to Texas legislators pleading for help by tailoring it after the famous William Barret Travis letter right before the fall of the Alamo.

John Kuhn, superintendent of Perrin-Whitt Consolidated Independent School District, sent the letter in regards to Gov. Perry's possible billion dollar budget cuts to public school funding.

Here is the text of his (Alamo letter) :

Gentlemen,

I am besieged, by a hundred or more of the Legislators under Rick Perry. I have sustained a continual Bombardment of increased high-stakes testing and accountability-related bureaucracy and a cannonade of gross underfunding for 10 years at least and have lost several good men and women. The ruling party has demanded another round of pay cuts and furloughs, while the schoolhouse be put to the sword and our children’s lunch money be taken in order to keep taxes low for big business. I am answering the demand with a (figurative) cannon shot, and the Texas flag still waves proudly from our flagpole. I shall never surrender the fight for the children of Perrin.

Then, I call on you my legislators in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy of public schools is declaring that spending on a shiny new high-stakes testing system is “non-negotiable”; that in essence, we must save the test but not the teachers. The enemy of public schools is saying that Texas lawmakers won’t raise 1 penny in taxes in order to save our schools.

If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and fight for the kids in these classrooms like an educator who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his community. Make education a priority!

With all due respect and urgency,

John Kuhn

Superintendent

Perrin-Whitt CISD


Below is the text of William Travis Barret's famous Alamo letter:


Fellow citizens and compatriots;
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Sparking a Revolution

As a former government teacher and lover of history, I am fascinated with the American Revolution. In the days just before Egyptians began protesting in Tahrir Square, my 5th grade son came home with questions about the Declaration of Independence. We sat there in the living room lingering over the beautifully written words of past patriots. Just a few days later we watched news from around the world of another group of patriots clamoring for the right to be heard..."...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of People to alter or to abolish it..." I challenge you to re-read the Declaration of Independence while thinking of the images you've seen from Egypt in the past month. Goosebumps.

In my quest for information about Egypt, I stumbled upon an article in Fast Company titled, How Social Media Acclerated the Uprising in Egypt. Give it a read when you have a chance. We have heard a great deal about the roles that Twitter and Facebook played in Egypt. So much so, that the government shut down the Internet! Wow. Social Media played a powerful role in bringing about a revolution, a change in government for a nation the size of Egypt!!

If social media can help bring change like that to an entire nation, shouldn't we be using it to spark our own revolution and change regarding what people think about our public schools??

Setting up a Twitter or Facebook account takes a matter of seconds. Using those status updates and tweets to let people know how great your job is as an educator, or how awesome your child's school is, or something great that is going on in Texas public schools, is a powerful way to get those positive messages out. And, we need to shout out the wonderful achievements of our public schools now more than ever. Optimism is contagious and if we use it and social media, then maybe, just maybe we can spark a revolution that will restore the faith and PRIDE in our public schools that they so deserve.

You can follow me (Leslie Milder) on Twitter--@FOTPSambassador

Blessings,
Leslie