Parents and educators across the nation are fed up with a government sucking data out of our students like a vampire who needs their blood to survive. Fortunately, the jig is up. Parents have caught on to the fact that not only does all this ineffective, inaccurate, and outdated testing and prepping do nothing to help their children, but the reality is that it is harming them. Schools are literally turning parents' once vibrant, playful, smart, and creative young treasures into student zombies who must memorize, regurgitate, and do what they're told. If they don't they are all too happy to drug into submission children who resist such efforts.
Meanwhile, while everyone is profiting off our children who are being used as pawns, the public realizes that something has gone seriously wrong. Our government has quietly and quickly stolen from parents control of their own children, forcing them to be subjected to a test-prep-to-death curriculum that they know is wrong. Without their data, these young people are of no use to the system. Failure to comply can lead to serious consequences such as refusal to allow children to graduate as well as kicking them out of school.
Our zombie children and their parents know there is a better way, but they feel their hands are tied. Public school parents who don't comply not only face risks to their children, but are also often subjected to bullying by education employees and administrators. Non-public schools who don't comply are faced with loss of accreditation. Home educators, who often have made this choice to escape harmful mandates, are threatened with child protective services. As a result organizations like Home School Legal Defense Association are getting action to fight for parental rights.
Fortunately, the social-media marketplace of the 21st century does not have to apply solely to consumer outrage against banks and phone companies. Parents of all children can come together to stand up and unite against the government's attempt to control their children. In order to take back the right to give our children the freedom to learn, parents can mobilize, opt out and stand up to the monolith institution driven by politicians, agendas, egos, and testing and publishing companies that enjoy huge profits on the backs of children.
Unfortunately, until now there was no effective and uniform way for parents in any particular state to find each other. Fortunately, social media has enabled this to all be changed. Concerned educators and parents have come together to create brand-new, easy-to-find, state-by-state groups on Facebook where parents, educators, and anyone who cares, can unite to mobilize and take back control of their children's freedom to learn. You can join others interested in opting out in your state in three ways:
1) Visit the Opt Out of State Standardized Tests - National group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/OptOutNational/. From there you will see how you can find your state.
2) Type in the search: Opt Out of State Standardized Tests - Your State i.e. Opt Out of State Standardized Tests - Ohio
3) Go to the page url: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OptOutYourState i.e. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OptOutOhio
There is finally a place where you can find your state and join other parents, teachers, and concerned citizens across America who are ready to say enough to this testing. As a result you will not only save our schools, but MOST importantly you will be able to join with others to stand up to a government gone awry and save our children.
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Want to learn more? Visit the original article here where you'll find additional resources and links as well as ten things you can do today to help end mandatory high stakes testing in your state.
Follow Lisa Nielsen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Innovativeedu
In any case, social media is a great way to organize. However, it assumes that certain people have access to those technologies. It assumes that folks know how to use them correctly as marketing tools. Most people do not, that's the reality.
There seems to be a glaring omission of all the forces and groups and organizations that strive to privatize education and dismantle the entire system. These are publishers as well who will one day peddle their wares to the homeschool advocates as well. I'm sure many homeschoolers have purchased at least one text from Pearson.
It has not been for lack of parent involvement or empowerment that put us where we are, per se. But I do see most of the corporate reforms taking place in communities where parental involvement is incredibly lacking. Even the most savvy and active parents have faith in a system of accountability based on test scores. And I'm sure these parents are already active in social media.
Ultimately, it is curious, very curious that the author here would start yet another opt out national page. It's also a pity that the author fails to mention that she works for the NYDOE, probably one of THE largest proponents of corporate education reform.
Many institutions will require test results at some point - and doing well on some tests can be very important for scholarships. So plan on taking those tests: SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, ...
The problem is when kids are forced to take a test and parental decisions are overruled by the government. Parents have many smart reasons for their children not to take tests. Parents, not the government, should be the ones making decisions about what is best for their children.