Dear Govt. Universities,
Before I put up my thoughts, I would like to give a brief self-introduction. I'm a girl, aged 26 years (happily pursuing my hobbies until now). Being the eldest daughter of my family, I manage to fend for my family somehow.
The reason I jotted this down is so that you consider what follows hereafter.
Like millions of girls, I too have a quest for knowledge. I never wanted it to fade. So, I opted to continue my studies by joining a Post Graduate Course in one of the government universities. Despite knowing that there are several loopholes in the government education system (as per word of mouth). I used to disagree with them earlier because I believed that with public support, the government can prove itself and shut everyone down. But I’m utterly...
Education
Dear Jamie,
The Ontario Home Economics Association (OHEA) would like to thank you for using your passion, skills, knowledge and influence to fight for compulsory food education in schools around the world. Your "Sign It, Share It" campaign is generating outstanding attention and support and will help to escalate this global issue.
We completely agree that it is essential that we arm future generations with the life skills they urgently need in order to lead healthier, happier, more productive lives. We too are fighting for “compulsory food education in schools” in Ontario, Canada. Much like your effort, in July 2014, OHEA created an on-line petition to generate support for the cause.
OHEA is a group of diverse and passionate Professional Home Economists. Many OHEA members are...
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Dear Members of the USD 232 Board of Education,
As an elected official in an unpaid position, thank you for your service. I am sure most of you are mindful of the fact that although you are chosen to represent your constituents, your post is won by popular vote in the event you face any opposition. As such, your voice is not necessarily representative of my voice. However, as an elected official, you are trusted to truly represent the views of your populace, leaving your personal views aside.
The news of the resignation of Dr. Doug Sumner as our superintendent is inarguably against the wishes of all parents and teachers within USD 232. This is a tremendous loss and blow to our district. During Dr. Sumner’s tenure at USD 232, as you know, the state slashed funding numerous times...
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Dear Teachers,
During Teacher Appreciation Week, now is the time to reflect on the great work you are doing across the country for our children and the impact you’ve had on our lives. We depend on you each day to not only teach the next generation of Americans how to read and write, but to help build a skill-set to prepare children for 21st century jobs, many of which haven’t even been invented yet.
This is no easy feat. Teachers have one of the toughest jobs in America. You’re likely mentally, emotionally and physically drained from your more than 50-hour work weeks, and the underlying expectation to be “on” 24/7. Like all of us, I know that teachers have good days and bad days. You’re under increasing pressure to stay abreast of the ever-changing new policies, programs and...
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Greetings and Salutations!
We haven’t met yet, but we will meet soon. I need to apologize in advance because I am going to be one of “those” parents. You know, the ones who are constantly checking in, perhaps over protective to a fault.
In my defense I feel like I know a bit more about this whole school thing than most parents. Having taught kids in the same city where I grew up and now teaching teachers (who, in many ways, are just bigger kids) in a city far away from home, I have learned a good deal about what goes on in classrooms nowadays.
There is also the matter of me teaching university courses that deal with educational policy (yuk!) and educational psychology (wow!). Did you know that most of our current educational policy flies in the face of educational psychology,...
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Dear Premier Christy Clark,
I am concerned by your approach to public education. As you may know, I have two small children. My son is in grade two, and my daughter, who is almost three, is already very excited about joining her big brother at school.
In the last year, our public education system was crippled during an extended labour dispute. The bad faith and mistrust between the BC government and the teachers’ union exploded into a public feud while our children sat at home.
The government rhetoric we had to endure during the strike was deeply troubling. You maligned teachers as selfish and entitled, inaccurately stating that they wanted “unlimited massages” and implied they were not as “dedicated” as other public sector employees.
This characterization of BC teachers is...
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Dear Shri Narendra Modi,
For a country of 1.3 billion people, the biggest resource is human resource. You have yourself acknowledged our human resource potential in Japan. However, successive governments have lacked the will, intent and vision as regards to the most important ministry that can decide the future of India--the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). Barring empty slogans, there is zero initiative on how we can make India's youth more productive. We are looking at our demographic dividend turning into a demographic nightmare, if we don't change our attitude towards HRD ministry and education.
" Many approvals are granted for just a year to ensure control (and collection)."
The tragedy lies in how everything to do with education has been split and each ministry...
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DEAR FELLOW NON-“REFORMERS”:
I have serious concerns about the current direction of education reform in this country. And I am not alone. Yet I think many of us who try and express these concerns feel like we are small voices outside of what has become an echo chamber of reform rhetoric. Money, relationships and opinions inside of this echo chamber have become increasingly insular over the last fifteen years. The end result is a self-proclaimed “Education Reform” community that comes across as self-righteously willing to dismiss the concerns of those of us who are not part of the inner circle. This reform community includes foundations; government agencies at the federal, state and district level; schools and advocacy organizations that hire and work primarily with people who “share...
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Dear Montgomery County Board of Education Members:Susan Burkinshaw
Abuse thrives in secrecy – in 2012 the Maryland State Board of Ed directed you to take concrete steps to protect children in schools. Your response was silence.
In September of 2014, MCPS, under the direction of Dr. Joshua Starr, began to respond to media attention to “isolated” incidents of child sexual abuse at Baker and Clemente. Since then, dozens of cases have been publicized that had previously been mishandled. We all know now that these incidents are not isolated. There is a systemic problem in MCPS and there should be accountability for the travesties committed against children in our schools.
As a parent volunteer on this workgroup/advisory group, there has been selective transparency – we are still...
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Dear Professor Putnam,
I write as a long-time fan on the right who shares your deep concerns about our county splintering along class lines. I’ve written two books about it in recent years, From Family Collapse to America’s Decline: The Educational, Economic, and Social Costs of Family Fragmentation (2011) and Broken Bonds: What Family Fragmentation Means for America’s Future (2014).
The immediate reason for this note, in addition to thanking you for Our Kids, is to respectfully take issue with your comments about school choice at the Fordham Institute last week, which I just watched on Fordham’s website. I would argue that enabling more poor children to attend religiously animated schools, via vouchers or tax credits, can play a much more beneficial role in their lives than you...
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