October 22, 2009
We miss Jerry Bracey already
We were thrilled when author, NCLB critic, and friend of public education Gerald Bracey agreed to speak at Fighting Bob Fest in 2004. I will never forget the look on his face when I had to tell him, just before he spoke, that overheads would not work. He always used them and I forgot to tell him Bob Fest is an outdoor event. But Bracey didn't get upset, he plunged in and the audience loved it.
Gerald Bracey died this week, at age 69. We are posting his 2004 speech. Enjoy.
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I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of a tireless champion for our country's children. Here are some of my favorite Bracey quotes:
"The exact science of ideological politics always trumps the inexact science of research."
"The nostalgics forget that the inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty does not read 'Send me your college grads, your 1200 SAT's yearning to learn.'"
"Research can inform, but not decide"
On Aug 16, 2009, Gerald Bracey wrote: "How long will it take for people to realize that the education "reform" proposed by Obama-Duncan is no different from the Weapons of Mass Destruction from Bush. I say this as a depressed person who canvassed for Obama, campaigned for him, donated to him, and voted for him with my entire family in Virginia before moving to the blue-secure state of Washington. I am deeply pissed."
We should all feel so deeply. We should be aware of what Mr. Duncan had done to the public schools while in the appointed position of 'chief executive officer' of Chicago's schools.
People who share Dr. Bracey's concern about corporate designs on our schools should peruse back-issues of the "Substance News" prior to January 2009, and do a find on the word "Duncan". The back-issues are available on the web.
A concise review of what one would find in Chicago's "Substance News" can be seen online at Milwaukee's "Rethinking Schools" website's Spring 2009 article "Arne Duncan and the Chicago Success Story: Myth or Reality?" by Jitu Brown, Eric (Rico) Gutstein, and Pauline Lipman.
"What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy." - John Dewey, School and Society
-Johnny | Mount Horeb, WI | October 27, 2009
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