Making Your Voice Heard

Having a voice in determining education policy ultimately means having the ear of our elected representatives.  In today’s toxic political environment, however, the conventional wisdom is that only the loudest and most confrontational voices get heard.  I disagree.  I believe that the American people are sick and tired of the political infighting, grandstanding and gridlock.  I also believe that many, if not, most of our elected officials feel the same way.  With this said, I’d like to share a common sense approach for how our citizens can make their voices heard:  Simply create a personal letter of introduction and send it to your state representative, state senator, governor, U.S. representative and two U.S. senators.  In your letter, politely put them on notice that you are concerned about how the education reform movement (using your tax dollars for privately owned charter schools, the overuse of high stakes standardized testing, the overwhelming pressure being placed upon your teachers, etc.) is impacting you, your schools and your community.  Explain that you intend to be a strong and constructive voice in helping them shape future education policy.  Once your elected representatives perceive you to be a knowledgeable and influential voice of reason in your community on education reform, they will likely listen to what you have to say.