LETTER: Nancy Carlsson Paige responds to the trivialization of the SOS rally and march in the Boston Globe
[Editor's Note: The following letter appeared on line at the Boston Globe on August 4, 2011, following the Globe's coverage of the SOS rally and march in Washington D.C. on July 30. The letter writer's son, Matt Damon, was one of the speakers during the rally.]
The URL for the letter, for those who can't access through the hotlink above, is: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2011/08/04/not_a_photo_op_but_a_real_protest/
Not a photo op, but a real protest
August 4, 2011
I WENT to the Save Our Schools march in Washington last Saturday with my son, Matt Damon, and thousands of citizens who are worried about the harm corporate education reform is causing to children, teachers, and communities. The only reporting of this march in The Boston Globe was in the “Names’’ section in a trivial little item called “Damon loves teachers,’’ that made no mention of the importance of this march and its goals.
Not only did thousands of people pour into Washington to protest education policy, but the nation’s leading education thinkers were all there speaking out. I would think you would sit up and take notice when the nation’s top education leaders are out in the streets protesting the policies the government is implementing.
Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, the Globe has been publishing editorials that are in support of the corporate education reforms that promote standardized testing and the privatization of our nation’s schools. It’s time for some fair and balanced reporting. You would do well to begin to cover the grass-roots movement that is gaining momentum all over the country. It is made up of a coalition of educators, parents, and concerned citizens who know that public schools are the cornerstone of our democracy, that poverty is at the root of the achievement gap, and that standardized tests are smothering our children’s imagination, original thinking, and love of learning.
Nancy Carlsson-Paige Somerville
