Skip to content

Introducing…the Corporate Reform Action Pack!

October 11, 2010
by

You know, the first time I read the manifesto by Klein, Rhee & company, I was pretty disgusted. It seemed like just another bit of heavy-handed propaganda from more or less the same people who are always hamming it up for the cameras to promote their ideologically driven vision for America’s schools.

But then I read it again. This time, I was inspired to join the McGraw family and everyone else cashing in on America’s anxiety about public schooling tidal wave of pro-reform energy currently sweeping our nation. I want to take part in ending practices that favor adults instead of children (as long as no one ends practices like the one where I could get a five-figure bonus on top of my six-figure salary, even if there was no measurable improvement in my district, while students in my district’s schools are crammed 30+ to a poorly-supplied classroom).

I want to help overcome the linguistic and statistical limitations of the word “best” and make sure that the best teacher is in every classroom, and that the best principal is in every school. I haven’t found who those two people are yet, nor have I perfected the mechanism by which I’ll clone them, but I do believe I have something to significant to offer in the meantime.

I give you…The Corporate Reform Action Pack! My words will do it no justice. Instead, please enjoy this commercial.

(For real, though, I do plan to actually take the time to seriously address some of the major problems I see with that hot mess of a document. But right now, I’m at that point where I just have to crack-wise in order to not go completely nuts. I’m betting I’m not alone in that, so enjoy 🙂 if you’re with me, and calm the heck down if you’re not. There’s some fast text at a couple of places; it may not make much of a difference to you if you don’t read it all, but if you’re interested in what it says, go ahead and hit pause. You’ll probably get more out of it if you view it full screen, too.)

33 Comments leave one →
  1. October 11, 2010 6:41 am

    Excellent job, Sabrina! Keep it up!
    I put a link to your CRAPpy satire from my blog.

  2. October 11, 2010 12:57 pm

    It’s everywhere now.

  3. October 11, 2010 2:35 pm

    Nicely done! This on all the freaking blogs. Glad to see it. So happy there are young, motivated people out there not reading from the TFA playbook. Keep up the good work.

  4. Zulma Villalba permalink
    October 11, 2010 3:16 pm

    Sabrina,

    Thank you for giving those ed deformers a taste of their own medicine; give them CRAP!

    Funny, witty, poignant, and truthful!

    You go girl. Thank goodness that you’re on the side of the teachers.

    Keep up this great blog.

  5. Monica permalink
    October 11, 2010 7:00 pm

    Bless your heart Sabrina…

  6. Tauna permalink
    October 11, 2010 7:09 pm

    Awesome Sabrina. Keep it up girl!

    Hope your excellent work spreads like wildfire. And thanks for the humor too!

  7. October 11, 2010 7:38 pm

    You are WAY better than Davis Guggenehim!

  8. October 11, 2010 7:58 pm

    I really appreciate your posts/commentary. We’ve linked a number of recent ones on the NOTwaitingforsuperman.org and NOT Waiting for Superman Facebook page that Rethinking Schools set up. The response has been very strong….teachers, parents & activists are fed up with the top down CRAP you describe so well.

  9. Corin Droz permalink
    October 11, 2010 8:58 pm

    This is the first time I’ve been able to laugh about the whole “hot mess”. Thanks.

  10. October 11, 2010 9:27 pm

    Awesome!!!

  11. October 11, 2010 9:32 pm

    After a long day of “district benchmark testing” my first grade ELL students (something that nearly brought both my students and me to tears), this video was perfect. I think these new so-called “reformers” really are using your sound bite converter. I don’t know how else they come up with such wildly inappropriate reforms…

    Also, “Nightmares about Joel Kline and Michelle Rhee morphing into a massive, ugly robot overlord.” Ha!!

  12. John Young permalink
    October 11, 2010 10:20 pm

    Sabrina,

    I would be honored if you added me to the blogroll, I am busy here in Delaware fighting these gutless reformers. LOVE.YOUR.BLOG.

    http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com

  13. Russell King permalink
    October 12, 2010 8:13 am

    Great video! But really, is it fair that you’re witty, smart AND beautiful?

  14. October 12, 2010 9:24 am

    Thanks for the kind words, all 🙂 Makes it easier to keep fighting!

    • markfriedman1 permalink
      October 12, 2010 8:15 pm

      I’m spreading this one for sure. Great video.

  15. JenniLu permalink
    October 12, 2010 7:41 pm

    To prevent America’s public school system from collapsing, we need a media blitz involving print, television, and radio. I’m positive when every American shares the common goal of strengthening our public school system our country’s future shall only brighten. E Cubed Alliance on Facebook. For our America!

  16. Bob permalink
    October 13, 2010 11:04 am

    This should be the message the teacher unions put out there: not the capitulations to accepting falsehoods.

  17. AliciaP permalink
    October 13, 2010 12:22 pm

    Sabrina, Thanks so much for this. I linked to this from Susan Ohanian’s site. Glad I did. Greetings from Chicago! Birthplace of Renaissance 2010 (or whatever it’s called these days). Thanks, Arne!! Sometimes I get lonely here in the Windy City, thinking I am the only one with sense. I am relieved to know there are others out there feeling the same.

  18. October 14, 2010 3:13 pm

    Sabrina,
    Awesome! Interested in being the next Secretary of Education? I am forwarding this on to friends and colleagues.

    • October 14, 2010 8:19 pm

      Haha! That would be a lot of mess to clean up, methinks. I’ll settle for a nice calm school district where they actually let teachers teach, thanks very much!

  19. October 16, 2010 4:29 pm

    Brilliant! Thank you for your creative film. So many teachers are demoralized in the current climate of teacher/union bashing.

    I’m the administrator for the FTA Fresno Teachers Association Facebook page. I’ll post this to the site ASAP.

  20. October 22, 2010 2:04 pm

    Wish I’d seen it earlier this week. We’ll happily include a reference to the CRAP action pack in our next week’s lineup. Thanks for your ongoing valuable contributions to the fight against corporate school reform.

Trackbacks

  1. Introducing: Corporate Reform Action Pack (C.R.A.P.) « GFBrandenburg's Blog
  2. Tweets that mention Introducing…the Corporate Reform Action Pack! « Failing Schools -- Topsy.com
  3. Introducingthe Corporate Reform ActionPack! « Knol Bits
  4. YAY CRAP! Introducing…the Corporate Reform Action Pack! (via Failing Schools) @Governormarkell « Transparent Christina
  5. The Corporate Reform Action Pack | Seattle Education 2010
  6. The Corporate Reform Action Pack | Seattle Education 2010 « Parents 4 democratic Schools
  7. So how can we do right? « Failing Schools
  8. Welcome (Back)! « Failing Schools
  9. The Paper Graders » Blog Archive » I really needed this…C.R.A.P.
  10. » I’m in Love!! James Boutin's Blog

Leave a comment