The arrogant ed reformers reject the wisdom of spiritual leaders, too.

This is a slightly-belated posting of excerpts from “An Alternative Vision for Public Education, A Pastoral Letter on Federal Policy in Public Education: An Ecumenical Call for Justice,” written by the leadership of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and submitted to President Obama and Members of Congress in May 2010. I hope you can take time to read this loving and beautifully-written, three-page letter.

Excerpts:

We support democratic governance of public schools. Because public schools are responsible to the public, it is possible through elected school boards, open meetings, transparent record keeping and redress through the courts to ensure that traditional public schools provide access for all children. We believe that democratic operation of public schools is our best hope for ensuring that families can secure the services to which their children have a right. On balance, we believe that if government invests public funds in charter schools that report to private boards, government, not the vicissitudes of the marketplace, should be expected to provide oversight to protect the common good.

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We value democratic governance of public schools

We are concerned today when we hear the civil right to education being re-defined as the right to school choice, for we know that equitable access to opportunity is more difficult to ensure in a mass of privatized alternatives to traditional public schools or in school districts being carved apart into small schools of choice. Experimentation with small schools must not cause us to lose sight of society’s obligation to serve all children with appropriate services; we must continue to expect public school districts to provide a complete range of services accessible to children in every neighborhood of our cities.

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We reject the language of business for discussing public education.

Not only has the language of the marketplace entered discussions of school governance and management, but we also notice that the language of business accountability is used to talk about education, a human endeavor of caring. The primary mechanism of the No Child Left Behind Act has been annual standardized tests of reading and math for all children in grades 3-8, followed by punishments for the schools that cannot rapidly reach ever increasing test score production targets. We worry that our society has come to view what is good as what can be measured and compared. The relentless focus on testing basic skills has diminished our attention to the humanities, the social studies, the arts, and child and adolescent development. As people of faith we do not view our children as products to be tested and managed but instead as unique human beings, created in the image of God, to be nurtured and educated.

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We value public school educators.

Our biblical heritage and our theology teach us that we live in community, not solely in the marketplace. As we strive to move our imperfect world closer to the realm of God, we recognize that we are all responsible for making sure that public schools, as primary civic institutions, embody our love for one another. We are called to create institutions that serve families and children with hospitality. We are called to work as citizens for the resources that will support a climate of trust and community within each public school. We are also called to value those whose vocation is teaching. Lately we have been dismayed by federal policy that encourages states to change laws to eliminate due process, to devalue the credentials of excellent teachers, and to fire teachers and principals as though that were a tested recipe for school reform, when we know that no research supports the President’s proposed “turnaround” model that purports to improve a school by firing the principal and at least half the staff. We look for a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that honors the professionalism of teachers and treats these individuals with respect. Wholesale scapegoating of public school teachers is an ugly and unfortunate development in federal policy.

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Signed by The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary and The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, President, On Behalf of the Governing Board of The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

Members of the Governing Board of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

• Raul Alegria United Methodist Church Chair NCC Human Resources Committee
• The Very Rev. Papken Anoushian Armenian Church of America
• The Rev. Mark Arey Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
• His Eminence Archbishop Vicken Aykazian Diocese of the Armenian Church of America NCC Immediate Past President
• The Rev. David P. Baak Reformed Church in America Chair NCC Ecumenical Networks Committee
• Rev. Geoffrey Black General Minister & President, United Church of Christ
• The Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett African Methodist Episcopal Church Chair NCC Justice & Advocacy Commission
• The Rev. Dr. Jose Luis Casal Presbyterian Church (USA) NCC Secretary
• The Rev. Peg Chemberlin Moravian Church in America NCC President
• Rev. Dr. Carmichael L. Crutchfield Christian Methodist Episcopal Church NCC Education Leadership Ministries Commission
• Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
• The Very Rev. Archbishop Demetrios Head of Communion, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
• Rev. Paula Clayton Dempsey Alliance of Baptists
• Dr. Diana Eck Harvard University , The United Methodist Church Chair NCC Interfaith Relations Commission
• Dennis W. Frado Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church World Service Board
• The Rev. Thomas Ferguson Episcopal Church
• The Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete The Swedenborgian Church in North America
• The Rev. Douglas W. Fromm, Jr. Reformed Church in America
• The Rev. Nicholas Genevieve-Tweed African Methodist Episcopal Church Chair NCC Inclusiveness & Justice Committee
• The Rev. Wesley S. Granberg-Michaelson General Secretary, Reformed Church in America
• Sylvia L. Graves General Secretary, Friends United Meeting
• The Rev. Mark S. Hanson Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
• The Rev. Herman Harmelink, III International Council of Community Churches
• Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr. Christian Methodist Episcopal Church NCC Past President
• Rev. Jimmie Hawkins Presbyterian Church, USA Church World Service Board
• The Rev. Raymon Hunt African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church NCC Vice President
• The Rev. Dr. Daryl B. Ingram African Methodist Episcopal Church Chair, Education, Leadership Ministries Commission
• Bishop Johncy Itty Episcopal Church Church World Service President
• His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah Primate, Orthodox Church in America
• His Eminence Archbishop Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim Patriarchal Vicar for the Eastern U.S. Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch
• The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky Orthodox Church in America
• Arpi Kouzouian Armenian Church of America
• Christine Laitner President/Head of Communion, Swedenborgian Church in North America
• Bishop Chuck Leigh Apostolic Catholic Church
• Arthur Larrabee General Secretary, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
• The Rev. Michael E. Livingston Executive Director, International Council of Community Churches NCC Past President
• Kathryn Lohre Harvard University, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, NCC President-Elect
• The Rev. Dr. Donald J. McCoid Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
• The Rev. John McCullough Executive Director and CEO, Church World Service
• Subdeacon Bishoy M. Mikhail Coptic Orthodox Church in North America
• The Rev. A. Roy Medley General Secretary,American Baptist Churches in the USA
• The Rev. William Darin Moore African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• Stanley J. Noffsinger General Secretary, Church of the Brethren NCC Vice President
• The Rev. Dr. Marcia Allen Owens African Methodist Episcopal Church
• Dr. Walter Parrish III General Secretary, Progressive National Baptists Convention, Inc.
• The Rev. Gradye Parsons Presbyterian Church USA
• John Paterakis Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Church World Service Board
• Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader The United Methodist Church
• The Rev. Jacob Se Jang General Secretary, Korean Presbyterian Church in America
• Dr. Stephen J. Sidorak The United Methodist Church
• Dr. T. Dewitt Smith President, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
• Nikki Stephanopoulos Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
• Thomas Swain Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
• Rt. Rev. Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius Diocesan Bishop Mar Thoma Church
• Arlene Tyler Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
• Linda Valentine Presbyterian Church (USA)
• Jerry L. Van Marter Presbyterian Church (USA) Chair, NCC Communication Commission
• The Rev. Lydia Veliko United Church of Christ
• Dr. Anton C. Vrame Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Chair, NCC Faith & Order Commission
• The Rev. Dr. Cheryl Wade American Baptist Churches in the USA NCC Vice President
• Bishop George Walker Sr. Head of Communion, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• The Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
• The Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• Alice R. Webley Episcopal Church
• The Rev. Herman Weinlick Moravian Church in America
• The Rev. Dr. Robert K. Welsh Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• Bishop John F. White Sr. African Methodist Episcopal Church
• The Rev. David L. Wickmann Moravian Church in America
• The Rev. Robina Winbush Presbyterian Church USA