e:\doc\web\2001\06\newdem.txt For what it's worth, this is very much the agenda behind the Green Party, which will also back our effort against WASL. ----- Original Message ----- From: Terry Olive To: wa-ed-deform@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 8:11 AM Subject: [wa-ed-deform] NEW DEMOCRACY Does anyone know if The New Democracy group endorsed by the organizers of the Rethinking School Reform forum to hand out materials at the event? (www.newdemocracyworld.org) Their newsletter, The New Democracy, contained an article written by one of the forum speakers, Susan O'Hanian. From the editorial insert at the front of the newsletter: "We are for democratic revolution. Most people in their everyday lives already struggle against capitalism to shape the world with anti-capitalist values of solidarity, equality, and democracy. Our goal is to help people succeed in this struggle. For most of the twentieth century, the people of the world have been trapped between capitalism and communism. Neither of these systems is democratic. neither holds a promosing future for most people. Now communism has collapsed. The task that confronts people everywhere is to break the grip of capitalism and create human society on a new and truly democratic basis. ----------------------------------------------------- Dear Friends: This issue announces a very exciting development for anyone concerned about public education: The Call for MassRefusal in Massachusetts by local teacher union leaders and New Democracy. Many of you have already answered our request for donations, but many of you haven't. We are dong the extremely important work of building a democratic revolutionary movement that, as far as I can see, is unique. We need your help if we are to continue to publish New Democrqacy and to circulate critiques of education reform and to forge strategies for a new labor movement. Please make a donation today.... Dave Stratman" ----------------------------------------------------- (Excerpt from an article, A CALL FOR MASS REFUSAL by Dave Stratman) "WHAT'S BEHIND EDUCATION REFORM? High stakes testing -- so-called because a student's whole academic career depends on one test -- is only one of a number of very destructive education reforms that have been imposed in nearly every state. They have imposed School to Work programs, making education a process by which students are trained to meet the needs of the corporations for docile employees. These and other education reforms are part of a decades-long attack on public education by corporate forces and government leaders. All the reforms move in the same direction, intensifying competition and inequality and worsening social stratification." Yahoo! Groups Sponsor Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.