c:\doc\web\97\03\obe.txt From: "James Boyes" Subject: Re: 32nd/1st/45th educ letter-writers? To K-Y Su, and Other Ed Activists, Here's a suggestion in regards to research and distribution of information. Each of us most likely has interests in particular areas which eventually impact education at the local level. My specialization deals with International and National Education Restructuring. I know there are those who are more informed as to how these reform efforts impact our state education system, and specifically how these changes are imposed/accepted by your local school districts. In order to regain control of an education bureaucracy, we must monitor and impact this system at all of its levels. Of course, access to the local level is easy when contrasted with communicating with the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, or even establishing a link to those who are behind reform at the International level. If we ever intend to reestablish state or local control over our schools, the federal funding mechanisms supportive of national education laws will need to be terminated. As long as the federal government sees a role in education (a totally unconstitutional role, by the way), it will continue to tax each and every one of us, then turn and offer this money to the state education system through GRANTS to entice these folks into alignment (read: compliance) with associated federal education statutes. Until this regulation by control and distribution of money is brought to a close, our legislature and local school districts (attracted to G2000 and other federal education grants) will continue to play by the rules of this money game. One method is to address this problem via the courts. There is a federal case which some of you may be aware of, originating out of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Bob and Barbara Tennison, along with several other families, have initiated a federal case which draws into question the constitutionality of federal education laws as these measures are implemented at the state and local level. You may access this information and examine the original federal filing document using the following links: Bob & Barbara Tennison Homepage: http://www.jb.com/~btennison/ Text of Federal Lawsuit http://www.jb.com/~btennison/lawsuit.txt Tennison Lawsuit Update http://www.jb.com/~btennison/page4.html As most of us know, there are no small number of books on this topic; however, I'd like to recommend Robert Holland's "Not With My Child You Don't" (1995, ISBN 0-9647408-0-X). This 400-page book is perhaps one of the better articulations of the concerns and different approaches used by education activists. From the back cover: Robert Holland, a columnist and editor with the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, has won the H.L. Mencken Award for his incisive writing on education. His crusading journalism helped stymie a statewide OBE mandate in Virginia, and he has counseled worried parents across the nation about arresting this trend. Here is the truth abour the concerted effort of the Big Government, Big Education, and Big Business establishments to restructure America's schools into centers of groupthink and conformity to programmed "outcomes." This book will tell you how to detect Outcome-Based Education (and related doctrines) in your schools and how to work for constructive change based on academic fundamentals. You will learn: * The origins of OBE and related philosophies * The powerful people and groups behind it, ranging from Hillary Clinton to the Business Roundtable * How ordinary citizens have banded together to stop OBE and make a difference for the better in their schools This book includes: * The results of an in-depth investigation by an award-winning journalist. * IMPORTANT!! -- The personal experiences of OBE-fighting parent-activists from every part of the country--Virginia to California, and many places in between (and the addresses and contact information for these organizations). This book is available at: Chesapeake Capital Services Citizen Projects Publishing Division 500 Forest Avenue Richmond, VA 23229 Credit Card Orders: 800-555-7606 Take Care and I Hope to Be Of Additional Service to Our Emerging Washington State Education Research and Activist Network. My Best, Jim Boyes, jmboyes@whidbey.net Aerospace and Education Research Specialist, Member of Coupeville Education Awareness Forum, and the Separation of School & State Alliance, Fresno, CA at http://www.sepschool.org Host of Christian Education Awareness Network (CEANet)