March 15, 2006

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An Open Letter to Robert Iger, President and CEO of Disney Corporation

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 11:06 am

We are American educators who have been honored by Disney’s American Teacher Awards. We are proud of the education we have provided to the students entrusted to our care. And we are grateful that Disney recognized our dedication and our diligence — and, more importantly, the commitment and the labor of all of America’s educators — with the American Teacher Awards.

It is precisely because we value the contributions Disney has made to our profession and to our schools that we were saddened and disheartened by your decision to turn over the full hour of the January 13th edition of ABC’s 20/20 newsmagazine to John Stossel’s Stupid in America. This broadcast diminished and tarnished your years of positive work with its propagandistic broadside against all of America’s public schools.

We found no criticism designed to improve public education in Stossel’s Stupid in America. Rather, what we saw was a systematic effort to delegitimize the public schools and demonize the women and men who teach in them. Stupid in America was motivated by an ideological agenda of opposition to public service, which it described again and again in pejorative terms as a “government monopoly” and to the unions that provide democratic voice for teachers. It had one objective: to persuade the viewer that schools of, by and for the American public should be replaced with profit making institutions that are privately owned and controlled. To that end, it replaced evidence and documentation with misleading anecdote and half-truth, and substituted emotional appeal for reasoned argument.

There are few fiercer critics of the status quo in public education than ourselves, for we know from painful experience the gap that often exists between the promise and the reality of our schools. In our quest to provide our students with the best education, we have often turned an unforgiving pen on our own schools and our own work. But for criticism to serve the end of improving public education, the education and well-being of our students must be our paramount concern. With that standard in mind, censure must be intellectually honest and free of narrow ideological agendas. Our observations must be measured and balanced, and our evaluations must be considered and fair. What was remarkable about Stupid in America was the total absence of such constructive criticism.

In the tradition of Disney’s commitment to the promise of American public education, a tradition in which we share, we call upon you to separate yourself from the extreme ideological crusades of Stupid in America. Join with us, once again, in realizing the promise of America’s public schools, so that every child, no matter how humble in origin, will have the opportunity to realize his or her American Dream

Lenni Abel, 2000, Visual Arts

Ann Anderson, 1990, English

Mark Antoniff, 1998, English

Jayné Anthony, 2000, Early Childhood

Leo Casey, 1992, Social Studies

Meg Elder, 2003, Visual & Performing Arts

Dara Feldman, 2005, General Elementary

Carmen Gumina, 1999, Science

John Hertzog, 2004, MS Mathematics

Wanda Jennings, 2005, Early Childhood

Julie Joyner, 2003, HS Math and Science

Pauline Jacroux, 2003, Elementary

Sharon Locey, 1996, General Elementary

Warren Marcus, 1992, Social Studies

Carol Ann McGuire, 2005, Special Education

Meryl Meisler, 1992, Visual Arts

Larry Peterson, 1989, Mathematics

John Raby, 1994, Social Studies

Jean Savoy, 2000, HS Humanities

David Seiter, 1996, Social Studies

Robin Share, 1992, Performing Arts

Stephen Sroka, 1994, Physical Education

Joseph Sweeney, 1992, Mathematics

Larry Torres, 1992, Foreign Languages

Ron Valenti, 1990, Physical Education

2 Comments

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  • You can be sure the children of every member of Disney’s senior management either has, is, or will attend private school.

    It’s inconceivable that any of their children would receive a public school education.

    They are part of the liberal elite who believe it’s okay for you to send your kid to public school, but it’s not okay for them.

    Much like politicians. They fight for taxpayer-funding of public schools while their kids attend private schools.

    Comment by no_slappz — March 15, 2006 @ 12:25 pm

  • I believe that among the families of the members in the federal legislature, not more than one of around 600 send their kids to public school. American like to talk about class divisions and social gaps in the Old World. We are little better, though more hypocritical in proclaiming otherwise.

    Comment by redhog — March 16, 2006 @ 1:55 pm

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