#blog4NWP and being bossy

Well I’ve never been to New York City Or took a stroll through Central Park I’ve never waved up at that lady in the Harbor Or been on Broadway after dark But I’ve got a new laptop computer A bluetooth speaker in my ear A wireless connection to anywhere I want Yeah, I can see the world from here I can see the world from here.

~Corey Smith, Technology

Once again, the Twitter gods have smiled down upon me.

 

When I read that tweet, I became a little cranky. Seriously? I completely agree with the content of the tweet…that wasn’t the issue.  The issue…

(You can tell I was really snarky by the number of question marks I used, can’t you?)

 

For several weeks/months, my frustration level has been building. I’ve been incredibly disillusioned with way public education is being portrayed in the media and by our elected officials. The only thing that’s kept my spirits up has been my involvement with Marshall University Writing Project, and the National Writing Project. The NWP, who’s focus is improving writing and learning through a bottom up/teachers teaching teachers model, feeds my soul in a way I haven’t found anywhere else.

Teaching is a very isolating profession. Teaching in a small, rural school in southern West Virginia is ISOLATING! Connecting with other NWP teachers across America through social networking has been an incredible experience. These people are the great thinkers. They challenge me. They inspire me. They help me be better at what I do.  Sadly, President Obama cut our funding. No more $ for 130, 000 educators and 1.4 million students that are affected by NWP each year so HOW CAN THESE PEOPLE BE TWEETING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION????

They replied to my tweet.

Oh boy.

A very short conversation followed with a press secretary for the Department of Education.

I, along with the most fabulous Andrea Zellner (Red Cedar Writing Project),  had a dialogue with a PRESS SECRETARY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION!

@AndreaZellner, who also replied to the @USPressSec,  captured the entire conversation in her blog.

http://www.andrea-zellner.com/archives/629

Amazing, folks…that’s all I can say. I hope that someone actually listens. I hope that they investigate just what it is that the National Writing Project does. (Going to nwp.org or reading the blogs collected by Chad Sansing at http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/the-blog4nwp-archive/ would be a fabulous place to start /just sayin’)

I ended my part of the conversation with an invitation to our Summer Institute here in southern WV. I’m fairly certain no one will take me up on the invite…then again, I didn’t think anyone would respond to my tweet.

Fingers crossed, folks.