The City of Boston is the middle of an historic Mayoral campaign, and one of the biggest issues concerning voters today is education. The Boston Public Schools are at a turning point right now, and it’s future is dependent upon who is ultimately elected into Office in just one month’s time.

The Indignant Teacher has just one hope for our future Mayor of Boston – that he understands the reality of what’s happening in education today, specifically in regards to reform efforts and initiatives. Unless he truly does, he will take Office prepared to make detrimental and destructive choices that will only have negative impacts on the students, teachers, and the very future of our society.

At this point in time, The Indignant Teacher fears that both Connolly and Walsh are misinformed, and it is their respective stances and platforms that draw this conclusion. As she’s said before, John Connolly is a childhood chum; she knows he’d make an outstanding leader of this City, provided he rethink his education platform and take the Oath pledging to do what’s best for Boston’s schoolchildren, and actually knowing what that means. But right now, she doesn’t think he does, and this is in no way meant to be taken as any kind of insult to him whatsoever. Because until less than a year ago, The Indignant Teacher was, herself, grossly misinformed about the issues in education, having primarily relied on mainstream media as her way of obtaining factual information about education’s current events. And knowing that John isn’t in politics for the purpose of “being in politics”, but rather for the purpose of making Boston a better place to live, is what truly leads The Indignant Teacher to believe in her heart that John, too, is grossly misinformed. And although she doesn’t know Marty personally, and admittedly knows little yet about his politics (aside from what she’s read and reported on his education statements), she’d like to think that he, like the majority of Americans still, is also misinformed by mainstream media’s misinterpreting and misrepresenting all of the issues.

NBC’s Education Nation airs next week. Watch knowing that it is a major part of this massive hoax which is being perpetuated by the corporate reformers who are currently driving this “education reform” movement. In her recently released bestselling book, Reign of Error, Diane Ravitch says, “the nation’s schoolchildren are on a train that is headed for a cliff”, and she’s right. Neither of our candidates for Mayor of Boston are in the position to steer this train away from the cliff right now, and it is urgent that we make sure one of them does. What’s coming down the tracks is frightening; it truly is. Realizing the truth in that would take just ten minutes out of your life. But I promise, when you start reading about this reality, you won’t want to stop. It will change your whole perspective on life, your belief in humanity, and even your confidence in the future. It really is that scary.

For a full-bodied text that’s rich with details and an abundance of evidence sufficient to persuade even the staunchest of naysayers, Reign of Error is the go-to text. Readers can opt to obtain either a broad (but thorough) understanding of what Ravitch dubs the “corporate reform” or “privatization” movement by reading the first four chapters of the book; those looking for a more comprehensive education about specific trends and theories in the movement will find it in the following chapters. Best of all, the last few chapters identify, explain, and elaborate on very specific strategies that can (& should) be used by policymakers and politicians when making education-related decisions for their districts; it could almost be used as a blueprint of sorts for education planning purposes.

Reign of Error arguably has the power to become the most influential book that’s ever been written regarding any public policy issue that we have ever seen. While only on the market for a couple of weeks yet, it has already broken through the top ten bestseller list. One can hope that this means the message contained in the book will be heard and understood by enough of America that soon we will see a difference in the system of public education, but the most important audience that its message needs to reach is that of people who hold (or will hold) public office.

The Indignant Teacher knows that neither Connolly nor Walsh are likely to have the time nor the interest in reading this book prior to Election Day in Boston, but it is reasonable to expect that its message can be heard by both parties before November 5th. It’s time for Boston to once again become national leaders in education; we can do this by realizing the power of social media. This is the only way for the truth to be shared, as mainstream media is currently engaged in a full-throttle attempt to destroy public education by perpetuating the hoax designed by the corporate reformers.

Please share this blog post far and wide throughout all your social media outlets. Read this recent article that sums up charter schools. Check out – or better yet , join – the Network for Public Education. When Education Nation airs in the coming days, please do watch it, but do so knowing you are being lied to. Then take a few minutes to google the show, and read the blogs posted by the edu-bloggers nationwide, as there is sure to be an abundance of evidence that will be sure to contradict the messages that NBC is spreading. Only then will you have the ability to make informed and educated decisions when casting your ballots on election day next month. Only then will democracy be restored to our country.