All You Need to Know in a Nutshell/ Support the Indypendent

See several funny-but-true videos on education reform:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpmQZ5MXs8c&feature=&p=D6ACA64BD8FD7FFA&index=0&playnext=1

 MESSAGE FROM JOHN TARLETON of The Indypendent

Meet the new boss. Just like the old boss. Cathie Black will become Schools Chancellor tomorrow. However nothing she or her high-profile supporters say can change the fact that increasing numbers of New Yorkers are not only questioning her personal credentials but the Mayor's autocratic handling of the city's schools over the past eight years.

In that vein, I can't tell you how many people have told me that they finally “get it” when it comes to understanding what's really happening with public education here in New York and elsewhere after reading The Indypendent.

In 2010, we provided unique, hard-hitting coverage, 4-color pull-out posters and even a full 20-page back-to-school issue that brought a deeper, richer understanding of what's happening in public education to many tens of thousands of people throughout the city.

I want to ask you for your support.

Right now, we are trying to make our goal of raising $20,000 in our fund drive, which will help sustain us in 2011.

Your support will enable us to continue reporting on issues that matter like the struggle over the future of public education here in New York City and beyond.

We don't have the deep pockets of a Murdoch or a Zuckerman or the hedge fund crowd to get our message out. Instead, for the past decade we have relied on people like yourself to keep us going strong.

This is why we can report without illusions about how power is exercised in this city and for whose benefit. It is what enables us to connect the dots and tell it like it is in a clear, coherent voice that our readers have come to value.

We also know that meaningful change always comes from below which is why listen to and amplify the voices of parents, teachers, students and community advocates who understand the what's really happening to  our city's 1.1 million school children and the teachers who serve them and are fighting for a school system that is truly democratic and empowering for all its participants.

However, our goal is to do more than produce top-notch journalism. We seek to help movements like the one for a just and fully democratic system of public education to develop and grow.

Toward that end, we need a movement behind us to develop and grow ourselves. We have had more than 300 people donate more than $16,000, meaning we are closing in on our fundraising goal!

Whatever you can give - $25, $50, $100 (or more) - you have my deep gratitude. It may sound like a cliché but it really does make all the difference.

The easiest way to donate is online at: www.indypendent.org/donate

Or you can mail a check made out to The Indypendent to:

The Indypendent
666 Broadway, Suite 500
NY, NY 10012

Also, please consider passing this message onto other people you know who might want to support our work.

Best wishes, and have a Happy New Year!

John

Highlights from the Indy's 2010 Education Coverage

"Taking the Public Out of Schools" by John Tarleton

"Inside Columbus High School" by Mary Heglar

"Experience Is the Best Teacher: Bronx School Fights to Save Building Trades Program As DOE Pushes College Prep Over Hands-on Learning" by Mary Heglar

"Think Globally, Privatize Locally: Education Is Under Attack Around the World" by Lois Weiner

"Teaching Under Assualt: Two Visions of Education Clash as Bloomberg Prepares to Layoff 6,400 Teachers" by Norm Scott

"Why Teachers Unions Matter" by Lois Weiner

"Ticket to Ride: Students Win Metro Card Fight" by Jaisal Noor

"Students at Tilden High School Win Last Chance for Diploma" by Jaisal Noor

"An Education at Any Age: A Boy from Baghdad and His Parents Navigate Different Ends of the NYC School System" by David Enders

"Learning the 3 C's: Competition, Corruption and Cheating" by Arthur Goldstein and Lucas Hilderbrand

"A Parent's Guide to School Involvement" by John Tarleton

"Education Rediscovered" by Stanley Aronowitz

"Queer Youth Embrace Fluid Identities" by S. Leigh Thompson

"School Closings Pushback Begins" by John Tarleton

"Experience Be Damned!: Education Department's Self-Inflicted Crisis Leaves More Than 1,000 Veteran Teachers in Limbo" by Marc Epstein