Take On Tallahassee
Happy New Year,
As we kick off the decade of the 2020s, I have been thinking a lot about the famous words of Frederick Douglass. Many of you probably know he said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.â€
But it is the next line of his speech that has always resonated with me: “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.â€
Thousands of your colleagues from all around the state will Take on Tallahassee this January 13th to let lawmakers know educators will no longer quietly submit. The level of injustice and wrong that has been imposed on public schools as well as their students and employees has reached a breaking point.
Would you join us for 15-20 minutes Tuesday night at 7 pm for an important update on the upcoming legislative session and to talk about the Take on Tallahassee Rally? We will be calling you, or if you do not receive a call you can dial in at 1-800-694-4036.
Even if you cannot make it to Tallahassee, it is still incumbent upon each of us as educators to do what is necessary to resist the further takeover of Florida’s public schools. Our students are over-tested, our schools are underfunded, and political gimmicks like annual contracts for all new teachers have been an attempt to silence our voices.
Change will not come easily. We will not win everything our students need in one, or even two legislative sessions. But we cannot use those as excuses for inaction. Because when we collectively remain silent, power will concede nothing. For the sake of our students and public education, we must all join together with one voice with one message to demand that legislators #FundOurFutureFL.
Making the 2020s a decade of progress starts now.