Maya Angelou supported Obama, but she blasted his school reform policies.
It's possible to do both, and she did that. She joined 120 other authors in signing a strong letter to President Obama urging restraint on Race to the Top and high-stakes testing.
When Maya Angelou blasted Obama’s school-reform policies
The legendary poet and author Maya Angelou, who just passed away at the age of 86, was a big supporter of President Obama, and in 2011, he awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. But she also was a critic of his school-reform policies, raising her voice last year to blast his signature education initiative, Race to the Top, and expressing concern about the impact standardized testing was having on children.
Angelou was one of the more than 120 other authors and illustrators of books for children who signed a letter last October to Obama and said they were “alarmed” about the impact his standardized test-centric school-reform policies were having “on children’s love reading and literature.” The letter, organized by the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, said in part:
We are alarmed at the negative impact of excessive school testing mandates, including your administration’s own initiatives, on children’s love of reading and literature. Recent policy changes by your Administration have not lowered the stakes. On the contrary, requirements to evaluate teachers on student test scores impose more standardized exams and crowd out exploration.
She later appeared on MSNBC and further explained her opposition.
A week later, she appeared on the MSNBC show “Andrea Mitchell Reports” and responded to questions about her opposition to Race to the Top, a multibillion-dollar competition run by the U.S. Education Department that allowed states and later individual school districts to vie for federal funds by promising to enact education reforms favored by the administration. Critics have charged that Race to the Top has led to increased high-stakes standardized testing because it requires states that win funds to evaluate teachers in part on student standardized test scores. She said:
“Race To The Top feels to be more like a contest … not what did you learn, but how much can you memorize.”
Here are excerpts from the letter signed by the writers, and following it a list of the signers.
Top authors — including Maya Angelou — urge Obama to curb standardized testing
Dear President Obama,
We the undersigned children’s book authors and illustrators write to express our concern for our readers, their parents and teachers. We are alarmed at the negative impact of excessive school testing mandates, including your Administration’s own initiatives, on children’s love of reading and literature. Recent policy changes by your Administration have not lowered the stakes. On the contrary, requirements to evaluate teachers based on student test scores impose more standardized exams and crowd out exploration.
We call on you to support authentic performance assessments, not simply computerized versions of multiple-choice exams. We also urge you to reverse the narrowing of curriculum that has resulted from a fixation on high-stakes testing.
.....This year has seen a growing national wave of protest against testing overuse and abuse. As the authors and illustrators of books for children, we feel a special responsibility to advocate for change. We offer our full support for a national campaign to change the way we assess learning so that schools nurture creativity, exploration, and a love of literature from the first day of school through high school graduation.
Then the complete list of signers follows.
= new reply since forum marked as read
The Alice in Wonderland feeling. As I keep saying, it's like a steamroller.
and on...and on...and on...and on...
and never seems to stop.
Happening right out in the open, too.
I had trouble supporting Bush also.
...disagree with you about that. Last time I checked, DU was a pretty inclusive Democratic discussion board. 
Jeez - everyone knows that. Shame on Madflo. She's an embarrassment.
Thanks. back.
Everyone says it's the internet, you have to be tough. Guess I'm not very tough anymore.
Thank you.
And even be good friends with him...and still oppose some of his policies? 
you mean you do not have to defend the indefensible and cheer on anything he does without being a racist or a hater or an emofirebagger?
I mean exactly that.
keep it coming. Back at you.
who are on the board of the charter school. McKeel is head of appropriations, and one county got far less than the charters after 2 years of getting nothing for public schools.
Thanks for the link.
Thanks for that. Your words so true, she had " honesty, integrity and true strength right there."
And you're welcome. I know teachers who are just dejected and grieving right now over what is happening in education.
They are being treated like pawns, all their creativity and years of experience flushed down the Common Core, Charter school toilet.
My heart goes out to all teachers fighting the stupidity.
So many I taught with who are still teaching are seeing their careers up in the air for no fault of their own.
I'm glad she took a hard stance against his education policies. I loved teaching her poetry and book, and showing videos of her. She is a great American treasure.
