Take Action

Stand Up for Teachers.

Sign the petition to address the teacher shortage crisis and preserve the free world.

Why This Matters?

The teacher shortage is a crisis impacting millions. If we don't act now, this mess will unravel our democracy.

Tell the K-12 subcommitee in congress to fix this mess!

Creates a national system of K-12 educational governance which still allows individual teachers the ability to make the right decisions for the kids in their classrooms

Supports teacher leadership of our own profession

Stops the waste, ignorance, greed, and apathy of local politicans, “big textbook,” and other corporations

Meet Experts We Love

Feature in Episodes:

Dr. Paulo Freire

"A New Way Foward"— Why Must We Leave our Profession to Lead it?

"This Mess is Killing Us"— Screaming into the Abyss, and Dying Early Deaths

"The Insidious War on Teacher Autonomy"— Sycophants and the Cult of Personality

Paulo Freire's work has influenced people working in education, community development, community health and many other fields. Freire developed an education approach that links issue identification to positive action for change and development. — The Freire Institute

  • "I cannot express my gratitude enough to the work of Paulo Freire. I found his essential work entitled, 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed' when I was starving for a praxis which honored the irreplaceable and essential expertise of current teachers and was centered on love and hope for everyone in the K-12 educational complex."

    "His ability to merge his incredibly profound reflections on the oppression all around us through the lens of historical systems, and his deep and unabiding optimism will always be my 'better angels' and my north star." — Trina

Dr. Diane Ravitch

"The Teacher Pay Mess"— The need for a national teacher association to shape our own standards and ethics.

Feature in Episodes:

"The Canned Curriculum Mess"— The impact of teacher autonomy loss & privatization

Diane Ravitch was a Research Professor of Education at New York University from 1995-2020 and is a historian of education. As the Founder of the Network for Public Education (NPE), Dr. Ravitch leads the largest movement against K-12 privatization and testing.

— Network for Public Education

  • There are many reasons to admire Dr. Ravitch, but perhaps the most endearing quality that she possesses is the ability to openly change her mind, and challenge her own, formerly lauded ideas. What a rebel!!!

Dr. Kareem Weaver

"The Reading Instruction Mess— the racial reading opportunity gap in the US, and adovacy work around the science of reading.

Feature in Episodes:

As the Co-Founder & Executive Director of FULCRUM, Dr. Weaver is an award-winning educator & literacy advocate, featured in the 2023 documentary The Right to Read. — Fulcrum

  • Dr. Weaver is a rebel warrior who we just ADORE! But he was also gracious enough to have a long and beautiful conversation with me (Trina) during my time of exploration about the reading opportunity gap. I was being was gaslit from all sides, and was told that there "was no problem" when I asked why so many kids could not read. Dr. Weaver validated me, listened to me, and dialogued with me openly about the solution framework: taking the wise sages--the high-quality veteran first-grade teachers in the US--and paying them extra for their knowledge, by turning them into expert coaches and reading instructional leaders who also are trusted alone make decisions about curriculum and instruction in a district!

    The idea here starts with the acknowledgment that we lack enough veteran reading teachers on the ground floor, and that teaching reading is HARD--and NO curriculum can stand in for the lack of a trained reading teacher.

    Our idea allows our nation's veteran reading teachers the opportunity to push into first and second-grade classrooms to deliver tier 1 reading instruction, and mentor new teachers until they are ready to take the reigns for themselves. No child should have to suffer through even a single year of a brand new teacher during their critical foundations of reading years!

Dr. Paul Bruno

"How Big Is the Mess/The Man Who Studied the Mess"— Examining teacher | | shortages & the complexities of K-12 data.

Feature in Episodes:

Assistant Professor at UIUC, specializing in school finance, education policy, and teacher workforce analytics. His work highlights the gaps in data accuracy and the nuances of policy decision-making in K-12 education. — source: paul-bruno.com

"The Teacher Pay Mess"

  • besides being the co-author of the ground breaking research on the extent of the teacher shortage crisis in the US, Dr. Bruno has a precious and rare quality in K-12 leadership and scholarship--he is humble and deeply curious about the root causes of our misconceptions and preconceived notions about K-12 schooling. He also advocates for a MUCH needed slow, and methodical approach toward data and research in our field, and argues for greater nuance in our investigations of the problems in K-12 educaiton. Things are rarely simple in our world, and quick approaches which involve ticking boxes, which preclude robust conversations are the heart of what is wrong in K-12 education! Thank you Dr. Bruno for pushing back against superficial and incomplete examinations of data in K-12 scholarship!

"The Special Mess of Special Education"

Feature in Episodes:

Manuwella Allen

"The Educational Equity Mess"

Manuwella Allen, a 26-year teaching veteran, champions special education, racial and gender equity, and social justice in K-12 schools. A union leader and advocate, she drives reforms in early education and Title IX policies. — source: ssasv.org

  • I am incredibly blessed to call Mani a dear and close personal friend. Part of my chosen family, Mani played an integral part of the founding of School Staff Against Sexual Violence--an organization she helped form from its conception. She is the rarest of rare breeds of leaders in K-12 Schooling--she has stayed teaching while being at the forefront of some of the most groundbreaking work afoot in K-12 equity based reforms. I love you Ms. Mani. — Trina

-The Father of US K-12 Schooling

Horace Mann

Feature in Episodes:

"An Introduction to the Mess"

"The Teacher Pay Mess"

Horace Mann (May 4, 1796 – August 2, 1859, U.S.) was an American educator, the first great American advocate of public education who believed that, in a democratic society, education should be free and universal, nonsectarian, democratic in method, and reliant on well-trained professional teachers. — Britannica.com

  • While I am openly critical of the structural sexism that he and others in Congress in the 19th century baked into our profession from the start (they set up our profession to be explicitly for women who would be paid only a third of the salaries of similarly qualified men), I am deeply in love with this dude, and am incredibly proud of his work. — Trina

FAQs

  • Teachers often feel isolated in their roles siloed due to limited collaboration opportunities and support. Their autonomy is increasingly restricted by political pressures, rigid standards, and top-down policies. A lack of accountability across the system and inconsistent metrics make it difficult to assess national progress or address problems effectively.

  • Many policies focus on "ticking boxes" rather than addressing real issues, leading to superficial implementation. Deeply entrenched political populism in governance prioritizes short-term gains over long-term solutions, leaving laws and policies poorly enforced or entirely absent in practice.