#OptOutBus Free Books for Kids Tour
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All Aboard the Opt Out Bus - Free Books for Kids Cross Country Tour - Summer 2016! Please donate!
It's time for the #OptOutBus to take another road trip! This year we are taking the #OptOutBus on a Cross Country Free Books for Kids Tour! Last year, Shawn and I took the #OptOutBus on a West Coast #OptOutBus Free Books for Kids Tour.
We discovered this bus is amazing tool for activism. The #OptOutBus breaks the silence...
One cool thing about the #OptOutBus is it acts like a magnet, attracting photography, conversations, peace signs, thumbs-up signals, honks of approval, and a story for THEM to tell their friends & neighbors- post on FB & Twitter... Little by little the word gets out.
The #OptOutBus attracts people and as noted with each stop it makes, it breaks the silence - creating an emotional response as people read the comments and quotes written by children, parents, and teachers. They strike up a conversation. They have questions. They listen. They tell their stories. We share these pictures and stories on our Facebook page .
Here is Hanneke's story from the 2015 West Coast #OptOutBus Free Books for Kids Tour:
Hanneke, a special Ed para supports the #OptOutBus & the #OptOut movement.
She is a "first responder", from CA working directly with children who feel like failures BECAUSE of the test & punish system.
She sees how heartbroken children feel and she says it isn't only the kids who qualify for special Ed.
She notes the test & punish system "hurts ALL kids, that more and more kids are feeling like failures."
She says, "So many kids just need a little help getting over the hump, but there just aren't enough people to help them."
Wouldn't it make sense to spend all the money that Common Core, testing, & evaluation systems cost on more teachers and education support staff?
Messages came back from those following our tour virtually.
Last year, Kathie Wing Larsyn said: "Another incredible story that touched my heart...and darn, brought tears to my eyes!"
Ira Shor said: "You are putting the face of Real America out there for all to see; these are the stories of the 99%, the lives of folks who need to find each other and raise hell as one voice. Keep going."
Well Ira. We're about to take your advice and we'll "keep going". Here is our plan for this summer's activist tour.
We plan to leave Vashon on Friday, July 8th or Saturday July 9th with our first stop in Seattle - home of #ScrapTheMap and the 100% Nathan Hale #SBAC #OptOut. From there, we will travel along I-90, stopping in key cities where education reform has taken a toll on children, families, and teachers. We plan to stop in Chicago, then on to Flint and/or Detroit. From there, we will continue to New York, Newark, then up to Boston. From here, we'll plan to take the Opt Out Bus to the Democratic Convention in Philly because we want to hold Democrats accountable for destroying public schools just as much as the GOP.
Our tour will then turn south to Baltimore and Washington, DC then back across the country where we will stop in Denver, home of United Opt Out co-founder, Peg Robertson. Here is our route . We'll keep you updated with any changes.
Along the way we will share a personal message written in each book about the real importance of education along with an opt out message and the resource of www.UnitedOptOut.com as we provide FREE BOOKS for kids in need on our tour. Why are we giving away free books to kids? Because books in the home are as important as a parent's education level to student success!
Your donations will go towards books that will help spread the #OptOut message to deny the corporate reformers their profits. Through civil disobedience we will end the corporate elite's mission to create a permanent underclass. Join us to create a new system that doesn't test, punish, and shame children and teachers.
We have a small bookshelf on the Opt Out Bus, but hope to keep refilling it and putting new books in the hands of children across America. We purchase these new books at local independent bookstores along the way and deliver them to children.
This is Evelyn - a 2nd grader - and her family from the 2015 #OptOutBus West Coast Free Books for Kids Tour.
As you donate, please write a personal reason you believe students should Opt Out and a brief description of why education and reading are important. We will include your message in our free books for children. Here is one example from last year:
Children's messages written on the bus were the most compelling reason we must stop the testing and provide what children need instead.
"Teach me, don't test me." - JLP, 9 year old
Eveylyn wrote: Reading takes you on an adventure...[Testing can't do that...at least not a pleasant adventure.]
Join us and follow our activist road trip on Facebook at All Aboard the Opt Out Bus here :
Here we have a 2nd GoFundMe set up to collect money for gas for our cross country trip. Please help us make this cross country trip to spread the message and provide free books for kids!
Thank you in advance for your donations!
Susan and Shawn DuFresne
"Never do anything against your conscience, even if the state demands it." - Albert Einstein
It's time for the #OptOutBus to take another road trip! This year we are taking the #OptOutBus on a Cross Country Free Books for Kids Tour! Last year, Shawn and I took the #OptOutBus on a West Coast #OptOutBus Free Books for Kids Tour.
We discovered this bus is amazing tool for activism. The #OptOutBus breaks the silence...
One cool thing about the #OptOutBus is it acts like a magnet, attracting photography, conversations, peace signs, thumbs-up signals, honks of approval, and a story for THEM to tell their friends & neighbors- post on FB & Twitter... Little by little the word gets out.
The #OptOutBus attracts people and as noted with each stop it makes, it breaks the silence - creating an emotional response as people read the comments and quotes written by children, parents, and teachers. They strike up a conversation. They have questions. They listen. They tell their stories. We share these pictures and stories on our Facebook page .
Here is Hanneke's story from the 2015 West Coast #OptOutBus Free Books for Kids Tour:
Hanneke, a special Ed para supports the #OptOutBus & the #OptOut movement.
She is a "first responder", from CA working directly with children who feel like failures BECAUSE of the test & punish system.
She sees how heartbroken children feel and she says it isn't only the kids who qualify for special Ed.
She notes the test & punish system "hurts ALL kids, that more and more kids are feeling like failures."
She says, "So many kids just need a little help getting over the hump, but there just aren't enough people to help them."
Wouldn't it make sense to spend all the money that Common Core, testing, & evaluation systems cost on more teachers and education support staff?
Messages came back from those following our tour virtually.
Last year, Kathie Wing Larsyn said: "Another incredible story that touched my heart...and darn, brought tears to my eyes!"
Ira Shor said: "You are putting the face of Real America out there for all to see; these are the stories of the 99%, the lives of folks who need to find each other and raise hell as one voice. Keep going."
Well Ira. We're about to take your advice and we'll "keep going". Here is our plan for this summer's activist tour.
We plan to leave Vashon on Friday, July 8th or Saturday July 9th with our first stop in Seattle - home of #ScrapTheMap and the 100% Nathan Hale #SBAC #OptOut. From there, we will travel along I-90, stopping in key cities where education reform has taken a toll on children, families, and teachers. We plan to stop in Chicago, then on to Flint and/or Detroit. From there, we will continue to New York, Newark, then up to Boston. From here, we'll plan to take the Opt Out Bus to the Democratic Convention in Philly because we want to hold Democrats accountable for destroying public schools just as much as the GOP.
Our tour will then turn south to Baltimore and Washington, DC then back across the country where we will stop in Denver, home of United Opt Out co-founder, Peg Robertson. Here is our route . We'll keep you updated with any changes.
Along the way we will share a personal message written in each book about the real importance of education along with an opt out message and the resource of www.UnitedOptOut.com as we provide FREE BOOKS for kids in need on our tour. Why are we giving away free books to kids? Because books in the home are as important as a parent's education level to student success!
Your donations will go towards books that will help spread the #OptOut message to deny the corporate reformers their profits. Through civil disobedience we will end the corporate elite's mission to create a permanent underclass. Join us to create a new system that doesn't test, punish, and shame children and teachers.
We have a small bookshelf on the Opt Out Bus, but hope to keep refilling it and putting new books in the hands of children across America. We purchase these new books at local independent bookstores along the way and deliver them to children.
This is Evelyn - a 2nd grader - and her family from the 2015 #OptOutBus West Coast Free Books for Kids Tour.
As you donate, please write a personal reason you believe students should Opt Out and a brief description of why education and reading are important. We will include your message in our free books for children. Here is one example from last year:
Children's messages written on the bus were the most compelling reason we must stop the testing and provide what children need instead.
"Teach me, don't test me." - JLP, 9 year old
Eveylyn wrote: Reading takes you on an adventure...[Testing can't do that...at least not a pleasant adventure.]
Join us and follow our activist road trip on Facebook at All Aboard the Opt Out Bus here :
Here we have a 2nd GoFundMe set up to collect money for gas for our cross country trip. Please help us make this cross country trip to spread the message and provide free books for kids!
Thank you in advance for your donations!
Susan and Shawn DuFresne
"Never do anything against your conscience, even if the state demands it." - Albert Einstein
Organizer
Susan DuFresne
Organizer
Vashon, WA