Jonathon Kozol released a manifesto explaining why he is fasting in protest of the damage created by the "No Child Left Behind Act." In addition to the being a respected education expert and a National Book Award author, Kozol publishes a blog on The Huffington Post. September 10th he wrote:
The real effect of No Child Left Behind is to drive away the tens of thousands of exciting and high-spirited, superbly educated teachers whom our urban districts struggle to attract into these schools. There are more remarkable young teachers like this coming into inner-city education than at any time I've seen in more than 40 years. The challenge isn't to recruit them; it's to keep them. But 50 percent of the glowing young idealists I have been recruiting from the nation's most respected colleges and universities are throwing up their hands and giving up their jobs within three years.
When I ask them why they've grown demoralized, they routinely tell me it's the feeling of continual anxiety, the sense of being in a kind of "state of siege," as well as the pressure to conform to teaching methods that drain every bit of joy out of the hours that their children spend with them in school.
At the time of writing he was on the 67th day of a partial fast. His actions and writing have created a great deal of attention and some controversy. His writings are well worth reading, and he speaks directly to the concerns of many teachers who feel that they are burning out.
