WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, as President Obama asks public school students to commit to their studies in a major White House address, a coalition of educators and civil rights leaders has launched a national grassroots campaign to change the direction of public education reform -- from a focus on testing to a focus on learning.

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The "Rethink Learning Now" campaign (RethinkLearningNow.com) is inviting parents, educators, elected officials, and young people across the U.S. to share powerful learning experiences and identify the attributes that made those experiences so successful.

Already, the campaign has collected a diverse set of stories and begun outlining a core set of essential conditions for learning.

• Angela V. from Texas wrote about her junior year of high school, when a new teacher demanded more of her than she knew she was capable of. "My family, church, and community imbued me with a strong, positive sense of self," she writes. "Where I was lacking, however, was with respect to my academic self-esteem."
• Jamal F. from California shared memories of long afternoon walks as a young boy with his grandfather. "We cannot think that we need to replicate in public schools the level of understanding and the personal connection between a boy and his grandfather," he offers. "But we can identify conditions that made this learning experience meaningful and attempt to foster them in our schools."
• And Arne D. from Washington, DC -- yes, that Arne from Washington, DC -- talked about spending time in mother's afterschool tutoring program on the South Side of Chicago. "Everyone was challenged to do their best, every single day," he wrote. "It was the ultimate in high expectations, both for individuals and the group as a whole."
  

According to Sam Chaltain, national director of the Forum for Education and Democracy, "As the number of stories grows over time, we'll see which attributes appear most often across people's experiences. The purpose is to focus the country's attention on powerful learning, and on the core conditions that best support it, so that all of us can be more prepared to ask our lawmakers, our President, and our local communities to institute reforms based more clearly on what young people need in order to thrive -- and stay -- in school."

"Despite the best of intentions," says Ronald Blackburn-Moreno, President of ASPIRA, "we've created a nationwide culture of testing, in which standardized test scores that measure basic skills have become the only marker of success. Accountability is critically important, and testing should be a part of making sure schools and districts are ensuring that all students reach high standards. But our schools must teach both basic- and higher-order skills, allow creativity and innovation to flourish, and lead all children to discover how to fully and effectively participate in our economy and democracy."

"This campaign," adds Advancement Project Director Judith Browne-Dianis, "will provide a powerful set of qualitative data for President Obama, Education Secretary Duncan and Members of Congress to use when they decide which policies will best empower educators to create healthy, high-functioning learning environments. At the same time, the American people can use that data to hold their lawmakers accountable, and help the country restore its focus on the core pillars of educational change -- high-quality learning, highly-effective teaching, and an unwavering commitment to fairness that ensures all children receive the same opportunity to the American dream."

The RethinkLearningNow campaign is supported by a growing coalition of education advocates, civil rights groups and philanthropic organizations, who share a commitment to focus the country's attention on three core pillars of successful education reform -- learning, teaching and fairness. The list of supporters can be viewed at rethinklearningnow.com.

Additional videos can be view at the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZAEomvdEJg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lekShz3CuyM

SOURCE RethinkLearningNow.com