I added a new Category (Scroll Down the left side of the Page) called "Letters to the Editor." These will contain model text that you can play with and customize when you get active. Here are links to MANY ILLINOIS PRESS OUTLETS
This one was submitted by Ned, from the east coast. The issues are the same everywhere.
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To the editor: Want to change the public schools? You face a struggle. The system is bureaucratic and has many conflicting interests. Government school is a network of interconnecting agencies in which no one is truly responsible or accountable. No one is actually in charge; therefore, the employees will not even discuss a change with anyone outside the system. So, you must present your idea to the local school board (which is actually an agency of the State, not the town) whose members are beholden to political parties and unions, not to residents. Board members are often confused by the mountain of regulations under which the schools operate. Also, your proposal will threaten their authority, so even if they see its value, they do not like to admit mistakes, let alone correct them. If you succeed with the board, your proposal is then out of your hands. It's up to the board to convince the administrators of your idea, but you will never know what they say in private. The administrators want more money or less work; otherwise your proposal will be rejected out of hand. Next, the teachers will ask, "Are you telling us how to do our jobs?" They consider parents and other residents nuisances who happen to pay their salaries. Any change is a battle for control. On the slim chance that the employees accept your proposal, the idea still needs state approval, and even then, it is unlikely that the system will carry it out as you hope. For example, if you want a mid-morning recess of, say, fifteen minutes, even if they all finally agree, the board will announce that they have created a "win-win" solution by adding seven minutes to the lunch break and shortening all class periods by one minute each. As a final insult, they will say, "It's what the children want." Parents and other residents, including the school board, have virtually no control over the public schools. That is why more and more are turning to alternatives, and also why more and more believe the government is not a proper agency for education.
