In this era of the high-stakes, test-driven bureaucracy of our public schools, Juanita promotes sanity. Her personal accounts of activism as she questions and challenges “the powers that be” to achieve the goal of high-quality public education for our children are informative and inspiring. I highly recommend this book to all parents.
—Carol Carminati
Parent/Member of MothersActingUp.org, Boulder, Colorado

Every community needs Juanita Doyon. Quick with a quip, Juanita brings common sense and practical cynicism to the task of empowering parents and teachers. Each chapter is full of sane, practical, and sometimes wildly funny examples of how real people can change the world. Juanita’s brand of cheerful activism is democracy at its most profound and most practical levels.

As a parent of four children, Juanita knows there is no such thing as a standard child. She respects those—mostly parents and teachers—who really know children up close and personally. In this book she shares simple strategies for finding and joining with others to defeat corporate-driven standards and accountability schemes.

To the suits in administrative offices in state capitals, who scream "Accountability!" at teachers and parents, Juanita replies "Suits, account for thyselves!"


—George Sheridan
President, Black Oak Mine Teachers Association, CTA/NEA

Ever wish you knew a fellow activist whom you could consult any time, day or night, and know that she (or he) would bring a balance of informed authority, shared concern, and a terrific sense of humor to bear? Reading this book is like having an experienced rabble-rouser (I can think of no higher compliment) at your side to cheer you on with both practical and philosophical bits of wisdom. Juanita practically brings you milk and cookies! What a treat!

I can tell that this is the sort of book I’ll want to keep handy on my shelf for the occasional shot in the arm, or a jog of my memory. On behalf of many parents who weren’t sure there was anything they could do to make a difference, "Thank you, Room Mother for the Resistance!"


—Marcia Weinert
home schooling mother and educational activist

PRAISE for Not with Our Kids You Don’t!
Juanita’s book makes education activism seem possible for anyone who cares enough to do it at any level…baking cookies, making posters and buttons, or running for public office. It’s a good balance of warnings about the potholes of activism and how-to encouragement.
—Teresa Saum
Coordinator of the Minnesota Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education

"No child left behind," they say? Just where do they think they're taking my child? "It’s time for parents, teachers and local community members everywhere to gang up and take back our schools," writes Juanita Doyon. In this invaluable guidebook for the would-be activist, Juanita distills the best from her many years of education activism and delightfully details how to maximize your effectiveness in this noble endeavor!
—Tom Jasper
Parent and elementary school teacher in the Pacific Northwest for 35 years

The imperative need to regain local control of our schools is palpable with each page. If Ms. Doyon’s book does not take you from the couch to the boardroom, nothing will.
—William C. Cala, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Fairport Schools, Fairport, New York

"Gadfly, expert, button queen…indefatigable kid-supporter…a passionate advocate for public schools and for all the children in them, Juanita is pounding the pavement for all the kids whose lives are threatened by high–stakes testing." So says fellow kid-supporter Susan Ohanian about Juanita Doyon, the "roving room mother of the resistance." Juanita is an activist and a parent who speaks with a parent's voice about the current state of education and what we can do about it. As she sees it, today's push for standards and accountability has transformed our schools into pressure cookers of standardized stew, facilitating nothing but heartburn and heartache. She's never accepted this—and neither should you!

Follow Juanita's lead in this step-by-step guide to becoming an effective, efficient educational activist.

• Master the who/what/when/where/how/& why of fighting for educational change.
• Communicate with everyone—from the local to the national.
• See how a little button can spread your message far and wide.
• Practice patience, honesty, respect, and humor—staples of the parent/school relationship—and watch as they pay off.