I’ve been thinking a lot today about my first couple of weeks teaching in Colorado. I was with a close knit group of high school seniors whose favorite teacher had left and they were none to happy someone was taking her place.
The reason I think about that today is because we heard there was something happening on the news and like all the other classes, we turned on the TV. We sat together as we watched the news and the attacks on 9-11.
It was sad and it was scary, but it was good to be together and be able to talk about what we were seeing. I think it was as good for me to be able to talk with the kids as it was for them.
We remember and we thank all those first responders and others who stepped up and put their own lives at risk to save others. There is more that unites us than divides us.
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I ended up having an education day today. We met with the school board and listened to their concerns and needs. It was surprising how many bills we have that will affect them that most folks are unaware of.
One that is particularly concerning is about Charter schools getting first dibs on decommissioned school properties. wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/…
It’s concerning for many reasons, mostly because tax payer dollars and the LEA will be used to bring these buildings up to standard. Another Rep from Knoxville said I was wrong, but here is the bill language.
“there is a strong relationship between wage levels and criminal behavior, which explains why, over the past 20 years, crime rates for young men have increased while their wages have decreased.” nber.org/digest/nov97/h…
Studies show raising the wage lowers crime. The TN supermajority refuses to raise the wage.
Speaker Sexton is gaslighting you. He thinks you are stupid. He thinks he can lie to you about their intent to defund public education. A voucher is private school being funded by your public tax dollars. It doesn’t matter which pile of public tax dollars it comes out of.
It doesn’t matter if you call it an ESA, it’s a voucher. Public tax 💵 going to private schools with no transparency. Schools that can refuse any child, don’t have to hire certified teachers, no free lunch, no buses, and don’t have accountability measures for teachers or kids.
Private schools don’t have to use the same tests or curriculum the supermajority has been saying for 12 years is crucially important. Why is it no longer important? Why are they throwing money at schools with none of the requirements they swear are improving our schools?
Let’s talk about the interesting timing of the new school A-F “grading system” news dump on the Friday before Christmas weekend, shall we? Let’s talk about the coincidence of this “system” coming out the year the Governor wants to shove his voucher scam down TN family’s throats.
Let’s talk about this new Education Commissioner who never spent a day as a teacher or principal. How she came in and threw out the grading plan ideas created with the department and educators who worked on it. Then she instituted her own rigged grading system.
So if this Education Commissioner hasn’t been an educator, where did she come from? Why, Jeb Bush’s school privatization organization of course. This is all part of Lee’s voucher scam, more tricks to make public schools look bad so folks will think his voucher scam is an answer.
We say this over and over, the research clearly shows vouchers don’t work, yet still the GOP pushes forward with a 95 county voucher plan that has FAILED in every state that passed one. GOP need to STOP defunding public schools for their dark money donors! time.com/6272666/school…
You will hear Rep Mark White say “we have to do something for these failing schools.” Those schools aren’t failing, the TN GOP are failing our schools. They are trying to make our schools look bad so they can bring in their privatizing donors.
They are sacrificing our kids education for their power and greed. We can stop this voucher scheme that is destined to fail, but we all have to show up and lift our voices. And understand, it’s the rural counties who will suffer the most as they see their funding dry up.