Politics

A quick note today.  I don't normally like to mix politics with teaching or education because, for me, becoming a teacher and doing my work at school has never come from a political motivation.  I just wanted to help young people learn, grow and become full human beings.

Party affiliation, political beliefs, personal speech--those things happen at schools but don't really change my approach to the job I have to do.

But, I can't help myself this morning.  In Senator McCain's speech last night, there was the unmistakable demonization of teachers and public schools.  Check it out:

The great Argentinian writer, Jorge Luis Borges, once responded to a question about politics by famously not answering and asking if the audience wanted to talk about something worthwhile rather than waste their time.

Not everyone likes politics.  Not everyone wants their work, especially if their work is with children, to be caught up in politics or even be seen as having a political dimension.

And, in many ways, I agree with that:  the best things in life are not about politics.

That's why I have wanted this open-source website to be mainly about teaching technique, pedagogy and other tangible issues related directly to the practice of teaching.  

Get ready for a major dose of "change" this November. Picking a new president means that both Democrats and Republicans are promising to be the party of "change", from which, we can assume, new priorities in Federal education will flow.

The question is: What will the new priorities be?

Given that Washington lobbyists, bureaucrats and legislators are the chief sausage-makers, we should not expect too much. In fact, as the recent farm bill aptly demonstrates, rather than bold, nimble or innovative change in existing policy, what we are likely to get are small baby steps and a whole lot of staying the course--even when it is not working.

Articles like these are what shape America's public perception of teachers and teacher quality.

I'll have to go and look at the actual article in Education Week and see what kind of issues and factors figured into the rankings, but regardless of how poorly constructed was the study, or how little control over these factors teachers actually have, the thing that people will remember out there in the public is that "Our state's teachers are not doing their job."

And they will be indignant about it, too.  It won't be long before bitching ensues about paying too much in taxes and getting too little in results.

It seems that every Presidential election draws a tremendous amount of energy and attention from the American public. This is certainly the case in the upcoming 2008 election. Therefore, it must be the job of every teacher, professional educator, and concerned adult to force the candidates to address this very important issue. 

We can do this by writing to the campaign offices, sending questions into the YouTube debates, and the most powerful tool, actually voting in the 2008 election. I'm sorry, but if you are a teacher and you do not vote in this election, I would recommend that you have your license revoked and banned from any school in this country.  

Good day all, 

 Keith Parker, East Carolina University, History Education