Secretary of Education calls NEA Terrorists

[Tank in Texas]

Please reference this article: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040223/D80T5VUO0.html

IN RESPONSE to a news story about the Secretary of Education calling the Teachers' Unions "terrorists:"

Oh boy. You touched a hot button with me. Pardon me while I step up on this soapbox...

A new low for the current administration but we've heard crap like that for years in Texas. My mother and father are retired teachers. The disparity between the job we expect from them and the amount we pay them is horrific.

Today my mother has to scrimp and watch every last penny, WITH the ridiculous "teacher retirement" Texas gives and with iffy-at-best health benefits. My mother worked 25 years, many times with "problem" children that had been kicked out of larger school districts. These are the kind of kids most people prefer to avoid on dark nights. I have seen so many of these former "thugs" run into her by chance while shopping years later and yell "Mrs. Martin! Mrs. Martin!" Most of them hug her with big tears welling up in their eyes.

They may not be mega-successful but you know what-they understand that she is somebody who refused to give up on them and let them give up on themselves. She made a difference in their lives and may be the reason why they got through school, learned to read and have had some kind of success in their lives. Teachers ARE America.

The only problem with education in this country is the LEGISLATORS and CAREER POLITICIANS who think they understand how to run a proper school. Schools are not businesses and shouldn't be run like them. The moment a candidate lets rank and file TEACHERS devise education policy, the better off our children will be.

Teachers' Unions represent the only hope of dignity and representation these undervalued worker bees receive. They are disrespected constantly by policymakers and media pundits. Anybody who compares a teachers' union to a terrorist organization should be forced to work as a teacher for a few years, at a teacher's salary, THEN they can talk.

Or we could just throw another standardized test at it and issue vouchers.

[mdmc]

1. Teachers rule

Groups of teachers too!

[wryter2000]

2. Welcome, Tank

Boy are you 100% right on with this. I am so sick and tired of people crapping on teachers. This is unbelievable, even from this bunch of thieves and murderers.

[bluestateguy]

3. I call for his resignation

What if some liberal Democrat called US troops inIraq ir Afghanistan "terrorists"? That person would be run out of town with death threats and shamed into retirement.

Inexcusable, unprofessional and not befitting of the man who is supopsed to be America's school principal.

[RedEarth]

4. My thoughts exactly

This guy should be gone right now. This is one more example of how destructive this entire admin is to our country. We have to do everything possible to get these monsters out of office.

[Perky]

5. NOW Now...lets be faiir.

First of all he said it was a bad joke.

But then of course he said he was regerring to NEA's leadership not the rank and file.

So does that mean it was a joke or not

The guy is a political moron!!! He attacked 2.7 Million voters in front of 20-25 Democratic Governors. Stupid stupid Stupid.

Hopefully the press will hound Bush and bush will be slow in repudiating the statement.

I hope this gets legs for a couple of weeks and the Page disappears for about 6 months or so.

[Tank in Texas]

6. Imagine if...

...John Edwards or John Kerry had said this about Bush's Religious Right backers. We wouldn't be hearing the end of it, ever. Teachers' Unions get attacked because they are easy targets. When you attack the "leadership" of a teachers' Union you are attacking the rank-and-file, like it or not. Face up- teachers are underpaid, undervalued and consistently made scapegoats for bad policy decisions.

The Right constantly decries public education in this country, then systematically undercuts teachers' ability to educate. Their answer-"throw more testing at students, underfund initiatives and push toward private education so we can profiteer off of it!"

My answer? Pay these teachers the money they deserve for the jobs they do. Maybe if we spent an extra $87B on education rather than The War (tm) we'd improve our lot.

[Moderator]

7. Dupe-please continue here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1150658