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A Note on Childless Teachers

The race to the White House takes an odd turn

JD Vance (Donald Trump’s running mate) just won’t stop attacking people who don’t have children.

And he won’t stop causing problems for the ticket – which has enough problems at the top.

Peter Greene takes a look at the latest dustup over remarks Vance made about teachers who don’t have children of their own.

Yet another piece of J. D. Vance foolishness has surfaced, this one a 2021 audio in which he tries to get in a dig at Randi Weingarten by saying that teachers without children , well–

You know, so many of the leaders of the left, and I hate to be so personal about this, but they’re people without kids trying to brainwash the minds of our children. And that really disorients me and it really disturbs me…

It’s a bullshit argument, not the least because it assumes that adult human beings are incapable of caring about children unless they’ve birthed one. Too bad for you, every nun and priest ever. Not to mention that back in the day, pregnancy and motherhood quickly disqualified women from teaching.

It seems there’s a lot that disorients and disturbs Vance – including, in the past, his current running mate.

Now, though, Vance sees Trump as a possible ticket to power – either as the actual Vice President or as someone who becomes a candidate for President in 2028 should Trump lose this year.

Trouble is, this trial isn’t going so well for Vance.

He’s already attacked childless cat ladies – and now, he’s going after teachers who do not have children of their own.

It will be interesting to see what surfaces next.

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The Voucher Wars in Tennessee

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Taking on Grocery Price Gouging

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The True Meaning of School Vouchers

Exposing the endgame of school privatization

In a report on Florida’s experiment with full-on school privatization by way of charter schools and vouchers, Peter Greene notes that the endgame for those supporting “school choice” is getting the government completely out of the “education business.” While that may sound great in terms of “free market,” Greene highlights some pretty important implications:

Privatization is not just about privatizing the folks who get to provide education (or education-flavored products). It is about privatizing the responsibility for getting children an education.

Getting government out of education means ending the promise that every child in this country is entitled to a decent education. Regardless of zip code. Regardless of their parents’ ability to support them. Regardless of whatever challenges they bring to the process. 

End that promise. Replace it with a free(ish) market. End the community responsibility for educating future citizens. Put the whole weight of that on their parents. End the oversight and accountability to the elected representatives of the taxpayers. Replace it with a “Well, the parents will sort that out. And if they don’t, that’s their own fault and their own problem.”

This sounds a lot like what Gov. Bill Lee and his legislative allies are attempting in Tennessee.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Presidential Politics and School Lunch

Kentucky Voters Consider Budget-Busting Voucher Proposal

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Tennessee’s Abortion Ban: Two Years In

Grocery Price Gouging in Tennessee

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The Power of a Name

It’s a matter of respect

Educator and blogger Peter Greene notes that names have power – and especially so for young humans coming into their own:

Names have power, so it makes sense that young humans, who are generally in search of both identity and some amount of power over their own lives, will often try to exert some control over their own names.

Greene says it is not difficult to acknowledge a student’s name preference:

Did I agree with all of them? No more than I agreed with some of my students’ questionable fashion choices. But it cost me nothing to honor these preferences, to give students that small measure of control over their own identities. It was a small thing for me, but a thing that helped make my classroom a safe, welcoming space where we could get on with the work of learning to be better at reading, writing, speaking and listening.

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Kamala Harris on Education

Tennessee’s Voucher Wars

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Speaking Out on Tennessee’s Abortion Ban

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Are Cell Phone Bans on the Way?

New policy trend seeks to limit cell phones at school

Peter Greene explores the trend toward banning cell phone use at schools – and points out the pros and cons of such a policy:

Just a couple of decades ago, teachers at conferences heard that smartphones were the education tool of the future. Now it appears that the national mood is to take broad steps to keep those devices out of classrooms.

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Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

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Who Will Teach?

Tennessee teacher shortage persists as pay remains low

While current reports suggest that the shortage of teachers in Tennessee is improving a bit, the reality is a significant number of classrooms will start the year without a full-time, permanent teacher.

Again.

NewsChannel5 reports on this year’s situation:

Tennessee is still facing a teacher shortage.

That means some classrooms may not have a teacher to start the school year. As of the middle of July, 875 positions still haven’t been filled.

In 2022, I tracked 1,000 teacher jobs still open. That number has decreased this year.

Pay increases seem to be helping. However, it should be noted the state can and should do more.

It’d be interesting to see what would happen if Tennessee moved starting teacher pay to $60,000 – a number we could afford and which would put the state at among the highest in teacher pay in the Southeast.

Teacher Shortage Crisis Continues

Tennessee policymakers have chosen instead to invest $500 million in a new Tennessee Titans stadium and to give out billions in corporate tax breaks.

In fact, before Bill Lee leaves office, his spending priorities could very well create a budget deficit.

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The Free Lunch Guy

Harris makes a policy statement with VP pick

Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

Walz is a former teacher, union member, and solid progressive.

And in Minnesota, he signed a law making school breakfast and lunch free for every kid, every day.

This may seem amazing to people in Tennessee. Here, lawmakers and Gov. Lee are focused on giving $500 million to the Tennessee Titans, privatizing state roads, and offering $1.6 billion in corporate tax giveaways.

While proposals to make school meals free for all kids in Tennessee have been presented – by both Democrats and at least one Republican – they have consistently been shot down.

Lunchroom Bullies

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Tennessee’s School Lunch Problem

Titans, big corporations get cash, kids get left behind

Tennessee has a school lunch problem.

Specifically, while the state has provided a half billion to the Tennessee Titans for a new stadium and offered $1.6 billion in tax breaks to big corporations (many from out of state), the state still does not provide free school meals to all kids.

For less than one third of the cost of funding corporate tax breaks and paying for a stadium for the privately-owned Titans, Tennessee could feed breakfast and lunch for free to every kid in school every day.

Instead, families in the state are saddled with school lunch debt.

According to a recent article in Salon, students in K-12 public schools in Tennessee owe a total of more than $50 million in school lunch debt.

And, I wrote recently about how school lunch payment processors only make this problem worse:

These processors often charge fees to process payments – meaning the price of school meals goes up when using them. Yet, many families have no option – a single vendor typically operates the payment system for a district.

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The President and Education Policy

A preview of a potential Harris Presidency

Kamala Harris’s bid for the White House offers an opportunity to examine the President’s impact on education policy.

While the federal government and President don’t directly dictate education policy (this is primarily a state and local function), an Administration can certainly set a tone and some parameters.

And, certainly, broad policies like No Child Left Behind had impacts felt at the school level.

Joe Biden has been a friend to public education, and Kamala Harris would likely not deviate from that.

A look at her record reveals someone who has been a supporter of public education and public school educators.

Harris’ very first speech on the US Senate floor was in opposition to the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Trump’s Secretary of Education, shredding her for an utter lack of qualifications and experience.

She’s also called for a significant pay hike for teachers. This echoes the call by Sen. Bernie Sanders to make the minimum starting pay for all teachers $60,000.

While the federal government does not set state and local pay scales for teachers, federal funding could be distributed in such a way as to effectively give teachers a raise.

Moreover, when the message coming from the White House is “boost teacher pay and invest in schools,” state policymakers are more likely to move in that direction – especially in states where the leadership is of the same party as the President.

In her first week as a candidate, Harris addressed the American Federation of Teachers and argued in favor of increased teacher pay and measures to reduce the risk of gun violence at schools.

Should she become President, her record suggests she would stand with public schools and support teachers.

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Potential VP’S VP

Josh Shapiro has a voucher problem

With some reports indicating that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is on the short list to become Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, a key problem is emerging for Shapiro: School vouchers.

Public education advocates have taken notice of Shapiro’s open support of using public money to fund unaccountable private schools.

Shapiro is often referred to as a moderate in his party, and it strikes me that a Democrat can earn the “moderate” label simply by selling out public schools and supporting privatization schemes like charter schools or vouchers.

It appears Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is now on the shortlist as well. Walz is a staunch supporter of public schools and signed a law ensuring free school meals for all kids in Minnesota schools.

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Vaccine Lettuce and Vouchers

Cepicky protects produce, plunders public schools

One of the General Assembly’s top advocates for taking public school funds and sending them to unaccountable private schools is also the author of legislation that prohibits the government from injecting produce with vaccines.

If that sounds strange, it is.

Rep. Scott Cepicky never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t try to turn into law.

TennBeat has more on the produce protector:

Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) is either infamous or famous. His descriptor depends on who you ask. Nonetheless he’s known. During Tennessee’s last legislative session, he led the failed vanguard for school vouchers and passed a law to regulate vaccine lettuce.

He earned major media attention for both bills. In an audio recording leaked to News Channel 5, Cepicky said the state should “throw the whole freaking (school) system in the trash,” and his vaccine lettuce legislation made a cameo on Jimmy Kimmell.

Here’s the deal: Vouchers are expensive and don’t help kids.

That hasn’t stopped Bill Lee and his legislative allies (like lettuce-loving Cepicky) from setting aside some $140 million to start the process of a universal voucher program in the state.

Vouchers vs. Teachers
Photo by Kenan Kitchen via Unsplash