Saturday, November 13, 2021

Professional Notes

I know of teachers (en masse, not individuals) who are looking to retire early or just quit because school board politics or CRT crazy people or book burners. General bad times for schools, which have already been through the wringer. Along with nurses, teachers were on the front lines during Covid lockdowns, but the nurses got all the sympathetic coverage.

Needless to say, this is not going to improve public education for the foreseeable future. Which in some areas will effect property values, which is what it will take to actually make normal people pay attention (sadly). But by then the damage is done. Offering bounties for charging teachers with violating state laws like this will just make them quit faster. The American paradox of denigrating teachers while relying on quality schools to build our communities won’t change anytime soon. And speaking of paradox: 
Shouldn’t journalists “journey”? I mean other than popping up in diners every time there’s a national election (or more likely only every four years). How many average voters go to diners anyway?

AGAIN:  Blogger won't let me comment, so I'm posting a response here to a comment below.  Ain't it a bitch?

The governor of NH was on MTP prattling on about governors being closer to the people and having to answer more directly to the people than "politiicians" in D.C. (the old song and dance) and I kept thinking:  yeah, and you signed a law that screws over every teachers in New Hampshire.  How many of them have the money and time to face a lawsuit* that could get that bill thrown out because of the First Amendment (which it so clearly violates)?  And all such victories are pyhrric, because the teacher who wins that case loses a career.

Yeah, asshole, you're "close to the people."  Wait'll the schools of NH are so dumbed down nobody can teach anything.  The people will be close to you with torches and pitchforks.

It seems to be coming to much of the country; NH just seems to be in the vanguard of making it happen even faster.

A lawsuit that will come not because the teacher is "guilty," but because the definition of CRT is so indeterminate and vague you can't really take away someone's livelihood for it.  It's, pardon the comparison, a New England witch hunt, where you're free to describe all manner of behavior as that which the new law outlaws.  Except the law doesn't work like that, except you're a teacher, you don't have the coin to hire a lawyer or go without pay even if the ACLU represents you; and, as I say, you'll never work again.  And frankly, teaching ain't worth it under those conditions.

Good times are comin'; but they're sure comin' slow.
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1 comment:

  1. rustypickup11:15 AM

    The state government of NH has lost its mind. My worry is it is actually representative of the majority of the population. The Republicans are hostile to public education, promoting one of the broadest voucher programs in the country. I too wonder when it will dawn on people that housing values, for better or worse, and tightly tied to quality of the public schools. Sununu, the governor, promotes himself as a moderate Republican but is heavily in favor of "school choice” and it's not surprising he his direction the NH department of education to take steps as these. He is almost guaranteed to win reelection so it will only get worse. Five and a half years and our youngest will be off to college. Hopefully it takes more than that to completely destroy public education. (I have a college friend that is quiting teaching the end of this year. She has had enough. It's not just boomers calling it done.)

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