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Capitol Comment
by brock gregg, atpe governmental relations director
The seven dirtiest words:
Educators who show up at the polls
If ever there were an iconoclastic and controversial figure, it was George Carlin. The comedian’s “seven dirty words” routine was at the center of the Supreme Court case that defined the limits of free speech on the airwaves. A hero to some and a villain to others, Carlin, who passed away in June, spent much of his career pointing out the hypocrisy of modern-day politics and the mainstream media.
Carlin once said: “There’s no present. There’s only the immediate future and the recent past.” This observation seems particularly relevant to me as we plan for a new school year—one that includes a general election and a legislative session.
The recent past
In the recent past, the education community has endured a lot of controversy and criticism, some justified and some unjustified, as policymakers, testing companies and anti-government forces have continued to steer education into the world of
“data-driven educational outcomes,” where test scores overshadow everything.
Certainly, the standards and accountability movement has produced some positive changes. The availability of test scores and disaggregated data has given us new ways to measure and refine educational methods and raise attainment standards for our students to help them compete globally. That’s why ATPE has consistently supported efforts to increase standards for students, including the integration
of college-readiness standards into the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
However, ATPE believes that in order for education reform to stay on a positive track, standards systems must include multiple measures of student proficiency, be sufficiently funded and be based on educator input. (A positive development: The Joint Select Committee on Public School Accountability seems to be making strides toward a system that would rely on multiple measures of student achievement and be less punitive in nature.)
Also in our recent past, as a byproduct of various “reform” movements, we have spent an inordinate amount of time butting heads with elected officials at all levels of government, who seem to have augmented their hatred of taxes and desire to privatize all things publicly funded with attacks on public schools and especially education professionals. There is a difference between constructive criticism and destructive ridicule, and that line has been crossed too many times.
The very recent past
Which brings us to the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). How many Texans know that it is SBOE, not school districts, that determines the public school curriculum? How many people—educators included—know that they have a vote every four years to decide who represents their students’ interests on this board? The answer:
not enough.
During the recent adoption of the English/Language Arts/Reading (ELAR) TEKS (see your Summer 2008 ATPE News for more on this issue), a faction of the board largely ignored the experience and knowledge of ELAR professionals who had spent two years preparing a draft curriculum. This faction of board members (none of whom are educators) believes that current research and standards emphasizing comprehension and critical thinking should be replaced by traditional rote-memorization skills, grammar instruction and emphasis on measurable (i.e., testable) objectives.
Although ATPE disagrees with board members’ decision to reject the input of professional educators, it is certainly their prerogative as elected officials to make their own decisions based on whatever source they choose. However, the electorate’s tolerance of tacky behavior among some SBOE members continues to amaze. Here are quotes from a couple
of the more vocal board members:
- “If you are mean, lie or cheat, you deserve a spanking,” wrote SBOE member Ken Mercer in an op-ed published in the San Antonio Express-News. Mercer represents the San Antonio area (District 5). “That is what happened to the ‘coalition lobby’ [coalition of ELAR teachers] at the May State Board of Education meeting.”
- “This critical thinking stuff is gobbledygook,” said SBOE Vice Chairman David Bradley, who represents the Beaumont area (District 7), in an interview with Houston Chronicle columnist Lisa Falkenberg. In a San Antonio Express-News article about the upcoming Science TEKS revision, Bradley was also quoted as saying: “I don’t think this will happen again because they [the coalition] got spanked. Science teachers should work with the board on their process and not try to do an end run around this elected body and steal the process.”
One has to wonder if parents are paying attention to this kind of tomfoolery. It is important for you to know that a number of SBOE members do support teachers and also support having a process that is not dominated by acrimony. Unfortunately, however, these board members are not in the majority for the first time in recent history.
The immediate future
I don’t know about you, but when someone calls me a liar and a cheat, I begin to think about ways to prove them wrong—in a professional way, of course. With elected officials, the best way to make your case is at the polls. Four SBOE members face contested elections this November.
Please take the time to find out which SBOE members voted with teachers, and please take the time to spread the word about the importance of voting in “down-ballot races.” Those are the ones below the presidential races, and for public education, the state legislative and SBOE races are of particular importance.
ATPE does not endorse candidates. Our philosophy is that ATPE should provide information about candidates’ education stance so that individual members have the tools they need to make their own informed decisions about which candidates to support. To that end, ATPE will provide members with fliers detailing the education platforms of legislative candidates in contested elections. Also, we want to talk to any member seeking to learn more about becoming politically involved. Just call ATPE Governmental Relations at (800) 777-ATPE.
In a nod to Mr. Carlin, let me conclude by saying this: The seven dirtiest words to the anti-public schools crowd are “educators who show up at the polls.” Let’s show them how right they are in November.
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