“You teachers need to get back to playing beanbag with your boys and girls and leave the political hardball to us. Don’t trouble your pretty little educator heads with things you don’t understand.”
That’s the mantra Republicans are directing at teachers: “Don’t get political.”
“You said you wanted a raise,” teachers are being told. “Well, we gave you one. You’re welcome. But some of your leaders won’t take ‘Yes’ for an answer. They don’t care about you. They just want to make this political.”
Republicans have been using public education as a political punching bag for years so they can rationalize underfunding the education of 80 percent of our children who attend public schools while they funnel ever more money to private school vouchers. So it’s only natural, they want teachers to take their raises and go home before they cause any more trouble.
“You’re putting an initiative on the ballot to tax the rich? Bad move. If you get partisan, you’ll lose public support.”
That’s coming from a party whose elected officials signed “No New Taxes” pledges and a governor who promises to cut taxes every legislative session. They fill their campaign war chests with contributions from corporations, Arizona’s wealthy elite and, of course, the Koch brothers network. The money comes with the understanding that taxes on the rich will continue their downward slide. Naturally they hope teachers will acknowledge a simple fact of life: When the rich get richer and teachers make subsistence wages, that’s just the price of Freedom.
Politics ain’t beanbag. That’s why Republicans hope teachers will start playing beanbag again. They should go back to their earlier state of powerlessness, where they hold meetings to air their grievances among themselves and write sincere letters to newspapers and their state representatives about the importance of education funding. The ruling party wants to nip the groundswell of educator activism in the bud. If Arizona’s 50,000 public school teachers and an equal number of support staff join forces with parents of school-age children and other supporters of public education, if they circulate the “Invest in Education Act” petitions, knock on doors, talk to their friends, get out to vote for candidates who promise to support full funding for public education, conservative control of Arizona could be in jeopardy.
A “Politics Ain’t Beanbag” Literary/Journalistic Aside: The phrase “Politics ain’t beanbag” was coined by Finley Peter Dunne, a Chicago humorist and syndicated columnist. It was in an 1895 column, coming from the mouth of Mr. Dooley, a character Dunne created. With a few minor changes, the longer quote could come from a local Republican politician, the Chamber of Commerce or your local conservative columnist.
“Sure, politics ain’t bean-bag,” said Dooley. “‘Tis a man’s game, an’ women, childer, cripples an’ prohybitionists ‘d do well to keep out iv it.”
To which an Arizona Republican would add, “Teachers should keep out iv it as well.”
This article appears in May 10-16, 2018.
There was a genuine, broad, bi-partisan groundswell of concern during the teacher walkouts, and the walkouts received the public support they deserved. It is sad to see the political manipulators now feeding teachers involved in the “movement” rigid, politicized lines to parrot when talking to the public. Those who are trying to capitalize on and pervert genuine concern for teachers and students and turn it into the political will to push a specific partisan agenda and flip the governorship are making a big mistake.
Currently, the biggest obstacle in Southern Arizona to the delivery of quality education, to supporting adequate professionalization of the teaching labor force, and to just wages for labor would seem to be the largest local district’s use of long term subs to staff classrooms that should have permanent, fully credentialed teachers and the district’s ongoing use of ESI as a manager of outsourced, underpaid, under-professionalized substitute teacher labor. For the origin of the outsourcing, see this article:
http://tucson.com/news/local/education/tusd-moves-to-outsource-its-substitute-teachers/article_a6cf8196-558b-5d26-a5bc-0e45a54345cc.html
For some of the district’s more recent history with ESI, see the advocacy group CARE’s letter re-posted on 5/13/18 on the TUSD Kids First Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/TUSDKidsFirst/
All three problems in the largest district in Southern Arizona could potentially be addressed simultaneously by raising Step 1 classroom teacher salaries enough to staff classrooms currently covered by long term subs with permanent, fully credentialed teachers. Is this what the local politicos are mobilizing and politicizing teachers and media pundits to do?
Apparently not.
http://tucson.com/news/local/at-tusd-teachers-won-t-get-the-whole-raise-redfored/article_7a53ce72-9385-500e-909f-5b565415d859.html
http://tucson.com/news/local/steller-column-money-meant-for-arizona-teachers-can-fairly-go/article_b3da3e78-8820-5a3b-b547-29be104cc15d.html
Ironically, David, it seems it’s your faction that is relying on teachers to passively receive direction and not analyze conditions in local schools and how the new funds can best be used to improve the quality of services delivered to the greatest number of students. They want teachers to “get political,” but in the right direction and aimed at the right target, i.e. they want them to be politicized, parroting the local machine’s goals and priorities.
Sad. The bi-partisan energy that was marshaled to improve conditions IN THE CLASSROOMS should not be channelled in this way into a giant, politicized distraction from what the near-term reform goals and funding targets should be in the largest district in Pima County, serving close to 50,000 students.
It is way past time for the teachers to teach. It wouldn’t hurt if their conscience drove them to honor the contract they signed. Don’t kid yourself about public support. They are fleeing the public schools.
Some people seem to regard TUSD as a “jobs for cronies” program and not as an educational institution. Whenever funds are granted, including deseg funds, including REDforED funds, they ask themselves not “How can we use these funds to improve education for the students?” but “How can we apply these funds to best reward our cronies (which will always include people in jobs outside the classroom) and to further indoctrinate and strengthen our political network?”
Not all public school systems work this way, but the largest school system in Southern Arizona does. The way it operates decade after decade continues to damage our community, our economy, and the prospects of students locked into TUSD schools outside privileged enclaves like Sam Hughes, Fruchthendler, and Sabino.
Will never vote for an AZ politician who does not support school choice policy. Public funds meant for EDUCATION should not be locked into a malfunctioning politicized mess like TUSD.
Bingo! There is the truth. Embrace it and you will be set free.
Religion, and politics , are one in the same. They should both be banned from our public school system. Let the parents decide what type of indoctrination they feel is best for their household.