Do Teachers Belong In Politics?

[WmChamberlain]

Something I have been thinking about lately is our (teachers) lack of response from our state or national representatives. When the two most important issues addressed by these two groups are funding and high stakes testing we are obviously under-represented. It seems to me the only way we may get education reform into the national consciousness is to get much better organized.

What if we formed a political party that focuses solely on education reform? I'm not thinking about necessarily making a push for the presidency, just getting out message out. What do you think?

[Addie Gaines]

I think that is a good idea. I get that from the School Administrators Coalition, but most teachers don't have access to that information. Speaking of updates, does anyone know what the legislature did about summer school?

[Annie Palmer]

Steve - Yes, you should post them here. I think more educators would be involved in they were aware of what our politicians are doing. Educating ourselves in the first step.

[Steve J. Moore]

I think voicing our opinions about education is a vital step towards action. Every week (or more often) I get a finance update from my super about the current bills on the MO floor of the House and Senate--actually I should post some of that here...

[Annie Palmer]

Yes, yes, yes...teachers need to get more involved. I'm not sure what I think about the political party idea and its effectiveness, but getting more organized, YES! There is an organized Facebook group that keeps educators across the country very informed. It's called Conservative Teachers of America if you're interested in joining. My husband is one of the administrators. He's a teacher in the NKC District.

Another idea is for us to simply get involved in the groups that are out there and get our message pushed through groups that already exist. An example is the Clay County Pachyderm Club. My husband and I are members of that, which gives us an opportunity to share our message in a very positive environment.

[Addie Gaines]

While I strongly agree that we need education reform, when it comes to politics, I think educators have all sorts of views about other issues as well. I think that since there are so many issues on the political scene in addition to education I think it would be hard to have a party that focused solely on educational issues. I think that as educators, we do need to be more politically active and educate our politicians about educational issues so that they can make better decisions. Also, some retired educators run for offices. They can bring a needed "insider" viewpoint to the table.

[Steve J. Moore]

This is an interesting question William, thanks for posting it. I'm going to have to mull this one over...