Writing in his blog, ‘Caveat Lector’, Mark Evans of the TucsonCitizen.org has come out against Prop 204, the continuation of the 1 cent tax surcharge meant to assist funding for education in Arizona. 1) Speaking from a purely economic viewpoint he argues persuasively against the measure saying that it is the wrong approach to curing the woes of educational funding in Arizona because it ties the hands of the state legislature and forces them to fund education when our economy is weak. He argues that they need the discretionary freedom to decide where funding will be directed. In his defense, let me add that Mr. Evans is not against funding education, but he would rather the populace simply vote out the current crop of lawmakers and elect ones that will adequately fund education in our state.

I’m sorry Mark but I have to disagree with you on several counts.

First, if you had spent every working day in our schools over the last few years you would see the damage that is being enacted upon our educators and the students of our schools.

Let me give an example. For the last two years our school’s redoubtable attendance clerk has worked part-time in our library so children can check out books. She performed admirably but use of the library was severely limited. This year I lauded the reopening of the school year because our library had an actual librarian in it. True, the library is only open half-time because we have to share that person with another school but at least we are halfway back to where we once were.

What’s even more damaging in this situation is that by adopting the Common Core we have basically put teachers back at square one, or very close to it in creating their curricular materials. The place that is best able to support teachers in this is . . . you guessed it, the library. A recent article by Catherine Gewertz focuses on that exact issue. 2) A library that is only open half-time or worse, shuttered is not going to be as much help to educational growth.

Another reason I disagree with your post is that we have no guarantee that any of these legislators will be voted out. Getting rid of an incumbent has become nearly impossible in our current political system. To sit by and watch them slowly choke the life out of my profession because of their malfeasance without doing anything about it is unacceptable. This is one of the few ways we have to fight back.

When you argue against tying the hands of our legislature I reply that tying their hands is only the beginning of what I would have done to them for their crimes against the children of Arizona. Their attack against public education notwithstanding they have seriously damaged all education services in our state. It is no wonder no major business wants to relocate here.

Finally, because I am a career professional educator I also recognize that my colleagues have taken on more and more responsibilities and duties each year. Now comes the Common Core, an almost entirely new curriculum that will demand more resources to be able to adequately employ it in the classroom. While I am in favor of national standards if they are implemented properly, Rick Hess writing in his blog reports very little correlation between the new standards and typical existing curricular material. 3) Teachers, already stressed in their workplace and by attitudes exacerbated by political posturing are reeling at yet another strike at their professionalism and competency. Our schools have suffered through enough unfunded mandates in the last decade with NCLB and ESEA. The least we can do is try and provide a small increase in resources to assist this transition.

These are just a few reasons why this ReTired Teacher will be voting ‘yes’ on 204.

1) http://tucsoncitizen.com/mark-evans/archives/739

2) http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/09/12/03librarians_ep.h32.html

3) http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2011/06/how_big_a_change_are_the_common_core_standards.html

The Classroom Site Fund was passed in 1998 to try and make Arizona more attractive to teachers, young and old. It provided for a raise in sales tax to increase compensation to teachers in the state. This was supposed to help keep our best teachers and bring more good teachers to Arizona.

Except Arizona does not want good teachers to come to this state.

What Arizona wants is to get out of the business of educating the public. And they are not that keen on higher education either. At least that is the conclusion you must draw if you look at the intent behind many of the proposals of our “Less” – gislature.

In Arizona we believe that education is for those who can afford it and the rest don’t need it. While “readin’, ritin’ an’ ‘rithmetic” might be alright for some, if they can pay for it, in Arizona we see such nonsense for most of our citizens as fluff and waste.

Candidate Rick Santorum has already elucidated for us the direction that education must ultimately lead.

In a Santorum postulated world, education equates with liberalism, socialism and inherent danger to the rights of those 1% who truly deserve to decide for America what course to the future we will plot. Schools promote a desire for further education. Like a gateway drug, further education eventually leads to an addiction to knowledge which can only end badly. These erudition addicts invariably attend a college or university, expecting greater and greater highs of wisdom and ultimately; they become a brainy drain upon society, trapped in a morass of research and learning, snobbish intellectuals all funded on the public dole.

Yes, Rick, we must stamp out the plague that is learning.

That was why I was so surprised when our GoverNOr Brewer (no pun intended) pointed her well-used finger in the direction of Ex-Governor Romney. Santorum seemed a perfect fit for Arizona Republicans. Why would she choose Romney? Then,thinking about it, it became obvious to even the most casual observer: Mitt has more money.

Don’t get me wrong, I like money, such as it is. After all I am a teacher and we all know how financially driven they are. Hence the reason I wasn’t caught off-guard by the new revenue idea presented in our legislature. Under this brilliant plan, all students in Arizona’s colleges, other than those on full-ride scholarships, should pay at least $2000 in tuition every year. As the parents of three children currently attending college I can’t begin to tell you how excited this idea made us, though I am sure some of you can guess.

And the timing couldn’t have been better, the US Census Bureau just announced that college graduation for students getting a baccalaureate is at an all-time high.(2) By the way, Governor Brewer would like them to rebate $2000 for each year they attended school in Arizona. They can make the check out to the Huppenthal for Governor, Super Pac committee.

So, Ms. Dabney, as they say, the beat, and the beating, goes on.

1 http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/tucson-must-offer-competitive-wages-to-retain-best-brightest/article

2 http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/cb12-33.html

It went on to say that a further caveat was that placement in these classes was unwise because many of them were staffed by substitute teachers. The district has been unable to fill many special education teaching positions with qualified individuals. I am not denigrating the efforts of the substitutes, I am merely restating the problem the special education department leaders themselves identified.

Despite actively recruiting many “hard-to-fill” teaching positions on a national scale, district efforts have fallen short of their goals in the area of special education.

Why? Why wouldn’t educators who have focused their careers on special education want to teach in Arizona?

You know I’m going to tell you.

I’ve said here before that special education is a rigorous and demanding profession but there are those committed individuals who have made it their life’s work. When I say committed I am not implying some form of potential mental institutionalization for people who chose to teach special education. I am merely citing their fervor.

If these teachers are so devoted and invested in their field, why aren’t more of them packing their bags and heading west?

Implicit in the question is the answer: it is because they aren’t crazy. Who would want to come to teach in Arizona? Let’s compare the pros and cons: pro — a great climate, well, outdoors at least.

I have to take a deep breath before I venture into the realm of CONS.

A legislature that vilifies educators and schools. An entire state government devoted to getting out of the business of public education. A state that chooses to promote profiling of minorities, importing felons from other states to privately run prisons and payday loans as a growth industries. Oh and I almost forgot, those special education teachers can carry unlicensed concealed weapons like everyone else in the state.

In one hundred years Arizona has stepped back two hundred.

Why aren’t they rushing to teach here? That was irony.