Lessons Learned, Part 1

{Published in the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune January 2, 2011 }

I’ve often wished that I was blessed with the so-called “gift of gab.”

 It has always been difficult for me to engage someone in idle conversation much less a healthy discussion on a topic as important as education. Writing, on the other hand, has served me well. For some reason it is easier for me to get thoughts from my brain to the tips of my fingers than from my brain to the tip of my tongue. Besides, it takes me weeks to compose one of these columns, and I’ve never found anyone patient enough to converse with me for that long.

Writing also let me earn a pretty good living. I was a Technical Writer for seven years. That was a terrific gig. I got paid for doing something I love, worked mostly at home, traveled occasionally, and, on the side I could work on that “Great American Novel.”  Alas, the tech writing business eventually dried up and the great novel turned out not so much.  So, the writing years served as my transition years into teaching.

Despite my advanced age, I have been a teacher for only nine years. Prior to teaching, I performed my military duty and then spent over 20 years in the corporate world; stories for another time. The last nine years have been a roller coaster ride. My rookie year as a teacher went relatively (emphasis on relatively) smoothly, but my second year was a disaster.  I nearly quit teaching and teaching nearly quit me; also a story for another time. Since then, I’ve taken it one year at a time, tried to learn from my mistakes, and, a few years ago, received a Teacher of the Year award. Go figure.

There are many reasons for the ups and downs of my teaching career, but two mistakes that I made really stand out as lessons learned. First, I entered the teaching profession with the notion, that many people have, that teaching is an “easy” job. Second, I thought my “real-world” corporate experience would serve me well in the classroom. Boy was I wrong on both counts.

 I could easily write an entire column on each of these lessons … so I think I will. This month I’ll discuss the “easy” teaching profession. And next month I’ll do a number on the “corporate reformers” who want to help us “fix” our schools.

Politicians have made numerous attempts to de-professionalize the teaching profession by ending teacher certification. Their primary argument for this has been “anyone can be a teacher.” In a way, I agree them. Anyone can be a bad teacher.

It is easy to be a bad teacher. What makes a bad teacher is not caring whether students learn. It is easy to make assignments from a book or pass out a worksheet, prop your feet up and wait for the bell to ring. Yes, there are teachers like that, but they are the 1% and, fortunately, they don’t last very long.

It is not easy to be a good teacher, but I am proud to say that they are the 99%. I am privileged this year to work with a very impressive and dedicated team of teachers who teach freshman Algebra. This is not an easy subject to teach. These teachers get to work early and leave late. They meet weekly to collaborate on lessons. During our “duty-free” lunch, they compare notes and make adjustments to daily lessons. They tutor students before and after school. They go home exhausted, but stay up late grading papers. Parts of their weekends are spent preparing for the next week.

But, what impresses me most about these teachers is that they haven’t given up. Their classroom sizes have nearly doubled and they face an uncertain future (the real cuts begin next year), and yet they keep on trying. Also, they haven’t succumbed to the “teach the test” mentality. Even though they are the first group of teachers whose students face TAKS’ demon spawn, the dreaded STAAR test, they have continued to teach their subjects to the best of their abilities. Why? Because, they genuinely care about their student’s learning.

So why do the myths against teachers prevail? Because many people drink the Kool-Aid.

Mixed by politicians and pundits, this potion has been designed to poison minds against teachers and public education. They have administered it in ever increasing doses for decades until the general public has come to believe that teachers and schools are responsible for the ills of society. Their goal is to undermine public schools to justify the transfer of your tax dollars into their pockets.

As a teacher, I have been accused of self-interest in writing these articles. I can live with that. Personally, I think teachers do themselves and their students a disservice by not speaking out more. But if you are the parent or grandparent (as I am) of school age children, ask yourself to whom you want to entrust their educations: teachers or politicians? I am around teachers literally 24/7, and there is no group of people I would trust more with my grandchildren.

I would love to hear your comments. I have received some nice feedback and had some lively conversations along the way. (Shout out to Wade – I never agreed with you, but I enjoyed the debate.) All of my previous columns and blogs are at http://onetexasteacher.blogspot.com/ and I have a Facebook page called One Texas Teacher. If you’d like to debate the plight of public education, please drop by.

In the meantime, I’ll keep writing.

Happy Tuesday!

{Published in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune 12/06/11)

I’m going to stray from my usual monthly essay on education to take this opportunity to wish everyone Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving has just passed. Thanksgiving is my personal favorite holiday because it has been set aside for no other reason than to just be grateful. What a great reason for a holiday! Despite all of the problems we face in this country (and I, for one, think we face many) we still have so much to be grateful for.

Thanksgiving is also the most relaxing holiday. It is free from the stress and commercialism of Christmas and it lacks the bitter sweetness of New Year’s Day which usually marks the end of the holidays. Besides gratitude, Thanksgiving at my house is also dedicated to family (love those grand-daughters), food (yes I like to cook), and football (Gig ‘em Aggies! Go Cowboys!). It doesn’t get any better than that.

Traditionally, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of what is euphemistically called the Holiday Season. I suppose it is a sign of our times that calling this the Holiday Season, or wishing someone ”Happy Holidays” gives a few people heartburn. Last year the student council of my high school put a poster in the school lobby proclaiming “Happy Holidays!” I happened to overhear several teachers grouse about the “political correctness” of the poster. Now I am a writer, not a debater, so I kept my mouth shut. But at that moment I wanted to paraphrase the immortal words of Rodney King and shout out, “People can’t we all just lighten up?” I have never understood how wishing someone happiness, of any kind, could be considered offensive.

My column is published on Tuesday, so if you are reading this it must be Tuesday. If someone were to pass me today and say “Happy Tuesday,” I know I would automatically feel a little bit better. As a matter of fact I would like to declare today as Happy Tuesday. We already have “So happy its Thursday” and “Thank God it’s Friday.” Why shouldn’t we celebrate Tuesday?  Anytime you pass someone today, wish them a “Happy Tuesday.” I guarantee you will get a smile. A somewhat puzzled smile maybe, but a smile nonetheless.

I’m aware that some people believe that the phrase “Happy Holidays” is an attack on Christmas and an assault on their faith. To my knowledge this is a relatively recent phenomenon. I am in my 60^th year, and somehow my faith has endured six decades of vicious happiness wishes. I didn’t even know I was under attack, so my faith must have prevailed because I have always given as good as I have received.

Wishing someone happiness, for any reason, in any season, is good. Knowing that someone cares enough to wish happiness upon you can’t help but brighten your day. I know it does mine. Take the time to wish someone happiness today.  I believe this is what The Reason For The Season would want us to do.

In this month’s column I have decided to follow my own advice and “lighten up.” This does not mean my passion for advocating for Texas public schools has abated in the least. The political campaign season is starting soon with the future of education on the line. I believe it will start out as a cold and bitter campaign and end with high heat and humility. So, after a pause for the holidays, I will return next month as outspoken as ever for public education.

But now is a time for rest, reflection, gratitude, and happiness. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays. Merry Christmas to all, Happy New Year, and oh, by the way… Happy Tuesday.

It's not easy being green

{Published in the Stephenville (Texas) Empire Tribune, November 1, 2011}

It’s time to admit that I’m a member of the Democratic Party. There…I said it and I feel much better. The three or four people who read my column are probably saying, “I’m not surprised.”  Others would probably be shocked to think that right here in the middle of Tea Bag land there exists even one member of that “other” party. Still others may be apoplectic over the fact that someone would mention the D-word, much less admit to being a D-word.

It is complicated being a Democrat. The strength of the Democratic Party is its diversity. We Democrats come in all shapes, sizes, colors and creeds.  Politically we run the gamut from liberal to conservative. We look out for the little guy. The Democratic Party is the party of inclusion. The weakness of the Democratic Party is its diversity. Wherever you find two Democrats discussing an issue (if you can find two Democrats in Erath County) you’ll hear at least three different opinions. The Democratic Party is the party of confusion.

To simply say I’m a Democrat does not begin to describe my political philosophy. There are many kinds of Democrats. There are your Yellow-Dog (Liberal) Democrats who would "vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for any Republican." Then there are your Blue-Dog (Conservative) Democrats. These Democrats are more bipartisan and even occasionally cross over and vote Republican. I used to be a Blue Dog Democrat.  I voted for Ronald Reagan …twice. I haven’t voted for a Republican since, but, then again, there hasn’t been a Republican like Ronald Reagan since.

 In recent years, I’ve moved a little to the left, politically, somewhere between a Blue and Yellow Dog. If you mix blue and yellow you get green, so I guess that makes me a Green Dog Democrat. I thought I was very clever coming up with the term Green Dog, but when I googled it I got 1.6 million hits. I even found reference to Orange-Dog Democrats. I have no idea what they’re about, but we Democrats certainly are a colorful bunch of curs. Regardless of my Democratic colors, Tea Baggers will always consider me a bugged-eyed, frothing-at-the-mouth liberal. I’m not, but that’s okay. If they want to hang a liberal sign around my neck, I’ll wear it proudly.

I’ve rambled on for four paragraphs now and haven’t yet begun to talk about my usual topic: education. What does my being a Democrat have to do with education? In a word… nothing. Education should not be a partisan issue. It doesn’t matter if you are conservative or liberal, or a Republican or Democrat (of any color), education is an issue we should all agree on. The future of our state depends on a first class public education system.

Many fellow Texans seem to agree. A survey, conducted in July by the non-partisan group The Texas Poll, found that 90% of Texans agree that public schools need more funding from the state. This number is up from 88% from a similar survey conducted a year ago. The same survey found that 85% of Texans say that the Legislature did not make education a priority in their last session. (Please excuse my lack of professionalism, while I take a moment to insert the word “Duh!” at this point.) The survey also found the 75% of Texans say that Lawmakers should not have cut funding to public education at all.

Given that Texas is 50-60% Republican, I’d say that the Texas Poll survey supports my assertion that support for public education crosses all party and ideological boundaries.

 I have admitted to being a Democrat, at the risk of great public scorn, to make a point. If there was one good, pro-education, Republican candidate out there, I would vote for him or her in a New York minute. Unfortunately, I don’t see one; certainly not our two current legislators. Both our State Senator and Representative voted to cut $5.4 from public schools and also voted away many teachers’ rights. They say they were being “fiscally responsible,” and had to cut school funding to cover a $27 billion dollar deficit. It’s a lie.

Both our lawmakers helped create this massive deficit (they blame it on the economy; another lie) so that they would have an excuse to cut school funding. Why do they want to cut school funding? Money. I have said it many times before, the name of the game is privatization. Public schools have been set up to fail so that lawmaker can funnel public funds to private schools to line private pockets. (By the way, a charter school is just a private school on the public dole.)

Unfortunately, the outlook is bleak. If Republicans are running the show in the next legislature, the devastation to public schools will be catastrophic. It only there were a few good Democrats to stand against them. Hmmmmmm.

Crunching the Numbers

(Published in the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune October 4, 2011)

I am a math teacher. Math is an important subject and I enjoy teaching it, but I probably have the heart and soul of an English teacher. I love to read and write. I read everything I can get my hands on, and my idea of a fun evening is curling up with a warm laptop to write an essay. But maybe it’s my love of readin’ and writin’ that’s been interfering with my ‘rithmetic. Lately, I’ve had trouble making certain numbers add up.

Take the number 15 for example; it’s a nice number. The Texas economy is the 15^th largest economy in the world. That means that if our secesh governor had his way, Texas would briefly be the 15^th wealthiest nation in the world. (I say “briefly” because our economy would quickly collapse from the loss of all those federal dollars.) Despite our high unemployment (8.4%) and budget deficits ($27 billion), Texas is still a great state with vast wealth and resources.

Now take the number 50; it’s not so nice. I can’t reconcile the number 15 with the number 50.Texas ranks 50^th in the United States in spending per student on education. Fiftieth? How can our great state, with all its resources, be dead last in providing education for its children? It doesn’t add up.

Here are some other examples of the number 50.Texas ranks 50^th in the nation in spending per person on all services (education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc.). And we are 50^th in the number of people under age 25 who have high school diplomas.

A few other noteworthy numbers include 47, our ranking on student SAT scores. Texas is 4^th in the nation in teen pregnancy rates. We are number one in the percentage of jobs that pay minimum wage. And, most disturbing of all, we are number one in the growth rate of children in poverty.

Speaking of poverty, did you know that nearly one out of every four Texas children is living below the poverty line? Did you also know that one out of every ten children in Texas is living in extreme poverty? (The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on $1.25 or less per day.) Given our growth rate in poverty, our children won’t have to worry about corporations exporting jobs to third world countries. We are creating one right here in Texas.

There is no cure-all for all of our problems, but education comes close. I can’t think of a better way out of poverty than a good education. With all of our wealth and resources, Texas can, and should be number one in education.
At least we can rejoice that we are number one in football.

P.S. My math students needn’t be concerned. I still find relaxation in working through a nice Calculus problem.

P.P.S. Please visit the Save Texas Schools website (www.savetxschools.org) and sign the pledge to support Texas schools.

Save Texas Schools

“The most effective step a person can take toward a better life is getting a great education.”  - Rick Perry

This past weekend (September 23-24), I attended a conference in Fort Worth put on by the Save Texas Schools coalition. Save Texas Schools (STS) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to constantly reminding our state’s elected officials about the importance of maintaining funding for Texas public education. The group is composed strictly of volunteers. There is no membership application and there are no dues. The only requirement for membership is concern for the future of Texas schools.

Allen Weeks, the founder of STS, strives to insure that the group remains non-partisan.  His well-taken point is that education is not about Republicans and Democrats or liberals and conservatives, it’s about children. As if to accentuate the non-partisan nature of STS, the keynote speaker at the conference was former Republican Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff.

Governor Ratliff, as a Republican, has long been a champion of public education. His address was both energizing and sobering. While he praised the work of the volunteer groups like STS, he bluntly stated that nothing is going to save Texas public education until “the mommas get angry.” He referenced Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and how it was formed by a group of angry mothers fed up with the carnage caused by drunk driving. As a result of their work, we now have some of the toughest drunk driving laws ever.

Public education needs a group like MADD. When the “Momma Grizzlies” get fed up with their children sitting in overcrowded classes listening to overworked teachers then we’ll see action. When the “Momma Grizzlies” have to dip into their pocketbooks to pay for their children to ride the bus, or to participate in extra-curricular activities, then there will be hell to pay.

Unfortunately, I am afraid this may come too late. While schools have already seen the effects of budget cuts, the real cuts don’t kick in until next year. Next year will be a bloodbath. Thousands of teachers will be laid off. Classrooms will be twice as crowded and extra-curricular activities will be cut. But by that time, our state legislature will already be on the road to re-election to do the same thing again.

For now there are groups like Save Texas Schools. I am a member of the state advisory committee for STS. If you want to learn more about the organization you can contact me at william.k.norris@gmail.com, or you can go directly to the STS website at www.savetxschools.org. While visiting the website please sign the petition to support Texas schools. We want 60,000 signatures by December.

Education: the Keystone of Society

{Pubished in the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune 9/6/11}

I’m excited to be one of the new community columnists for the Empire-Tribune. I love to write, and there is certainly plenty to write about these days. I’ve been asked to write about “Mature Living,” but I’m not sure what that means. I know I’m getting older, but I sometimes question my maturity. So, I will write about what I usually write about … education.

By the way, I also write a blog on education at www.yourhometownvoice.com/blogs. Please feel free to drop in and voice your opinion. In my blog, I have practically been called a Liberal Socialist (or Socialist Liberal) for speaking out in defense of public education. I am neither a socialist nor a liberal. I am a dyed-in-the-wool capitalist and my politics are really quite moderate. I favor the smallest possible government and I am deeply concerned about our huge debt. But I also believe that the federal, state, and local governments have a constitutional, and sometimes moral (”What you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me.”), obligation to provide certain essential services to the people for “the good of the people.” If that makes me a Liberal Socialists (or Socialist Liberal), then so be it.

I imagine government as a stone arch holding up society. The stones in the arch represent the essential services of government. Public education is the keystone. A free public education is the centerpiece of any modern society. Without an educated populace, the rich and powerful abuse their wealth and power, the arch crumbles and society collapses.

“I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective to abuses of power.”–Thomas Jefferson

Our esteemed politicians, at the bidding of some very powerful people, have been chipping away at the keystone of education for decades. They have drastically reduced school funding; the 82nd Texas Legislature cut nearly $5.5 billion from public education. They have mounted concerted smear campaigns against educators and, at the same time they have raised the bar on standardized tests to impossibly high levels. (By the year 2014, 100% of students must pass state mandated tests for English and math.) Their hope is that public schools will fail. Their goal is privatization.

As an educator, I follow the writings of Diane Ravitch.  Dr. Ravitch is an educational historian, author, and former Assistant Secretary of Education under George Bush. She recently wrote that we face a "full-fledged, well-funded effort to replace public schools with private management and…a full-throated effort to hold public school teachers accountable for the ills of society.” Additionally she wrote, “What is happening now has no precedent in the past. For the first time in our history, there is a concerted attempt, led by powerful people, to undermine the very idea of public schooling and to de-professionalize [teachers]”.

These powerful people have been dubbed the “billionaire’s boys club.” I like to call them the “über wealthy.” It would be easy to say that they are motivated by greed, but I think they are doing this just because they can. The über wealthy are worse than greedy, they are heartless, calculating and entitled. Crushing public education evokes no more emotion in them than crushing a beetle. The fact that our children will lose a chance at a decent education and chance at a bright future is a matter of great indifference to them.

Privatization of government services is the end game, but privatizing education is not the end of the game. The über wealthy have already started chipping away at other stones in the arch of government.  These include attempts at privatizing entitlements such as Social Security, Medicaire, Medicaid, and Teacher Retirement. (Do you trust Wall Street to manage these funds? I don’t.) Prisons are already being privatized. The US military is heavily privatized; the Department of Defense doles out approximately $300 billion a year to private contractors. (Do you want your security in the hands of Blackwater? I don’t.) Next up are the police departments, fire departments, and so on. I can envision the day when I dial 911 and, instead of hearing “What is your emergency?” I hear “What is your credit card number?”

Eventually, we will have a wholly corporate owned government. This is the opposite of socialism and it is certainly not capitalism, but there is a word for it: corporatism. Corporatism is defined as corporate control of government. Before becoming a teacher, I spent over 20 years in the corporate world. The only things I trust less than big government are big corporations. I do not want to see them in control of our United States.

Fortunately, we can still stop this march towards corporatization of the country, but we must draw a line in the sand, stand and fight. There are many battles to be fought, but I have chosen the keystone of education as my battleground. If we can save this keystone, then we can save the others. The arch will stand and our society will thrive. You can join the fight by casting your next votes for pro-education candidates. In the meantime, talk to a neighbor, write a friend, make a phone call, start a blog or add your comments to a blog. There is much that can be done.

My parents’ generation has been called the greatest generation. They accomplished great things and left this country in our hands. I am a member of the baby boom generation. Our legacy will depend on the condition we leave the country for our children. We can, and must, remove the burden of debt from their backs.  We can cut spending and reduce the size of government. We can do this and still insure, through education, that our children are the best and brightest generation yet.

What Educators Have to Say About the Legislative Session ...

(Published in the Summer 2011 edition of Texas Teacher Magazine)

A priority should have been to fix the structural deficit that caused the budget shorfall in education in the first place. Until that is done, we will fight this same fight over and over. Another priority should have been to stop the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on standardized tests that test nothing.
The passage of SB 8 was just the continuation of a systematic plan to belittle and demoralize teachers, with the end game being to undermine public education. We can't let this get to us. There are ways to fight back.
First, we need to scour Texas to find honest, pro-education candidates for the next legislature. Second, we need to recognize what the fight is really about. The people we are up against care nothing about public education. Their goal is to end public education as we know it and funnel public dollars to private pockets. Once we understand this, then we can campaign against it.

Bill Norris, Teacher

A Tribute to Everyday Heroes

(Posted in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune, August 22, 2011)

School starts today. By that I mean that students show up for the first day of class. Actually, the school year has been in full swing in most Texas school districts for at least two weeks. Schedules have been prepared, lessons written, rooms cleaned, decorated and arranged. Bring on the kids!

I have been especially proud of my teaching colleagues these past two weeks. All teachers have faced great adversity this year and many teachers face a very uncertain future. Still they have soldiered on, most of them with good cheer, preparing to deliver the best possible education they can. Sure there has been some grumbling, some complaining, and maybe an occasional tear. But mostly what I have witnessed is nothing short of heroic.

I found a definition of heroism on the internet that includes the phrase “selflessness and the will to try.” By that definition, I have witnessed many acts of heroism.

Let me begin with selflessness. Every teacher has given a child lunch money from their own pockets. To quote one teacher, “I just can’t stand to see a kid go hungry.” Many students cannot afford basic school supplies so teachers often buy supplies for them. Classroom supplies have been rationed for years; most teachers buy their own. I know teachers who have pitched in to buy clothing and winter jackets for kids. I even know a case where teachers took up a collection to buy a girl a prom dress.

Selflessness is not just about money. Selflessness also involves the giving of time. The notion that teachers work from 9:00 to 3:00 is a lie. Most teachers I know arrive early to prepare for each day. There are usually students waiting for them. Some need tutoring. Some have personal issues. The teacher is there for them. Most teachers I know stay late every day. There are usually students waiting for them. Some need tutoring. Some have personal issues. The teacher is there for them. Most teachers I know take work home with them at night and on the weekends. There are papers to grade and lessons to prepare. To be done well, teaching takes time.

Speaking of time, how many professions do you know of where employees will donate their own sick leave to help out a seriously ill colleague? Teachers do.

I have seldom witnessed a group of people more possessed by “the will to try” than teachers. This year especially, our politicians have stacked the cards against us. Budgets have been slashed, classrooms are overcrowded, teachers have been laid off and more probably will be. Still we will keep trying to do our best at what we are supposed to do: teach the children. For some reason, I have faith that we will succeed or we'll keep trying.

I’m reminded of a poem that was very popular during the ‘60s called Desiderata. One line from this poem especially resonates with me, “…the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life if full of heroism.” If you want to see everyday heroism, you need only look as far as your nearest school.

Best wishes to all teachers in the upcoming school year. You are my heroes

Awaken the Sleeping Giant

(Originally posted in the Stephenville (Texas) Empire-Tribune, August 12, 2011)

I have written several letters trying to mobilize educators into action against the war on education. In many ways it has been a frustrating experience because I haven’t received many responses. But I take heart in knowing that most educators are already turning their attentions toward the upcoming school year. All of the teachers and staff in my school district, for example, will be attending a three-day conference this very week. I’m sure the main question on everyone’s minds will be,” how will we do more with less?”

Educators by nature are not a political lot, and rightfully so. Our focus is on educating children. We are already in the trenches preparing for what is going to be a very challenging school year. This does not excuse educators from speaking out against the injustices that have been done to our children, but the truth is we can’t do it alone. We need reinforcements.

Parents have been called the “sleeping giants” of education.  Parents are the ones that hold the real power in this battle. Unfortunately, they have been slumbering on the sidelines. Oh sure, many an angry parent has called a teacher, principal or superintendent to complain about their child’s education. This will probably get worse this year, but the parents’ anger will be misplaced. Try calling your state senator or representative; they are the ones who have created this mess that we all have to live with.

So how does one awaken a sleeping giant? One wake-up call comes from Keller ISD where this year the district is charging $100-185 per semester for children to ride the school bus. In states like Illinois and California fees are already commonplace.  I’m sure more fees are on the way and they’re coming to a school near you. What is a reasonable fee for a student to play football, be in a band or participate in a drill squad? $500? $1000? We must stop this before it starts.

I have two beautiful granddaughters. The oldest will enter Pre-K this year. Everyone who is reading this article probably has school age children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews. We all have “kin in the game.” For their sake, it’s time to take action. Make a phone call. Write a letter. Start a blog or add your voice to a blog. Join an organization such as Save Texas Schools at savetxschools.org or Parents  Across America at parentsacrossamerica.org. (Please note that these organizations are non-partisan. Education is not, and should not be, a partisan issue.)

 It’s not too late to make a difference.

A Letter to Educators

{Note: This letter was originally published in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune, July 22, 2011.}

I am proud to be a Texas educator. However, I am even more proud to be a grandparent, and I can no longer remain silent while my grandchildren’s education is stolen from them.

It is no secret that public education has been under attack for years. The plan is simple: drastically reduce school funding, demonize teachers and, at the same time, continually raise the bar on testing standards. The hope is that schools will collapse under the pressure. Then the politicians get to say, “See, public schools are no good. We need to privatize.” Privatization is the name of the game. Public funds go to private schools to line private pockets.

We educators are the last line of defense for public education. We are the guardians of our children’s educations. It is not too late to fight back against the attacks on education. We can fight back by simply having a voice and a vote. We need more voices like Superintendent John Kuhn who has said, “Look around you. Public school teachers, you are the saviors of our society and always have been. You are the first responders standing in this rubble…”

We have stood silently long enough. Please add your voice to those who wish to save Texas schools. Contact me at savecentexschools@hotmail.com to learn more. The only requirement for joining is a willingness to speak out.

Bill Norris