Teachers Moved to Activism

So much has happened in the past few weeks concerning the Secretary of Education appointment and opposition to her appointment. In a nutshell, during her interview with the U.S. Senate panel, Betsy
DeVos showed that she knew absolutely NOTHING about education.

She is not an educator, she is a full supporter of charter schools (which seeks to take funding away from public schools), she does not know anything about student assessments, curriculum, or how schools operate, and she feels that in order to keep all students safe, guns should be allowed into public schools to keep students safe from grizzly bears that plague our schools in the upper northwest.

The National Education Association opposes the appointment of Betsy DeVos. Here is the official statement and call to action:

Betsy DeVos - President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of education - has no experience with public schools. She's never worked as an educator or in a public school in any capacity. She didn't attend public schools, and did not send her children to public schools.  

Instead, she has spent her career working to undermine public education. DeVos has lobbied and bankrolled failed schemes like vouchers, which take money away from public schools to fund private schools at taxpayers' expense and with little to no accountability. By nominating Betsy DeVos, the incoming Trump administration is demonstrating it does not share our vision of public education and what works best for students, parents, and communities.

Tell your senators that we need an experienced, qualified secretary of education who actually wants to strengthen and improve all public schools. Contact your senators now, and tell them to vote NO on Betsy DeVos.

We have done just that. We have called and we have written. In interviews and emails, Claire McCaskill has come out publically stating that she will NOT support Betsy DeVos' nomination to the cabinet.

Senator Roy Blunt has come out with a statement on his Facebook page: 

I believe Betsy DeVos understands that decisions about education need to be made much closer to where kids are. I look forward to working with her to find ways to get those decisions back to local school boards, and moms and dads. As Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee for the Department of Education, I will be working hard to ensure that public education continues to be appreciated as the cornerstone of opportunity in America.

With that, several Columbia Public School teachers visited Sen. Blunt's office to make their statements/views known. Please click onto this link to the facebook page, showing a video of their activism: CPS teachers visit Sen. Blunt's Office

Since then, our colleagues are hosting another peaceful demonstration TOMORROW, Feb. 6th. Here is the information to learn. If you do attend, please remember to keep the sidewalks clear, follow all rules, if you are a CMNEA member- feel free to wear your t-shirt (CMNEA is NOT sponsoring this event) and do NOT engage with the opposition. Here is the link to the information: Feb. 6th event