March 9, 2012
Obama on Ed Reform in SD… don't defend the status quo
As the SDEA announces plans to take HB1234 to the voters this November, I remember listening to President Obama's State of the Union address last month thinking…. sounds like he would have voted for HB1234 in a heartbeat.
At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced States to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies – just to make a difference.
Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. (Applause.) And in return, grant schools flexibility: to teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn. That’s a bargain worth making. (Applause.)
Obama said, instead of "defending the status quo, let's offer schools a deal"… 1. Incentives to attract and keep good teachers. (Applause.) 2. Reward the best teachers. (Applause.) 3. Grant schools flexibility. (Applause.) 4. Boot the bad teachers. (Applause.)
It's almost spooky how closely those comments parallel HB1234. Furthermore, he acknowledges tight budgets have forced states to cut teacher funding. Yet the narrative here in SD is that the funding was cut because Republicans hate teachers.
Comments on Obama on Ed Reform in SD… don't defend the status quo »
Jeremy @ 9:42 am
Steve, I suspect whatever party holds control at a given time would receive similar criticism in an issue like this one.
LK @ 10:43 am
Rev. Hickey,
I expected more from you than this rather cheap rhetorical trick. By the logic of this post, one should support Obama's health care inititiave because it's based on Mitt Romney's plan. I look forward to seeing you explain that stance to your REpublican brethern. It would go viral on YouTube.
I consider myself a moderate. I'm not voting for Obama in 2012 because he is a disaster on civil liberties. The fact that he's wrong on education as well makes it easier to look for another option.
larry kurtz @ 10:44 am
Marika Shaub @marikatogo: "No woman's health should depend on who she is or where she works or how much money she makes." -@BarackObama. #birthcontrol #waronwomen
Retweeted by MoveOn.org
caheidelberger @ 8:53 pm
Tricky and wrong, Rep. Hickey. The fact that I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and will likely do so again this year does not bind me to support his mistaken policies or to drive our K-12 schools off a cliff.
Steve Hickey @ 6:19 am
Cory - I like seeing you write Obama's "mistaken policies." Certainly the messianic frenzy that surrounded him in '08 is past and he won't have that facade to help him this time around. My point is that the SDEA is out of step with Obama who is merely parroting the direction of ed reform nationally. Obama's point is don't fight change.
Even so, instead of the "leading teachers into the gas chambers" you now say this will drive the schools off a cliff. I find that entirely unreasonable and way over the top. We are talking about the largest one time investment in education in the history of our state and it's almost entirely at the discretion of the local school districts how to take advantage of the offer.
LK @ 9:46 am
Yes,it's all up to the districts as long as they implement a Danielson evaluation model determined by the SDDOE, admit that only 20% of their teachers have merit, and admit that STEM is more important than anything else in the building.
I had no idea the city limits of Pierre extended from Wyoming to Iowa and North Dakota to Nebraska.