"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

"No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution." -- Indiana Constitution Article 1, Section 6.

"...no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." – Thomas Jefferson

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Reactions to Tragedy, Part 2

More voices reacting to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

[UPDATE:] Heroism In Newtown
...everyone of these people expected to die, and yet their first priority, indeed, their only priority, was to protect their students. Not one of them ran off and left their kids, not one of them did this because of it was in their contracts, because they had to get their kids to pass standardized tests, or because of union agreements.

We go into this profession not for the money or the glory, we go into it for the love of learning, for the love of teaching, and for the love of children. And understand this, too: Every single teacher in America would do the same thing. That is the true meaning of "No Child Left Behind."

President Obama’s full speech


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America's Teachers: Heroes or Greedy Moochers at the Public Trough?

I could have posted the entire article here. It's that good...
Let’s just note that the heroic teachers who died while courageously trying to protect their kids at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, and the others who survived but stayed to protect the kids, were all part of a school system where the employees are members of the American Federation of Teachers.

Let’s just let that sink in for a moment. Those teachers, who are routinely being accused by our politicians of being drones and selfish, incompetent money grubbers worried more about their pensions than about teaching our children (though most, even after 10 years, earn less than $55,000 a year for doing a very difficult job that involves at least 12-14 hours a day of work and prep time counting meetings with parents), stood their ground when confronted with a psychotic assailant armed with semi-automatic pistols and an automatic rifle, and protected their kids. The principal too, a veteran teacher herself, stood her ground, reportedly suicidally charging at the assailant along with the school’s psychologist in a doomed effort to tackle him and stop the carnage.

Shaken Sandy Hook teachers: 'In time, we're going to heal'
“We’re going to stick together and in time, we’re going to heal.”

Reflections from Readers, 14, Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch has 40 (and counting) "reflections from readers" filling her blog.
People don’t usually think of teachers as first responders, but that is exactly what they are. Whether it is physical assault, social aggression, emotional trauma or cognitive battering, educators are there to protect and defend our nation’s children each day.

Teachers risked, lost their lives to protect Sandy Hook children

Two kindergarten teachers take care of their students.




You touch hearts every day.
You change lives every day.
Monday is no different.
The people who will have the biggest influence on how our country will heal and who will bear the biggest responsibly for making it whole again are sitting right in front of you.
They need you.
You are their teacher.
You know exactly what to do

Dichotomy

These two articles show the divide in America. The first one is a congressman who is suggesting that we keep automatic weapons in our classrooms. The second, a senator who is going to introduce an assault weapons ban first chance she gets. Interesting reads...

GOP Rep Suggests Teachers Should Be Armed With Assault Rifles

Senator Vows To Introduce New Assault Weapons Ban On The First Day Of Congress

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