The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on Sept 1, 2023.
As I watched the Republican Presidential Primary Debate last week, I was appalled that teachers and teachers’ unions were demonized.
Teachers were charged with indoctrinating students, going against the concerns of parents, and ignoring the need for student achievement.
After working as an educator for over 40 years in another state and interacting for the past eight years with teachers in Charlotte County and across Florida, I did not see any reasons for the demonization.
This is what I know from my experiences:
• Teachers work hard before and after the school day with low pay and little respect. It appears that Republicans are trying to eliminate teachers’ unions. How effective can a union be if teachers are continually underpaid and overworked?
• Teachers are not interested in indoctrinating students.They are interested in supplying students with varied reading materials, discussion topics and communication skills to develop the ability to think critically.
• Teachers are partners with parents. This partnership means teachers take the concerns of parents seriously.
• Teachers care about all of their students. It doesn’t matter what they look like, where they live or their personal beliefs.
The current demonization of public education by Republicans has nothing to do with quality education and everything to do with the Republican agenda which relies on a conservative mindset with limited thinking skills.
Clearly, Republicans do not care about quality education.They want power and control.
Maria Metge, Punta Gorda
Image Credits: Teacher with students, in a classroom. Credit: Getty Images.
