Big Money

In a prior lifetime, I worked under a principal in Metro-Nashville Public Schools whose motto was “We’re about the business of school.” He loved the motto so much that he had it printed on the back of t-shirts, with the school’s logo on the opposite side, and faculty members wore the shirts every Friday.

I frequently hear the comparisons between operating a school, or school system, and a operating a business. Indeed, there are many similarities, such as pushing conformity upon its employees who are all working toward a common purpose, having a payroll, offering insurance, and even their very structure--with a main person in charge and subordinate bosses below them. With that said, the one fundamental difference between these two entities is their purpose. Businesses ultimately exist to make money. Schools are a public service and are there to help improve the fabric of our society by building a strong electorate and a skilled workforce. Therefore, it’s reasonable to conclude that schools are not businesses, nor should they be treated as such. This very concept is reflected in the tax code. Businesses pay taxes, while schools do not.

There’s been a national trend to transform schools into businesses by turning them into charter schools. By definition, a charter school is a publicly funded school that is run by another entity and is not subject to the same rules as other public schools in the school system or even in the state. These “other entities” that operate charter schools are frequently businesses who are trying to increase their bottom lines. The relative autonomy of charter schools results in varying degrees of success.

Arguably the most scary component of charter schools is that they are publicly funded. Taxpayers still foot the bill for someone else to run the school. Turning the operation of schools over to businesses--while occasionally successful--is not something that needs to become a habit; yet, they are very rapidly expanding across the state. Charter schools need to be kept in check. Nashville’s school board recently took this very stance, wanting to slow down charter school expansion, and they have been met with opposition from both the Tennessee State Board of Education and charter school groups.

It’s understandable, then, why pro-charter school group Stand for Children is pumping more than a half million dollars into the school board races in Nashville. Organizations like Stand for Children, which is based in Portland, Oregon and is funded in part by the Walton family (owners of Wal-Mart) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are legally allowed to do this because of the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision. $500,000 is an extreme amount of money for an outside organization to invest in a local school board election. Obviously, Stand for Children is hoping that Nashvillians will elect school board members who will allow their organization into the city to create more charter schools.

It would be naive to think that Nashville is the only city where this is happening, and Stand for Children is certainly not the only organization trying to buy elections. For example, the Koch brothers frequently intervene in national and local elections. Hopefully, Citizens United will be overturned either by a future Supreme Court with nine justices or by a constitutional amendment. The 2010 Supreme Court decision not only negatively impacts politics by legally allowing untold sums of money to be spent on political candidates who, upon being elected, are required by their respective political parties to fundraise for the organizations that helped them. Citizens United is detrimentally influencing the quality of education in this state, and around the country, by allowing big money to influence school board elections and education policy to support things like charter schools. It adversely impacts everyone who expects schools to do a quality job graduating productive citizens.

Confessions

By my count, this is the fifth installment of Tennessee Teacher Voice, and I think it’s past time for me to formally introduce myself.

My name is Mike Stein, and I’m a teachaholic. Now that I’ve publicly made that admission, I have some confessions to make.

Confession #1: My passion for teaching has always been there.

There are those moments in your life where you know exactly where you were when a certain event occurred, like when John Lennon and John F. Kennedy were shot, or when tickets for Star Wars: The Force Awakens went on sale. Knowing that I wanted to be an educator is one of those life-changing events. I remember it well.

I was in seventh grade math class in Cameron Middle School in Nashville, and my teacher was Mrs. Robinson. She taught math with a multiplicity of worksheets and her primary interactions with students were mostly negative ones. I had math right after lunch, and the class returned from lunch rather noisy. Mrs. Robinson fussed at us and, as punishment, she gave us additional math worksheets to complete. I was livid. But I was also an introverted dork (hence my excitement over Star Wars) and kept it to myself. I remember promising myself that one day I would become a teacher, and that I would treat students better than I was being treated.

Confession #2: One time, I wasn’t good enough.

After graduating from Tennessee Tech, I went home to Nashville, where I was born and raised, because I wanted to complete the circle and help students like myself. My first position was at an alternative high school for students who were academically challenged. It was certainly arduous as a first year educator teaching four different subjects to students who could care less; however, I absolutely loved it. I look back on those days with the fondest of memories.

Unfortunately, Metro Nashville decided to close that school, despite its success, and open an identical version at the middle school level. That started a whirlwind leading to me eventually teaching in four different schools in my first three years. Due to the transient nature of students there, I got transferred three times by the district, and I requested a transfer once for personal reasons. My last placement was at an inner-city middle school.

I landed there due to administrative transfer and it was already five weeks into school. I had never taught middle school before, and I once again found myself teaching four different classes, but this time to 8th grade students who were on their fourth principal in four years. At the end of the school year, the principal told me that she saw some brilliance in my teaching, and I did a good job holding my own, but she felt that I wasn’t ready to be granted tenure. My teaching career in Nashville was over.

Confession #3: That failure lead to success.

That principal’s decision certainly delivered a gigantic blow to my dream of being an educator. In a completely serendipitous way, I ended up getting hired at Coffee County High School. While teaching at the high school, I have had the pleasure and opportunity to serve in many teacher leadership roles and to present at a handful of different education conferences. It’s amazing how stability, being granted my first leadership position--English Department Head--and using Twitter as the best form of free professional development out there, have positively snowballed into me becoming a staunch advocate for my profession and into developing a growth mindset and thirst for learning that is nearly impossible to quench. 

Confession #4: I am one of many. 

Coffee County is full of excellent educators who share my level of passion and enthusiasm for teaching. #TeamCoffee, as we affectionately call ourselves, is full of teachaholics like myself. New education initiatives seemingly come on a yearly basis, which is part of Tennessee’s growing pains of becoming the fastest improving state in education in the country. #TeamCoffee approaches these new initiatives with a solutions-oriented viewpoint with students remaining at the heart of how we operate daily basis. Given the comparatively low teacher salaries and no cost of living increase for at least a decade, we are doing some phenomenal things our classrooms. The citizens of Coffee County should be very proud of the quality of our schools.