View of education changes is in eye of beholder
Sen. Tim Skinner and his wife, Mary Lou, threw in the towel on teaching careers that spanned a combined 46 years after lawmakers passed a series of education changes this year.
A sweeping voucher system, the potential for more charter schools, merit-based pay for teachers and reduced collective bargaining rights left the Terre Haute Democrat with a blunt assessment of legislators' work:
"This last year we got kicked in the teeth every day the General Assembly was in session," said Skinner, who taught government and politics at West Vigo High School until July 1.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett say the changes lawmakers passed this year will position a state whose schools were ranked 14th in the nation by Education Week this year to become a national leader in education.
But Skinner, who had been teaching for 21 years and was close to retiring, contends Daniels and Bennett have left a far different legacy than what they tout.
"His and Tony Bennett's legacy is going to be the destruction of what I think is one of the best public school systems in the nation," he said.
Skinner says the new laws
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/07/view-education-changes-eye-beholder-0#ixzz1SNaeY6R6
