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Monday, October 15, 2012

Teachers United, and Apart, in Washington State - State EdWatch - Education Week

Teachers United, and Apart, in Washington State - State EdWatch - Education Week:


Teachers United, and Apart, in Washington State

When I visited the offices of the Kent Education Association south of Seattle, where teachers were manning a phone bank to support Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee, there was a white board on one of the walls with a schedule of campaign events for the next few days. But there was also something more lively: a collection of their favorite quotations from Washington residents in response to the teachers' political pitches. Which one stood out the most? "My husband tells me how to vote."
During the visit, one teacher I overheard on the phone said she hoped the woman on the other end would reconsider, and then hung up. I asked her if she has been speaking with a supporter of state Attorney General Rob McKenna, the Republican gubernatorial candidate. No, she had not. The response she got was: "I'm not happy with the system. It's always two white men." That remark promptly went up on the white board.
Responding to the teachers' talking points on why Inslee would be best for schools, one resident had asked a