Free Campaign Advice For PCE
From an email today:
Did you hear the new pro-voucher radio ad? …I have heard it two or three times now and have to laugh at it. It paints the NEA as a Nazi liberal Clinton following camp, hoping that we’re all idiots who won’t realize that the NEA is being kind enough to step in to help our underpaid Utah public teachers.
My question in response to this ad is, do you think our current public school teachers, (who are vehemently against the voucher system) are in it for the money? Or do they really care about our children as a whole.
Lately the pro-voucher campaign’s main argument for vouchers seems be the fact that the UEA is against them. Why would they think this point will resonate with voters? I’m certainly no fan of many of the things UEA advocates but I do recognize that if the vast majority of Utah’s teachers are against vouchers maybe we should hear them out.
I shouldn’t complain about the self-destructive campaign PCE is waging but when I see them do stupid things I can’t help but wonder why they think they’re on the right track. Here’s some free advice for PCE/ACM and other pro-voucher campaigns. We Utahns don’t hate our educators nearly as much as you do. Spending money on ads which demonize our public school teachers will never convince us that this voucher plan is a good idea.
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amen.
Comment by cody — September 28, 2007 @ 9:24 am
The ad strongly implies that Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, the ACLU and MoveOn.org (and probably the Devil himself) are coming after Utah’s kids. Scary stuff. The mention of the NEA is almost an afterthought, most Utahns have never heard of it.
Comment by rmwarnick — September 28, 2007 @ 10:04 am
I wish PCE would just shut the heck up. It’s embarrassing to watch them try and fit those size elevens in their mouth.
Comment by Jesse Harris — September 28, 2007 @ 10:26 am
Is there anywhere to listen to the commercial online?
Comment by Misty Fowler — September 28, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
Jeremy…
I’m not sure that the statement that the vast majority of Utah teachers are vehemently against vouchers. I know for sure that there are some who think it’s a great idea… there’s been illegal campaigning (meaning, using school property and school time) for both sides.
Personally, I think that the only teachers that have any reason to feel threatened by vouchers are those that ought to feel threatened anyway… because they know that they aren’t going to get the students anymore because, well, they’re not giving parents what they want.
Comment by nosurfgirl — September 29, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
I don’t think teachers who are against vouchers are feeling threatened. I think they realize what a dumb use of tax dollars this is when our public schools could really use the money.
I agree with you that teachers who are ineffective should feel more pressure than they currently do…I just don’t think this voucher plan is an effective tool for bringing this about.
Comment by Jeremy Manning — September 29, 2007 @ 11:17 pm
I think you’re right about the rationale that PCE has adopted for supporting vouchers. It would be so much easier, I think, just to spell out the bill’s parts in plain English, because I’m sure some people would latch onto it. But this pie-throwing strategy must test well with their supporters — or more accurately, their funders. That’s the only reason I can see for their continuing to push it.
http://accountabilityfirst.blogspot.com/
Comment by Anonymous — September 30, 2007 @ 8:03 pm
nosurfgirl,
Sorry I wasn’t very specific. I’ve worked with teachers in 2 school districts in the past 2 years, and my wife directly with public teachers in 3 other districts. You may have worked with more, in which case I would regard your opinion highly.
To put it in a nutshell, from the point of view of the Utah public schoolteacher, they’ve never been given the funding to buy rudimentary school supplies like new books (regularly), craft supplies and other necessities in proper form, let alone the cool stuff that would really help bring new experiences into the classroom. Many teachers spend too much of their own income to try to make their ideas work. I’ve met some who’s spouses have restricted their spending as too much family income has been sacrificed for our (the public) children. They’ve never been given a real chance. So how could we judge them when the gross irresponsibility in failure of public education in Utah belongs to the taxpayer and the legislator. And now we turn our backs on those who we have never believed in, fought for or paid a decent wage. Is the public system broken? If it is, we broke it. The same people who are going to build a newer, better one! Yeah right.
“…I fear that, as conditions worsen, many will react to the failures of too much government by calling for even more government. Then there will be more and more lifeboats launched because fewer and fewer citizens know how to swim. Unlike some pendulums, political pendulums do not swing back automatically; they must be pushed.” -Neal Maxwell, Insights from My Life, BYU Devotional Oct. 26, 1976
Comment by cody — October 1, 2007 @ 7:27 pm
Well, I know less teachers than you do, cody, but one of the teachers I do know is my own sister, and one of them my sister-in-law, and both of them feel that our current system is overblown and full of unecessary red tape that eats funding. Personally, I think that the school day ought to be cut in half, class sizes halved, etcetera… our current system is incredibly inefficient. I think pressure ought to be put on the school systems to get rid of the red tape and the teachers who don’t really care, as well as the curriculum that isn’t really advancing learning, in favor of searching out alternatives that may help. In my experience, public education institutions and the teachers and staff involved are very resistant to change or specialization, and this, in my own opinion, may be a good way to force them to consider alternatives and specialization. Putting the money in the hands of the parents isn’t going to cheat the school systems of money–it’s not like the parents can spend it on groceries or booze instead of their child’s education. IT just means that more desireable schools will get more funding. And less desireable schools will feel pressure to change their policies/curriculum/procedures in order to attract parents. Free market system!!
Comment by nosurfgirl — October 6, 2007 @ 5:40 pm