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Message to Teachers in Wisconsin: Leave the Governor's Kids Out of It!
Filed under: Opinions
On February 15th, more than a thousand protesters gathered outside of the Wauwatosa, Wis., home of Governor Scott Walker to protest his proposed state budget bill. But Scott Walker doesn't live there, and the teachers in that community know that.
Walker lives at the governor's residence in Madison. His Wauwautosa house is home to his wife, Tonette, who is living there while their teenage boys finish out the school year. Having your home surrounded by a thousand chanting protesters in the post-Gabby Giffords era is frightening. For high schoolers, it can also be, well, embarrassing!
Back in Madison, where the protests in the Captiol rotunda continue in full force, some protesters couldn't resist the urge to make it personal. In addition to signs depicting Governor Walker as Hitler and comparing him to deposed dictator Hosni Mubarkek, several teachers held up these homemade signs:
"Scott, your son is in my class. I teach him, I protect him, I inspire him."
"Scott, I taught your son algebra. My son just turned 5. Does he deserve a good education?"
Is this really necessary, or professional, for that matter? Can't these educators see the hypocrisy in claiming to "protect" a child that they're simultaneously using as a pawn for political gain? Surely I'm not the only parent appalled by this violation of trust in the student-teacher relationship.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue of unions, collective bargaining rights, government spending or billion dollar deficits, we are all called to use our common sense and decency in our political expression. It shouldn't be hard for teachers to imagine that it's probably tough being the governor's teenage sons during these contentious times in Wisconsin. Teachers and their unions ought to publicly denounce these tactics that so clearly undermine their claims that these protests are all about "the kids."
Whether it's the Obama girls or the Walker boys, politicians' kids deserve to be off limits. It's a good civic rule of thumb -- one our public school teachers shouldn't need to be schooled on.
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ReaderComments (Page 3 of 3)
3-03-2011 @ 12:03PM
Pat said...I believe it is more about the job. Why else would the children's grades suffer like they do? I am concerned about how much influence the Unions have over the teachers Ideology.
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3-04-2011 @ 12:21PM
Bill said...I think those supporting Walker should protest in fron of the house of every teacher and public worker and ask them to pay their fair share. But we won't, and you know why? because we're civil and wouldn't ever trash the Capitol building.
rosepomplun, the workers can remain in their union. If Walker allows collective bargaining and the unions agree to the concessions who is to say the unions don't handcuff the administartion the next time around and try to get everything back? That's why Walker is doing this, and I'll support him in getting rid of collective bargaining.
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3-13-2011 @ 11:14PM
Madison RN said...Bill, I respect your right to an opinion, but we state employees agreed to the pension and healthcare contribution increases (or "our fair share" as you refer to it) weeks ago. So there's no need to come protest at my house, although I'd gladly offer you something to drink and the opportunity to talk about this like rational adults if you did.
I'm going to venture a guess that you haven't been up to the protests at the capitol at all, because if you had (like I have), you would've seen that the rallies were entirely civil and that the capitol is in pristine shape- many, MANY thanks go out to the state employees who work so hard as custodians to keep it that way every day! In fact, the protestors used low-residue blue painters tape to hang their signs.
3-10-2011 @ 11:00AM
Eric said...This is probably what Democrats need. Republican "corporatists" have been hiding behind family values while their real agenda has been to gut Medicare, gut Medicaid, gut social security, gut public education, and gut unions. The Republican rationale is 100% logical, based on self-interest. These programs (and union-backed labor) cost money, but don't disproportionately help rich people or corporations. Limit government services to the bottom 95% and the taxes for the top 5% can remain the lowest of all advanced nations. All they have to do is con enough people in the bottom 95% to vote against their own interests. The bottom line, unfortunately is you can't be anti-government and pro-jobs, as the tea party positions will eliminate between ten and twenty million jobs. And then where will we be?
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3-10-2011 @ 12:08PM
Corwin said...Where will we be? Hmmmm... I don't think anywhere new... We had a time in this country when the ultra wealthy ruled like kings and the rest of us fought over roadkill in the streets before...it was called "the great depression" and the wealthy enjoyed it quite a bit. Robber Barons I seem to recall them being called because with that much poverty those with anything left at all could afford to just take what they wanted from the poor. Too bad republicans can't seem to understand that "those who refuse to study history are doomed to repeat it" isn't just a saying.
3-18-2011 @ 12:12PM
ethan said...That is a stupid comment. How much did it cost to educate Ben Franklin? How about Albert Einstein? Education doesn't need to be so expensive. We spend over $12000 a year in California per student...and the results suck. All you need is a culture that encourages real education, curiosity, and a thirst for knowledge. The Chinese and Indians are running circles around us, and I bet they don't spend 1/10 of what we spend. I'll bet China doesn't spend billions on a Department of Education in Bejing, have local school boards spending hundreds of millions a year, have schools that cost tens of millions to build (our local high school just got a new $8,000,000. football field!) and teachers that can't be removed from their jobs, and get tons of money and benefits for thirty years after they quit teaching. It's time for common sense folks...we are bankrupt as a country, and most states, counties and cities are as well. As for your class warfare, how much do you pay in taxes, and not get back at the end of the year? We pay hundreds of thousands a year. We have 200 employees we are responsible for paying, plus about 25% for the different government contributions. We collect hundreds of thousands in sales tax for the government. We pay tons in property taxes to support illegal aliens. We never have the police at our house, or the fire. We don't get welfare, unemployment, food stamps or anything back. Our kids go to private schools because the schools suck. You tell me who's getting ripped off
3-11-2011 @ 11:25AM
Margie Anderson said...Gov. Walker did this and is causing the trouble. I wonder if you and other Walker supporters thought about what this is doing to all of our kids. He is showing them that being a bully works. His actions are effecting all of our kids. Why should he be spared. Maybe he should resign and take his family out of the state. He is only concerned about his political life and his personal finances. He doesn't care about the people or kids of Wisconsin.
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3-29-2011 @ 5:12PM
Lori said...Are you listening to yourself? So anyone that has a different opinion should go to another state? How intolerant.
3-12-2011 @ 10:33AM
markp said...At least he just guaranteed he'll be a "One-Term" Gov.
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3-13-2011 @ 12:12PM
Tracey said...I think comparing this to what happen to Gabby Giffords is absolutely irresponsible. Also, this bill is a personal attack on public workers and teachers. Walker doesn't seem too concerned with the children of all of these families. Are you really comparing the embarrassment of teenagers with what is happening to public workers in Wisconsin? Trust me, with him as their father, they are used to a little embarrassment.
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3-13-2011 @ 12:14PM
Madison RN said...I live here in Madison, WI. I'm a nurse, a state employee, and a public union member. I would implore those of you who are applauding Rachel Campos-Duffy's article to come here to Madison for just a few hours. Speak with the teachers, nurses, and home-care workers who are being affected by this bill, and I'd be shocked if your views didn't change. No one here has targeted Scott Walker's children in any way, and frankly I would have a hard time believing that his children have even seen the signs that their teachers carried. Indeed, children have been an integral part of this protest- they have stood next to their mothers and fathers on the floor of our capitol building and begged that their teachers not be driven out of the workplace because they can no longer pay their bills or bargain for a better life.
With regard to the protests themselves, please, let's all be clear about exactly what's going on here. As a group, we in the public employee unions have agreed to the increases in pension and healthcare contributions Governor Walker proposed-- increases which will, on average, give each of us an 8% pay cut. People who work for the state of Wisconsin make, on average, 5% less than their private-sector counterparts (if you've watched MSNBC in the past month you've probably heard this statistic again and again). Now, personally, I work two jobs to make enough to pay my bills, and I work for the state of Wisconsin because, although I make less than the nurses at private hospitals in town, I have fantastic benefits. Or HAD fantastic benefits, up until the day this bill was signed. I could live with those sacrifices, though. What ISN'T acceptable to me, however, is that this bill has stripped me of my right to bargain as a group with my employer. My fellow union members and I can no longer go in as a group to our employer and request safer working conditions, safer staffing ratios, or more fair compensation for our hard work. Scott Walker and the Republican senators and assembly members in Wisconsin took away my VOICE- and frankly, taking away people's voices and their rights isn't what America is supposed to be about.
A few points of clarification regarding Rachel Campos-Duffy- and I bring these up not out of judgement, but in the interest of full disclosure. Rachel first became famous in the 90's for appearing on the MTV program "The Real World"; so if you want to talk about embarassing high-school kids, well, there's that. Rachel's husband is also a US Representative from Wisconsin and a member of the Republican Party who has voted with his party approximately 90% of the time. Again, I say this not out of judgement, but only to indicate that some might believe that Rachel and her husband have a vested interest in maligning the behavior of the protesting teachers here in Wisconsin.
Please, please, please- I can't impress this upon all of you enough- come here to Wisconsin and see what's going on here with your own eyes. Meet the firefighters and police officers who have stood in solidarity with us for the past three weeks, out in the bitterly cold Wisconsin weather, despite the fact that they are exempt from the bill. Talk to the nurses who work 12 hour shifts saving lives then come to the capitol to hold each other up during this painful, difficult time. Talk to the teachers who help Wisconsin's children become better and brighter every day despite the fact that this bill contains unprecedented cuts to education funding. Heck, you can even eat one of the free PB&J's or slices of pizza that donors have provided to keep our stomachs full while we march in the rain and snow! What you are reading on this blog, what you are seeing on Fox News, what your local paper may (or may not) be reporting isn't the heart of what's happening here, or even necessarily the truth. Come here and we'll show you why this fight matters so much.
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3-15-2011 @ 11:51AM
PJM said...I am so disgusted with the entire labor push in Wisconsin. We have very few unions where I live and need none. We have a very low unemployment of 5%. If you would take a look around the country at how many are out of a job and do your current job well, everyone would be better off. Be thankful for the job you have instead of hijacking your state's budget. With all the trajedy in Japan right now, you prople look VERY petty. Unions are holding our county back with their insistance on very high wages and benefits, and paying people far beyond what they should be making for the jobs they are doing. Also I can't imagine having to pay and waste my money on dues to support some highly paid Union boss. What a waste of money!! Get real up in Wisconsin and rejoin the rational people of our country. You look very foolish to the rest of the country!!
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3-18-2011 @ 10:53AM
Jan said...It was a metaphor. It would be like me saying, "I teach your child physics." Of course, it's not *your* child - but I do teach 162 children physics this year and they all have parents or guardians.
The faux outrage in your post is amusing, but sad at the same time.
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4-13-2011 @ 8:11PM
TheBiggerPicture said..."Is this really necessary, or professional, for that matter? Can't these educators see the hypocrisy in claiming to "protect" a child that they're simultaneously using as a pawn for political gain? Surely I'm not the only parent appalled by this violation of trust in the student-teacher relationship."
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Yes it is neccessary as it calls to the TRUE hipocracy that is on display from the REPUKE agenda. walker is messing with other familes education, the teenage sons are without question, fair game for scrutiny!!!! Secondly, remember these are not "children" they are teenages who hopfully understnad nuance and reasoning. I'm sure these kids know what a pawn is in the game of chess. Maybe. But your fake appalled-ness is more revealing. The Repuke agenda needs to be put down for its abject failures, ridiculousness, and utter contempt.
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3-31-2011 @ 4:40PM
LA said...I don't see ANYTHING wrong with a teacher who has taught the governor's children to ask for his consideration for doing so. Those signs as described here aren't even mean. You want mean? Check out what FreeRepublic readers say about the Obama kids. Check out what folks say about Sarah Palin kids (or better yet, what Sarah Palin's kids say about gays!) Now THAT'S mean. Rachel doth protest too much. (BTW, a great English teacher introduced me to Shakespeare.)
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