Secretary of Education Rod Paige called the National Education Association (the national teachers' association) a "terrorist organization." He later apologized for his choice of words. His statement reads (in part):
"It was an inappropriate choice of words to describe the obstructionist scare tactics the NEA's Washington lobbyists have employed against No Child Left Behind's historic education reforms.
"I also said, as I have repeatedly, that our nation's teachers, who have dedicated their lives to service in the classroom, are the real soldiers of democracy, whereas the NEA's high-priced Washington lobbyists have made no secret that they will fight against bringing real, rock-solid improvements in the way we educate all our children regardless of skin color, accent or where they live."
First of all, it disturbs me that the Secretary of Education called an organization of 2.7 million teachers "terrorists." My sister is a member of NEA, as are some of my friends. I thought they were just trying to help educate youth. Shows what I know.
It appears that Paige's problem is that the NEA lobbied against the No Child Left Behind Act. Apparently not agreeing with the Bush Administration and its policies is completely unacceptable. And though I've heard a few teachers support NCLB, I've heard far more rail against it.
It just upsets me, partly because I work for an association. We have lobbyists. It's how the government works. True, we have, like three lobbyists, but still. I can relate on that level. Yet another thing that pisses me off about the people who are currently running the government. Don't get me started on Bush's statement yesterday about gay marriage.
Current song in my head:
"My Life" by Billy Joel