Teachers are thugs! That's the conclusion one would reach by the decisions of the party in power at the Legislature.
Mr. Bill Ingebrigtsen is a member of that party. Mr. Ingebrigtsen's party initiated 22 bills aimed at education in an effort to punish, as opposed to seeking solutions or making an attempt to find "common ground" on issues of concern.
Yet, we find teachers coming to work early and staying late; we find teachers at the front of the line at educational conferences to find better ways to contribute to existence; we find three out of five new teachers entering the field leaving within five years; we find that the average elementary teacher spends nearly $500 dollars out of their own money for school supplies; we find that in 1990 teacher salaries (a complaint of Mr. Ingebrigtsen's) were ranked number eight in Minnesota, and now they are 23rd.
Teachers understand the hard economic times, and yet Mr. Ingebrigtsen's party still criticizes teachers for their salaries. Mr. Ingebrigtsen's party is all about getting rid of the so-called bad teacher. Yet, his party hasn't defined bad.
Bad is usually defined as a teacher who has given a bad grade to a student, disciplined a student when the parent didn't approve or - if the teacher is a coach - a student didn't receive enough playing time. Teachers should be removed only for just cause, and they deserve due process. This process is in place and works.
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Just look at the Legislature and its behavior! They don't set an example. Just look at our area's "ethics violator," Gretchen Hoffman. She was cited for campaign finance violations! Is that bad or what?
Then, look at the party in power and how its leadership promotes family values. But the party displays extramarital affairs, and now those affairs are costing us taxpayers well over $100,000 in legal fees. The party in power says one thing and does another!
Mr. Ingebrigtsen and his party are not seeking solutions to difficult issues; they're treating teachers as if they're thugs.
Jerry Horgen
Henning
