September - Tennessee Education Association

A warm welcome — Jessica Stephens (left) signs a record-breaking membership form
during Williamson County EA’s new teacher event at Franklin High School on August 2.
More than 75 new teachers joined WCEA during the event, exceeding last year’s count.
Tennessee Student Leader
Earns National Recognition
Former Student
Tennessee Education
Association President
Caryce Gilmore received
the NEA Student
Program’s Outstanding
State Student Leader
Award at the 2012 NEA
Student Leadership
Conference in
Washington, D.C.
The award recognizes
a student member who
has achieved excellence
throughout the year by
providing leadership
to the State Student
Caryce Gilmore
Program to meet the
three pillars of the
program: community outreach, professional development and political action.
Gilmore’s leadership experience includes starting a community outreach
project for STEA, lobbying with state officers in Nashville, holding a voter
registration drive at the STEA Fall Conference, serving on the TEA Board,
attending two NEA Student Program Conferences and one NEA conference.
Gilmore was also elected by her peers to serve as a student representative on
the NEA Board of Directors at the leadership conference.
Counting On Tuition Discount?
Read the Fine Print
This fall, dependents of many public school teachers will enroll in a
Tennessee Board of Regents school or one of the schools that are part of
the University of Tennessee system. Most of them will apply for a tuition
discount as provided in Tennessee Code Annotated 49:7-119.
This 25-percent tuition discount is available to a teacher’s dependent
child under the age of 24. In order to receive the discount, a form must
be completed and submitted upon enrollment. What is not on the form
are the words “retired teacher.” Whether by design or simple oversight,
these words were omitted when the law passed in 1993. Every year,
numerous new retirees are surprised to find their student is no longer
eligible for the discount because the teacher is now retired. Retiring
teachers lose the benefit of discounted tuition for their dependents.
Tennessee Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) believes there is
a difference between losing a benefit and never having it. TRTA has
fought hard for many years to correct this unfair treatment. The lobbyist
for the Tennessee Board of Regents and the UT Board of Trustees has
resisted the inclusion of retired teachers in the law providing the
discount. Please keep this significant loss of tuition discounts in mind
when planning for retirement.
Opinion/Commentary
We Are Professionals.
Let’s Get Our Rights Back
By Lisa Dammert
T
his is a plea for the restoration
of collective bargaining. bargaining. Just
because that right was
taken away from us, it
doesn’t mean that we
must surrender it. Teachers have
accepted lower salaries than
those offered by corporate
jobs under the guise that
teachers have better benefits.
That is no longer the case.
Without collective bargaining
we lose more than perks—we
lose the ability to use our strength
in numbers to negotiate for more
affordable health care coverage, life and
disability insurance. Premiums continuously
creep up as do the costs of routine health maintenance.
I know this first-hand as a cancer survivor, mother and spouse who wants the best
for her family.
Teachers and education support professionals are no longer respected as we once
were. State standards, high-stakes testing and the threat of lawsuits loom over every
one of us. These threats take away from the time we spend with students. We are stuck
in meetings and webinars to address these demands, when instead we’d rather be, well,
teaching! Our voice is no longer one of solidarity. We must unite together and let the
politicians know that we will not
surrender collective bargaining.
“It’s time to show the politicians We can only win this fight if we
work together.
the power of solidarity. We can
Several politicians are up for
collectively bargain their jobs away by re-election who have no respect
for teachers. We must show them
voting new people in... We can get our
that we remember. We remember
right to collective bargaining back.” marching in the rain. We remember
sitting outside of the legislative
sessions as our profession was
bashed. Some politicians painted us as glorified babysitters. To those politicians, I
say this: Teachers are the ones who taught you how to read, how to follow directions
and how to tie your shoes. Teachers dried your tears when you were sad and gave you
hugs to celebrate your success. During that entire process teachers unfolded the
world before your eyes. They showed you that the universe is vast and that cells are
microscopic. Teachers taught you critical thinking skills and how to get along with
other people. Babysitters just make sure the baby stays in one piece before the parents
get home.
It is time to show the politicians the power of solidarity. We can collectively bargain
their jobs away by voting new people in. Remind fellow teachers how politicians voted
on issues near and dear to your heart. Show students the legislative process in action –
vote! We can only get our right to collective bargaining back by standing up as one.
Lisa Dammert teaches at Fairview High School and is membership chair of the
Williamson County EA, www.wceateachers.com.
Scott Price (Coffee Co. EA) and Anthony Hancock (Knox Co. EA) talk
to the state delegation at the NEA Representative Assembly about
their individual campaigns for Tennessee State Representative.
Campaigns Heat Up
Tennessee’s Teachers Aim High
Nine of the eleven TEA members who stepped up earlier this year to
reverse the anti-public school agenda at the State Capitol won the primary
election in August, demonstrating strong support for teachers and public
education in communities across Tennessee.
Coinciding with the start of school, many of the candidates are balancing
day-to-day school duties along with running ever-intensifying grass
roots election campaigns, which will culminate in the November 6 general
election.
Tommy Scott Price, who teaches at Coffee Co. Central High School, said
he is grateful for the support of his colleagues and fellow citizens.
“I decided to throw my hat in the race in House District 47 because I
didn’t feel that our elected officials represented the interests of teachers in
our area,” Price said.
The 16-year member of TEA and Coffee Co. EA said that the 2011-12
legislative session delivered plenty of misguided “education reform” to
Tennessee schools. Watching the slew of anti-teacher bills become law
during the past couple of years inspired Price to bring a real teacher’s
perspective to the Tennessee General Assembly.
Together with Anthony Hancock, a fellow teacher and House District
18 candidate from Knox County, Price addressed the Tennessee delegation
during the NEA Representative Assembly in Washington, D.C., in July.
An active Knox Co. EA member since 2003, Hancock stressed the need to
reverse past legislative measures aimed at silencing teachers’ voices in favor
of corporate interests and out-of-state virtual schools.
“Educators deserve dignity and respect, and children deserve access
to high quality instruction guided by the curriculum,” said Hancock, who
teaches special education at Bearden Middle School in Knoxville. “I believe
that parents and families should be engaged in and have opportunities to
participate in the education of their children.”
10 September 2012 11
www.teateachers.org