In a gas-lighting piece, Knoxville Focus publisher, Steve Hunley, tries to pull one of the oldest manipulation tricks in the book when he calls Tennessee teachers, "bullies." Typical. Just typical. But we know who the real bully is here.
He calls them a few other choice names too like mooing cows and hogs that love slop.
Anyone who has seen a western movie will be familiar with the predictable stampede; the only difference is this particular stampede will occur in the marble halls of the state capitol. The thundering herd will moo plaintively while the sounds of hooves will echo off the marble walls. While the number locally is insignificant compared to the number of teachers employed, most of these unionists like personal publicity as much as a hog likes slop and will carry signs and protest and shriek it is the end of the civilized world as we know it if the governor’s ESA legislation should pass the Tennessee General Assembly.
It all started when a group of parents, teachers, and community members showed up at the Knox County Republicans' Lincoln Day Dinner to protest Gov. Lee's ESA voucher plan. About 200 people held signs and waved at traffic in front of the venue where Lee was speaking. Hunley took particular offense to a protest sign that referred to Knox County state representative Bill Dunn as a dunce.
Relax, dude, it's a satirical play on words. Don't you have political cartoons in your paper? If you are going to be a newspaper man, you will need to have some understanding of satire.
Hunley was also upset that teachers and school board members travelled to Nashville to meet with legislators and watch the hearings on the ESA voucher bill. Apparently, teachers are supposed to "do what other mortals would do- - - send an email or pick up the telephone to make their views known." Well, maybe we should share a little secret with Mr. Hunley: teaching is way too hard for mere mortals. Our Tennessee teachers are superheroes!! And we applaud them for caring enough about our children to arrange a trip to the Capitol to meet with legislators and watch the debates on the ESA bill.
But we are shaking our heads at poor Mr. Hunley. Doesn't he know that face-to-face communications is far more effective than phone calls and emails? If you are going to be a newspaper man, you will need to realize the importance of attending meetings and personally interviewing people.
And there are a few more things Mr. Hunley needs to know if he is going to be a newspaper man.
First, let's start with getting the facts straight. The information reported in his editorial does not match any of the ESA bill amendments released so far. Vouchers would not be limited to students in failing schools. Instead, ESA gift cards would be available to students in Knox County or any other school district that has at least three schools in the bottom 10%. Students in some of Tennessee's top schools would be eligible for ESA vouchers including Hume-Fogg in Nashville, White Station in Memphis, and Farragut in Knoxville. These are not failing schools. And ESA vouchers would not be limited to districts with failing schools. Under state law, failing schools, known as "priority schools," are those schools in the bottom 5%. This bill could apply to districts that do not have a single failing school.
Yup. If you are going to be a newspaper man, you need to get the facts straight.
Second, it's important to have an understanding of First Amendment rights. People, including teachers, have the right to free speech, assemble peaceably, and petition the government for a redress of grievances. That means these teachers have the right to express their opinions on the ESA voucher bill. They have the right to criticize Rep. Dunn, the Governor, and all other elected officials. They also have the right to carry their signs and gather together on the street.
If you are going to be a newspaper man, you really need to understand the First Amendment. Seriously, it's very important that you know about freedom of the press. So, please go read the First Amendment.
And finally, let's get one thing straight. If you are going to be a newspaper man, you need to maintain some journalistic objectivity. That mean that you do not treat women like objects such as cows and hogs. It means you need to better disguise your apparent disdain towards teachers and women in general.
Momma Bears, we are going to give you the link so if you must, you can read the horrible things written about teachers, parents, and local officials who oppose ESA vouchers. But save yourself some frustration and don't give Mr. Hunley's paper any traffic, don't click the link. If you do read it, use a red pen to fix all the grammatical errors.
Oh yeah, that's another thing. If you are going to be a newspaper man, you need to be grammatically correct.
He calls them a few other choice names too like mooing cows and hogs that love slop.
Anyone who has seen a western movie will be familiar with the predictable stampede; the only difference is this particular stampede will occur in the marble halls of the state capitol. The thundering herd will moo plaintively while the sounds of hooves will echo off the marble walls. While the number locally is insignificant compared to the number of teachers employed, most of these unionists like personal publicity as much as a hog likes slop and will carry signs and protest and shriek it is the end of the civilized world as we know it if the governor’s ESA legislation should pass the Tennessee General Assembly.
It all started when a group of parents, teachers, and community members showed up at the Knox County Republicans' Lincoln Day Dinner to protest Gov. Lee's ESA voucher plan. About 200 people held signs and waved at traffic in front of the venue where Lee was speaking. Hunley took particular offense to a protest sign that referred to Knox County state representative Bill Dunn as a dunce.
Relax, dude, it's a satirical play on words. Don't you have political cartoons in your paper? If you are going to be a newspaper man, you will need to have some understanding of satire.
Hunley was also upset that teachers and school board members travelled to Nashville to meet with legislators and watch the hearings on the ESA voucher bill. Apparently, teachers are supposed to "do what other mortals would do- - - send an email or pick up the telephone to make their views known." Well, maybe we should share a little secret with Mr. Hunley: teaching is way too hard for mere mortals. Our Tennessee teachers are superheroes!! And we applaud them for caring enough about our children to arrange a trip to the Capitol to meet with legislators and watch the debates on the ESA bill.
But we are shaking our heads at poor Mr. Hunley. Doesn't he know that face-to-face communications is far more effective than phone calls and emails? If you are going to be a newspaper man, you will need to realize the importance of attending meetings and personally interviewing people.
And there are a few more things Mr. Hunley needs to know if he is going to be a newspaper man.
First, let's start with getting the facts straight. The information reported in his editorial does not match any of the ESA bill amendments released so far. Vouchers would not be limited to students in failing schools. Instead, ESA gift cards would be available to students in Knox County or any other school district that has at least three schools in the bottom 10%. Students in some of Tennessee's top schools would be eligible for ESA vouchers including Hume-Fogg in Nashville, White Station in Memphis, and Farragut in Knoxville. These are not failing schools. And ESA vouchers would not be limited to districts with failing schools. Under state law, failing schools, known as "priority schools," are those schools in the bottom 5%. This bill could apply to districts that do not have a single failing school.
Yup. If you are going to be a newspaper man, you need to get the facts straight.
Second, it's important to have an understanding of First Amendment rights. People, including teachers, have the right to free speech, assemble peaceably, and petition the government for a redress of grievances. That means these teachers have the right to express their opinions on the ESA voucher bill. They have the right to criticize Rep. Dunn, the Governor, and all other elected officials. They also have the right to carry their signs and gather together on the street.
If you are going to be a newspaper man, you really need to understand the First Amendment. Seriously, it's very important that you know about freedom of the press. So, please go read the First Amendment.
And finally, let's get one thing straight. If you are going to be a newspaper man, you need to maintain some journalistic objectivity. That mean that you do not treat women like objects such as cows and hogs. It means you need to better disguise your apparent disdain towards teachers and women in general.
Momma Bears, we are going to give you the link so if you must, you can read the horrible things written about teachers, parents, and local officials who oppose ESA vouchers. But save yourself some frustration and don't give Mr. Hunley's paper any traffic, don't click the link. If you do read it, use a red pen to fix all the grammatical errors.
Oh yeah, that's another thing. If you are going to be a newspaper man, you need to be grammatically correct.
