When I was growing up in Panama teachers were the bastion of respect. We all knew they were the real leaders. To this day I can still call out every one of my teachers by name and I can still remember what part of my life they were instrumental in molding. Even as an adult I still revere my teachers. I still hold huge respect for them because I am absolutely sure that concurrent with my parents they were instrumental in who I am.
Competition in the global economy has never been tougher — America should be leading in education, not getting left behind. There is no reason as a rich country we are not.
In classrooms across America, teachers are preparing the next generation of American innovators and business leaders to succeed in the global economy. Teacher layoffs mean more overcrowded classrooms — and that means less successful students and less future American innovators. We cannot have a vibrant knowledge-based society with the population’s relative knowledge declining.
Congress faces a choice: take away teachers from our kids when they need them most or make millionaires pay half a penny on the dollar more in taxes. For Americans, it’s not even close. There is no higher calling for our country than to help our children reach their full potential. All those who America has granted the platform to build their wealth should agree. After-all a declining middle class is a declining America and in the long term will decline their wealth as well. One must question the rational thinking process of those who oppose this.
It is extremely important that you are cognizant of the following facts:
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- America is falling behind other countries — we once were top of the class, but now we’re middle of the pack behind countries like India and China that are out-investing us when it comes to education.
- If the U.S. closed our performance gap with higher-performing countries, we could boost our economy by nearly 20%.
- More teachers mean smaller class sizes — studies show students who have two or more years of small classes in elementary school score higher on tests in middle and high school and are more likely to graduate from high school, take the college entrance exams, and apply to college.
- A good teacher can impact the rest of a student’s academic and professional life. These positive effects are so important that the difference between an above-average teacher and a below-average teacher for a class of twenty kindergarteners could translate into $300,000 more in future earnings.
- Over 70% of Americans have a positive or very positive opinion of teachers.
- Three out of four Americans support using federal funds to put teachers, firefighters, and cops back to work. In nine different polls this year, Americans have shown that they overwhelmingly oppose cuts to education.
- The teacher and first responder jobs legislation pending in the Senate is paid for by making millionaires pay half a penny on the dollar more in taxes.
It is a fallacy that President Obama is trying to buy the vote of the teacher’s union for his reelection.
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- Investing in our teachers is investing in our children — and in our nation’s economic future.
- America’s success tomorrow depends on the teachers we provide to our children today.
- Teachers should be paid a fair wage for their work and the decent benefits they need to take care of their families. When they join together through unions, they can make sure that happens.
We better get our act together. This is a middle-class problem. After all the wealthy can send their kids off to the best of private schools. We better rise up and demand that the teaching profession regain the respect they have earned. Our Plutocracy’s goal is to keep the masses uneducated so that they will no longer understand their birthrights as Americans. You must stop this march to indentured servitude.