This from a reader in Tennessee. Be sure to open the links and see the hilarious cartoons:
“This week, two separate Fire Kevin Huffman FB pages went up:
1. https://www.facebook.com/RemoveKevinHuffman?fref=ts
(Check out the cupcake cartoon posted today. 🙂
2. https://www.facebook.com/TdoeCommissionerKevinHuffmanHasToGo
Also, a new petition started by some West Tennessee moms (called the Momma Bears) is up and running:
One statewide group, Standing Together 4 Strong Community Schools, highlighted a letter to Governor Haslam written by one of the Momma Bears:
http://strongcommunityschools.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/momma-bear-stand-up-to-haslam/
Numbers on the two FB pages and the petition are growing steadily and quickly!!”
In Tennessee as in Texas and elsewhere, when the moms get angry and get organized, the corporate reformers run for the hills.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Go get em, moms
YAY Moms!
Love the cartoons…all of them…goodbye Kevin…you may have to move in with Kevin #2…watch the girls closely.
Join the TN Momma Bear group on facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/206714372785743/?fref=ts
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Why a Mom started this group:
A few months ago, my husband jokingly called me a “Momma Bear” for having the courage to stand up against politicians to defend schools. I realized that’s what I was! Since then, I’ve met many other people who didn’t realize they were Momma Bears, but they are.
It is my hope that this group will connect lots and lots of Momma Bears, because we are stronger together than as individuals. We must organize and defend our children and their schools! We must support the teachers who nurture, inspire, and protect our children.
Dads, grandparents, teachers, concerned citizens welcome to join. It takes a village!
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Momma Bear (verb) 1. one of the most protective animals in all of nature, known for providing and caring for her cubs 2. A parent fiercely devoted to protecting their children. “Woe be to one who provokes the wrath of the mother bear from protecting her young.” 3. known as one of the most powerful forces in nature “never, ever, ever cross a Momma Bear”
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dump-Duncan/160017914063193
I’m fascinated by this comment from a TN teacher on Facebook:
Michelle Page I teach high school Ag. We don’t have standardized tests, so that’s one less opportunity for a pay raise. I’m starting my 12th year. Another pay raise gone. I am scored on evaluations by people who do not understand my subject area and take points off because I do not fit into the mold of a typical classroom teacher. This all adds up to mean that I most likely will never get another raise for the rest of my career even though the cost of living will continue to rise. It’s enough to make me consider going back to school to pursue a different profession.
I wish I knew more about the details of the TN evaluation system.
I’m another teacher in TN. I echo Michelle Page’s comments – although I teach Spanish, I’m experiencing the same things. I love to teach, and I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life, but it’s getting harder and harder to pay the bills. Many of us, including me, have to work multiple jobs at this point, despite our degrees, training, and professional expertise.
Among other ludicrous things, in my evaluations, I have been critiqued for my students speaking Spanish during class because “it wasn’t listed on the board as an objective” (yes, for a Spanish CLASS), and I’ve been told to “speak less Spanish when I teach” during evaluations, because my evaluators do not know Spanish. In other words, I’m supposed to teach less, so that people who do not know my content area can evaluate the quality of my teaching.
It’s very difficult to hang in there right now.
Everybody in East TN knows when you see a bear cub you better run for the hills ’cause mama bear is close-by and she’ll attack. I’ve been tellin’ these folks, don’t mess with our young-un’s, Mamma Bears don’t mess around!
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-hurting-our-schools-remove-kevin-huffman-as-the-appointed-tn-commissioner-of-education
One statewide group, Standing Together 4 Strong Community Schools, highlighted a letter to Governor Haslam written by one of the Momma Bears