Texas Pastor Charles Foster Johnson has a great idea. If the people who work in schools were to all vote, they could vote out the cold-hearted politicians who are attacking public schools and the children who attend them. Rev. Johnson is leader of Pastors for Texas Kids.
What a simple and radical idea.
If every single school district employee were to register and vote, it would reshape politics in Texas.
“A top leader of the movement in support of public education is a charismatic pastor, the Rev. Charles Foster Johnson of Fort Worth. I heard him speak about the coming battle at the Texas Association of School Boards convention in Dallas last month.
“The title of the session at which Johnson spoke was provocative: “You can’t fix stupid but you can vote it out.”
His audience was a room filled with school board members and superintendents from across the state.
The session description promised to teach “a successful turn-out-the-vote effort” and how school board members can build “a culture of voting in the schools and the community…”
“I’ll tell you a dirty little secret,” Johnson told the standing-room-only crowd. “Nobody holding office wants you to vote. …
“We’ve got a Senate in the state of Texas — and I hope there’s somebody here who will quote me — that does not believe in public education for all children. It needs to stop right now.”
The math is there. Voter turnout is close to worst in the nation. Johnson estimates that there are maybe 700,000 school district employees. If they all vote, everything changes.
“We will get a different Senate, y’all. It’s as simple as that,” the pastor told educators…
“Plano ISD trustee Yoram Solomon shows The Watchdog how much this matters. Of 190,000 potential voters, about 10,000 voted in a school board election. A winner only needed 3,800 votes.
“Plano ISD has 6,700 employees. “They could have swung any race they wanted, if they were influenced to do so,” Solomon says.
“Plano ISD Trustee Yoram Solomon, at his home in Plano, is raising ethical questions about a statewide movement to get school district employees to vote out conservative lawmakers.
“Plano ISD Trustee Yoram Solomon, at his home in Plano, is raising ethical questions about a statewide movement to get school district employees to vote out conservative lawmakers.
“A draft resolution supporting a “culture of voting” is on the agenda in hundreds of state school districts. In Plano this week, Solomon raised enough questions to get it postponed.
“The resolution urges districts to offer employees a voter pledge or oath (“I am a Texas educator and I commit to vote in the March primary and the November general election. I will vote in support of public education in the interest of the more than 5 million Texas schoolchildren.”)
“The resolution also urges time off for early voting for employees and allows for school buses to take employees to the polls.
“Plano trustees will edit the template (good for them!) and add new language to the resolution “that will assure that there will be absolutely no influence on our employees, and that their votes will be confidential,” Solomon says.”
Great line!
YOU CANT FIX STUPID, BUT YOU CAN VOTE IT OUT!
Watch Rev. Johnson at the NPE Conference in Oakland and be inspired.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Just as preachers are not supposed to (legally that is) “politic from the pulpit” neither are public school employees supposed to “politic from the podium”.
I agree with Johnson’s voter analysis up to the point that he seems to believe that all public school employees would vote the way he would like to see them vote. Public school employees are no monolithic voter bloc. Far too many, just like the general public are swayed by those “values” politicked from the pulpit.
But as a country, yes, indeed, it would be better if all eligible voters voted. Far too many have lost faith in the political system. What would change this country would be if all those disenfranchised voters actually had someone that they felt they could vote for and then voted (as somewhat suggested by Johnson).
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That’s pretty much what I was thinking. I had an awful lot of very right-wing teachers when I was a kid growing up in small town Illinois/Indiana. I can’t imagine small town Texas is much different. Getting all teachers to vote for public education (or even to get all teachers to have the same conception of “for public education”) seems a bit like herding cats.
And +100 to your last sentence. Voting is almost a meaningless exercise unless there is someone to vote for. Unfortunately, the powers that be seem intent on keeping voting a meaningless exercise.
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Fiddlesticks. No matter who’s running, or how horrible the choice may be, it would be a great boon to democracy for public schools to exhort voting, as an exercise in civics, & an example to their students of how democracy is practiced.
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I remember when a number of teachers were bragging about wanting to vote for Trump. Funny, don’t hear much from those teachers now. Are they still proud of the great accomplishments the Trump administration is accomplishing? I’d like to hear from them now. Are they still proud or are they hiding?
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Gordon Wilder was not able to post a comment so he emailed me and asked me to post this. (Gordon and I have protested for years and share the same ideas on politics.)
……
The love of learning is THE fundamental imperative for education. We all know that governance interference has negated that imperative. Test scores. It is like the body count in Viet Nam which was counterproductive to winning the war.
In Indiana our governor has proclaimed the role of the public schools is to get students ready for the workplace.
We once believed in democracy and the role of education was to prepare children to function in that democracy, to bring each child to his/her potential as a human being ,not as “serfs” for corporate America.
Test scores like the body count in Viet Nam to indicate success is a chimera, does not work to produce a “victory”.
Democracy once lost is difficult, sometimes impossible to regain.
The United corporations of America seems to be our title now. TRAGIC!!!
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Carolmalaysia,
WordPress is a horrible platform. They regularly kick readers off, block readers from seeing posts, and block people from making comments, like Gordon–and just today, Susan Schwartz, who has commented here many times. I regularly complain, and a “happiness engineer” sends instructions about how to get back on, but it often doesn’t work.
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Gordon said that he got some instructions and hopes he can figure it out. I told him to let me know what happens.
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Right on, Gordon. “In Indiana our governor has proclaimed the role of the public schools is to get students ready for the workplace.” How about, the role of the public schools is to get students ready to be citizens of a democracy? That’s more in line w/what Adams & Jefferson had in mind. Kudos to Charles Foster Johnson for promoting the idea that public schools should get out the vote.
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He needs to be careful what he wishes for. The fact is, that in study after study, public school teachers, enroll their own children in non-public schools, at a rate, higher than the general population.
I have not seen any studies, but I would surmise, that non-teaching employees of public schools systems “know the score”, and probably enroll their children in non-public schools, at a similar rate to what teachers do.
If I worked in a public school system, and I had children, I would most likely enroll my children in non-public schools.
If all public school employees voted, they would vote in pro-choice politicians!
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Charles,
Please stop telling us how much you love public schools when you post nonsense like this.
Or, are you deceiving us yet again?
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After having taught in public schools for many years, I know very few teachers that have sent their children to private schools. In fact, I know about ten or so teachers that have opted to send their children to parochial schools for religious reasons. Of course, they paid the tab, not the community in which they lived. In fact, I know more than ten teachers that decided to buy homes in the same school where they worked because they were impressed by the results of the school district.
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Exactly. Where is this supposed “study” from, Chas? Cite your sources.
Where I am, ALL public school teachers have their kids in public schools–often, their own schools.
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@Threatened out west: Here are three reports from credible sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/why-im-a-public-school-teacher-but-a-private-school-parent/386797/
http://educationnext.org/teachers-more-likely-to-use-private-schools-for-their-own-kids/
http://www.aei.org/publication/why-do-public-school-teachers-send-their-own-children-to-private-schools-at-a-rate-2x-the-national-average/
Do a google search, and you will find more.
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Exactly RT.
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Educational Savings Accounts, are a terrific way for individuals (including public school teachers), to save for parochial school tuition, and not have the public/community pay the costs.
Many people (except the poor) are able to select their residence, based on the quality of the publicly-operated school in their neighborhood of choice. My parents did exactly that, when we moved to Bowling Green, KY.
The system of “educational apartheid” which exists in this country, continues to ensure that wealthy people (and some less-wealthy people) can have access to quality public schools. Wealthy liberal elites, and politicians can send their children to excellent non-public schools, as well. The poor get stuck with “crap”.
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Charles, I do not care about your speculations as to who would vote how. As Duane noted at the top, public-school employees are hardly a monolith. Bring it on, & the more, the merrier! I, for one, am sick & tired of elections being decided by the rabid few, while intelligent people thumb-suck chnically on the sidelines.
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” I, for one, am sick & tired of elections being decided by the rabid few, while intelligent people thumb-suck chnically on the sidelines.”
🙂
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I join you in your sentiments, that more citizens should vote. This last. election in Virginia, my own wife chose not to vote. Our participatory democracy only works, if the citizens participate. Sad..
I have lived in a communist country, where the party chose the leadership, and controlled the country. I have lived in an Islamic kingdom, where the king rules, by the divine right of Allah. I have also been to Omaha beach, where 9,000 Americans (as well as British, Canadians, etc.) are buried. I never miss an election
“The opposite of civilization is indifference” – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, Nobel Prize winner.
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I can only remember refusing to vote in one election: the special one to replace our NJ who died– between the execrable Corey Booker & a nut called Lonergan.
Too sick to leave house this last Nov 7. My dear youngest offered to “vote for me”! He was planning to stop in to vote against Christie’s hand-maiden, & leave the rest blank. But he patiently sat w/me & took notes on all the rest of my local choices.
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@bethree5: I am sorry that you missed the election. If you were ill, and unable to make it to the polls, you possibly could have obtained an absentee ballot (If you applied before the deadline). I have voted absentee many times, because of my overseas deployments.
Many times, I have “held my nose”, and voted for the least objectionable candidate. Some (not all) states permit a voter to “write-in” the name of person who is not on the ballot.
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“I have not seen any studies, but I would surmise …”
I stopped reading after that point. Own goal.
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“I’ll Vouch for that”
The teachers in the public school
Enroll their kids in private
They’ve lots of money, as a rule
But simply tend to hide it
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Even if Charles’ studies are correct, it is important to note the nuances of the issues. Many of the teachers who might be able to send their children to private schools have personal reasons for doing so.
I have a friend, now retired, who taught for many years. Her husband was a lawyer, so her teaching was more of a mission than a financial necessity. She was a tireless worker for the funding of public education, a longtime member of the education association, and a parent who chose a traditional private school. I guarentee her vote would have gone against the school boards Charles Johnson would enjoy removing by vote.
A younger compatriot would more likely be swayed by the modern conservative movement due to,social issues.
The problem for Charles Johnson would be getting people to vote his way in the face of a media that does not cover the problems of privatization documented in this blog and in some of the media outlets not controlled by those who now at the altar of free market.
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If a public school teacher chooses to opt-out of sending their own children to the public school, then those teachers should be entitled to a voucher, like anyone else.
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NO!! Nobody should be able to take my tax money to send their kids to a private school. You must like this new ‘tax reform’ bill since it will give the wealthy more tax money to send their kids to expensive private schools.
Public schools are hurting because of the ‘right to choose’. Too many private schools have no accountability, are scams for their wealthy owners or have religious connotations. None of those deserve tax money. An ignorant public is being taken advantage of. Hope they wake up since many of these ‘choices’ are offering inferior educations. Believe that is slowly happening due to workers like Diane Ravitch.
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I don’t see the logic in your If-then statement. There is nothing logical about using public funds for private education.
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@CarolMalaysia: You say Q Nobody should be able to take my tax money to send their kids to a private school END Q
Why do you think this? Families can get a BEOG/Pell Grant, and send their child to a private university/college. See
http://www.simpletuition.com/pell-grant/
Do you object to tax money supporting education at colleges, which are private, or only the same thing occurring at K-12?
There are some things in the new tax proposal, that I approve of. I especially like giving families the ability to save for non-public education.
@speduktr : You say Q There is nothing logical about using public funds for private education. END Q
See my above statement. There are all kinds of public money flowing to private educational institutions. Families use Pell Grants, to pay for non-public education. Veterans use the GI Bill to pay for college and vocational school costs. Students use ROTC scholarships, to pay college costs. And in about 35 states, families receive public funds to pay for K-12 school costs. What does “logic” have to do with it?
And since you object to “public funds for private education”, how do you feel about Educational Savings Accounts, being used by families? The family saves their own money, and there is no public money involved.
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Another name for vouchers.
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We have told you over and over again that K-12 public education is a different animal than post high school education. Unless you are totally braindead, you are aware of these past discussions and should not need another rehash.
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Thank you.
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My pleasure.
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Q K-12 public education is a different animal than post high school education END Q
I have seen this statement written here many times. But no one has yet, explained the concept (to my satisfaction).
Here in Virginia, and in many states, there are educational programs, run by the state. The University of Virginia, is a state-run institution, founded by Thomas Jefferson. The state of Virginia, also operates educational institutions, financed by the state, which operate at the K-12 level.
There is NO difference, between tax-supported education at the high school level, and the university level. The state also operates vocational/technical schools, run on the public treasury.
Of course K-12 education is “compulsory”, and higher education is not mandated by the state. As far as I am concerned, it makes no difference.
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K-12 is mandatory, higher education is not. Students in college are there voluntarily. The law recognizes that distinction even if you do not, Charles.
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I don’t know if you saw this article from Baffler (“How Education Reform Ate the Democratic Party”), but I think you’ll find it refreshing: https://thebaffler.com/latest/ed-reform-ate-the-democrats-berkshire?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=58677870&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–z34J2SsbkPLSJYPgqlP_jbt52ETVe0tieFjfizrgzpDT41a1WYBfsItlvRUaVubbGp2ms4Dj8Kaa1ESuTJGyeXy2YBeZdlMmdVaWQ-rxYKsZwWAQ&_hsmi=58677870
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deb, that is already scheduled.
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Years ago, when Clinton was president, the Bureau of Labor Statistics had a breakdown of all the workers in America by type on a spreadsheet on their website and, according to the numbers, by far the most common worker”s role was that of teacher. This was not just public school K-12 teachers; it included every kind of teacher, from PreK through college and beyond, private and public, union and non-union.
That info on the number of teachers in America was very surprising to me and made me wonder about how things might change if teachers could take advantage of their numbers, corrall the troops, galvanize their forces and leverage control, at least over education policies. The published data disappeared when Bush became president, and suddenly the info indicated the most common job was in retail. I looked and looked but ultimately gave up trying to find the info on teachers after that.
Diane, are you aware of this or have any idea about how to explain it?
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I am in agreement with those who warn that the teachers are not a voting block. I have so many dear friends who vote for conservative politicians, mainly due to,social issues.
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But the point is– like most conservatives, they vote. I think Rev Johnson’s idea is inspired– that is, if it spreads beyond Texas 😉 — if public schools made it a priority to get out the vote in their communities, perhaps we’d get some of these thumb-sucking liberals off their arses & to the polls.
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Funny thing is, in my city, most polling places are AT schools, so faculty could encourage parents to vote when they come to drop off and pick up their children, including by offering to watch the kids while parents vote if need be.
Women are leaving the party of stupid in droves –and most teachers are women…
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/why-republican-women-arent-galvanized-by-the-trump-era/546533/
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