Charles Foster Johnson is a fiery minister who has made it his mission to protect the millions of children who attend public schools and to block the billionaires pushing vouchers.
You gotta love this fearless man!
“Quoting Bible verses and calling the school vouchers proposal by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other lawmakers “sinful,” Fort Worth minister Charlie Johnson has been driving feverishly around the state before the March 6 primary.
“At rallies and impromptu meetings arranged by friendly school superintendents with local ministers, the longtime Southern Baptist preacher delivers a fiery message on behalf of public schools. His get-out-the-vote crusade has irritated GOP state leaders and staunchly conservative activists who favor using tax dollars to help parents of children enrolled in public schools pay to attend private schools.
“Johnson, pastor of the small, interracial Bread Fellowship in Fort Worth, does not mince words. Christians have an obligation to embrace public schools as a social good, especially for poor children, he says.
“As he said in a sharp exchange with a leading House voucher proponent at a legislative hearing just over a year ago, “You have the right to home-school your children. You have the right to ‘private school’ your children. You don’t have the right to ask the people of Texas to pay for it.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Wow!
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Double wow! So very, very true. Let the Koch brothers pay or the Walton Family Foundation or the members of ALEC!!
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Reblogged this on Lloyd Lofthouse and commented:
“You have the right to home-school your children. You have the right to ‘private school’ your children. You don’t have the right to ask the people of Texas to pay for it.”
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Excellent. This highlights the importance of Americans of all persuasions working together to defend public education and our heritage of church-state separation.
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You make an excellent point in noting that all Americans can, and should, express their support of public education. And any decision concerning it should incorporate the decision of the people, not simply politicians.
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“What that classroom teacher is doing is inherently spiritual,” he said. “In accepting a child unconditionally [and] going the extra mile in pedagogy, they are performing a spiritual act.”
NO!
The teaching and learning that occurs in a classroom is an inherent deeply human act. No spirits or spiritual metaphysics needed to explain what goes on in a classroom, nor to justify what goes on in a classroom. Johnson’s “spiritual” world belies the world as it is and assigns very human emotions and interactions to a realm that never was and never will be, that supposed “spiritual” realm.
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Cool it, Duane. He has a right to his beliefs, just as you do. Sometimes you sound as evangelical as those you feel compelled to disagree with.
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What I object to the assumption by religious believers that what they say is automatically true as Johnson does with that statement. I will fight against those false assumptions, so don’t plan on me “cooling it”. And those false faith beliefs have no place in public education except to be shown to be as a deplorable way of thinking.
Tell me why religious beliefs that are demonstrably false are considered “sacred” and shouldn’t be questioned?? Hell yes they should be called out at every moment.
I contend that those types of “faith” beliefs are exactly what allows a lying, falsehood spewing person like the trumpster to get elected because anyone’s false beliefs have to be accepted. I don’t accept that.
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I’m not sure that Trump needed anyone to twist themselves into religious knots to get elected although there seem to be a fair number who did. Effective propaganda/marketing does not require a connection to the Almighty. I would guess that we would all offend fewer people if we prefaced all our remarks with some sort of personal disclaimer, like “I believe my faith calls me to…” Perhaps you could do the same.
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Whether someone is religious or not does not matter so much, all of us should admire Johnson’s commitment and efforts on behalf of Texas’ children. He understands the inherent inequality and anti-democratic goals of so called choice. He knows that public schools represent the best promise of America, and they are the best hope of giving all students a fair shot at building a better future and becoming responsible citizens. They ensure that the state supports “the common good.”
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I entered into an email dialog with Mr. Johnson, and I was not at all satisfied with his replies. I informed of the Supreme Court decision Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, and how the constitutional issue had been solved 15 years ago. He stated that he felt Zelman was wrong, but he would not explain why.
If this man is so supportive of the separation of church and state, he should go back to his church, and leave affairs of state, to the people.
I lived in Texas for a while, and I found Texans to be a very independent breed of people. Texas is not just a state, it is a state of mind.
School choice is coming to Texas. Not today, and not this year, but it is coming.
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Charles,
Why you want to destroy public schools is a puzzle. It doesn’t help children. It doesn’t improve education. It promotes segregation. Thank goodness or God for Rev. Johnson. He is in the arena. You sit on the sidelines writing comments on blogs. I’m for him.
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Don’t waste time puzzling on why I wish to destroy publicly-financed education, and publicly-operated schools. I do not wish to destroy either. The publicly-operated schools here in Fairfax are superb. They flattered me, when they accepted my application as a substitute teacher. I wish that all publicly-operated schools in the USA, met the standards demonstrated here in my county of residence. If they did, then school choice would be a moot issue.
Only a very small number of families (currently) are able to exercise school choice. Yet, according to research (some of it provided by you) publicly-operated schools are more segregated now than ever. When white people’s neighborhood schools are mostly white, they prefer public schools. When the neighborhood schools have minority children, they prefer school choice. (See the recent article in the Atlantic)
Apparently, the current system, is making schools more segregated. I predict the trend will continue.
I have done more than merely comment (on internet fora). I have contacted my political servants here in VA, and made my desires for more parental choices and freedom quite clear. I supported the pro-choice candidate for governor here, he lost. School choice is dead here in VA for at least the next four years.
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Trump insists that he is “like, very smart” and a “stable genius.” Donald pretends to be a Christian and to revere the Bible, but he seems to ignore the statement attributed to Jesus in Matthew 23:12 that “He who exalts himself shall be humiliated.”
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