A FRUSTRATED NAPTA TEACHER SPEAKS

Teachers in general get what they deserve, as do the majority of Americans. Teachers on the whole are slugs, fraidycats, and mouse-like creatures,who worry more about their paycheck than the environment they work in (in spite of considerable dedication to the kids in their classrooms.) All the teachers who I worked my butt off for in Shelley, Idaho, as their union leader, ran for cover when the administration came after me (well, there were a handful who didn't, but they were at a loss as to what to do.)

It is this aspect of human beings that allowed Hitler to rise to power, and George Bush to get as far as he's gotten. It seems inherent in our genes and may well be our epitath.

I wrote literally hundreds of letters and mailed them to literally thousands of places, including newspapers, radio, local and national tv, and politicians. With a handful of exceptions, which almost seemed like mistakes, there was very little reponse.

So what does it take to start a movement? A different level of consciousness, the same thing that could change our world for the better in a very short time.

How do we get from here to there? I'm sure I don't know, except I do keep talking, writing, teaching, and doing what I can to bring it about. Some things seem so obvious to me, yet so opaque to others.

Dan Geery, A REAL TEACHER Top

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