Thursday, October 07, 2004
Kentucky teachers "Acting up."
Some Kentucky teachers have been acting like problem children of late. When the governor published a projection of the healthcare budget for state workers for next year, many teachers went berserk. They have been allowed to languish in a dream world of free medical insurance. In the coming year they were going to have to actually pay for health insurance!
They immediately threatened to strike (illegal for them.) A group of teachers in Western Kentucky took advantage of the fact that the governor was in the area for an unrelated meeting, and DEMANDED an improptu meeting. When he agreed, he was met by an unruly rabble, many of whom were openly drinking (illegal in public there) and hostile. They carried signs, which contained misspellings and bad grammar. He was shouted down when he tried to deal with the realities of their issues.
Kentucky is not famous as a bastion of learning or literacy, or even good high school graduation rates. Since it is clear that a great deal of the blame for that situation rests squarely on the teachers, one would expect a bit more forebearance on their part.
Health care costs rise, for ALL of us, more than 15 percent each year. This has been a fact of life for many years. Is it fair? Is it right? I don't know, but it is reality. These teachers should have been weaned from "free" medical insurance, as were most of us, many years ago. Sometimes, the cloistered halls of schools insulate people too much from the reality of life as it really is. These events seem to bear that out.
They immediately threatened to strike (illegal for them.) A group of teachers in Western Kentucky took advantage of the fact that the governor was in the area for an unrelated meeting, and DEMANDED an improptu meeting. When he agreed, he was met by an unruly rabble, many of whom were openly drinking (illegal in public there) and hostile. They carried signs, which contained misspellings and bad grammar. He was shouted down when he tried to deal with the realities of their issues.
Kentucky is not famous as a bastion of learning or literacy, or even good high school graduation rates. Since it is clear that a great deal of the blame for that situation rests squarely on the teachers, one would expect a bit more forebearance on their part.
Health care costs rise, for ALL of us, more than 15 percent each year. This has been a fact of life for many years. Is it fair? Is it right? I don't know, but it is reality. These teachers should have been weaned from "free" medical insurance, as were most of us, many years ago. Sometimes, the cloistered halls of schools insulate people too much from the reality of life as it really is. These events seem to bear that out.
