Having waded into the "Students Come First" controversy and seen the reaction from opponents, it makes me wonder how many of them have actually read and understand the proposals that Superintendent Luna has put forward. All I have heard is name calling, mudslinging, and references to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust as rebuttals to the proposals. With this type of reaction from opponents my best guess would be probably not and what they have only seen/heard are talking points and irrational claims of what the proposals would do should they be passed.
Here is a short list of what I have heard said or been called by opponents of Luna's proposals:
* You're a fascist/Nazi. (Actually fascists and Nazis are/were left-wing political organizations and admired by FDR and many Democrats during the 1930's until the reality of the Final Solution was finally faced. They freely used unions for their own nefarious agenda until they were no longer needed.)
* They came for the unions first then the Jews. (Not sure what this has to do with the issue and only makes the one making the statement look unhinged and irrational. Besides, the last time I checked no one was building a walled compound with "Work Shall Set You Free" above the entry gate.)
* Luna wants to destroy and turn the education system into private schools that we will have to pay to have our children educated in. (Reality check. We parents already pay to have our children educated. It's called paying taxes! There is no magical government fairy that pays the bill for us.)
* Luna's plan will take away the rights of the teachers. (Slavery is illegal in the United States the last time I checked. Besides the teachers will still have their jobs and will not be forced or coerced to engage in activities without pay. Let's not forget that the Constitution guarantees certain inalienable rights. None of which relates to collective bargaining, unions, or guaranteed pay/benefits.)
* Luna wants to go to all online education and get rid of teachers and school buildings. (Huh? That one just doesn't make any sense at all and is completely unattainable.)
* This is all about busting up the teacher's union. (Idaho is a right to work state meaning unions have little to no power here. That would be like blaming a previous president's administration for current problems. If anything, the argument that this is about keeping the teacher's union from gaining too much power would be more appropriate. And considering the budget holes in states with extremely powerful unions, that would be a good thing.)
If "Students Come First" is such a bad proposal then I would expect a well thought out and logical counter-proposal to come from the opponents rather than irrational and emotional outbursts that I have seen to this point. Why are there no counter-proposals outside of the stock responses of increase taxes and give education more money (above the 50-60% of the budget it already gets)? The state has thrown money at education for decades to really no avail. Money is not always the answer, it definitely isn't in this case, and tax increases in this type of economic climate is a non-starter.
I guess it would just be nice to see a realistic counter-proposal from the opponents of "Students Come First." There are some really intelligent educators out there, at least those I know are, and one would think that they could either come up with a full counter-proposal or at least be willing to sit down and carry on a civil debate and discussion on how to change and improve the proposed plan. Emotional and irrational outbursts will not improve the state's current situation, but civil discourse can (as long as it wasn't done on school computers during contract hours).
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