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Send a letter to the editor to P.O. Box 1600, Dawsonville, GA 30534; fax (706) 265-3276; or email to editor@dawsonnews.com.
DawsonOpinion
WEDNESDAY, August 8, 2018
This is a page of opinion — ours, yours and
others. Signed columns and cartoons are the
opinions of the writers and artists, and they
may not reflect our views.
An open letter
to Georgias
public teachers
Good grief, here we are slap-dab in the
middle of the dog days of summer and you
are already back in the classroom. I remem
ber as a child that my family didn’t even take
vacation until August because school didn’t
start until after Labor Day.
When we started really didn’t seem to mat
ter because before we wound things up
around Memorial Day, I had gotten a head
full of English, Math, History, Biology and
Geography and a jolly good education — and
all in a public
school.
I don’t think
public education
has gotten worse
since those days.
It is society that
has changed.
The problem
is that society has gone to hell in a wheelbar
row and nobody seems to know how to make
it right again. So, the easy solution is to
blame you for something over which you
have no control. Critics of public education
think you can close the schoolhouse door on
all of society’s problems and effectively teach
multiplication tables to a hungry child who
doesn’t know where his or her next meal is
coming from.
You are dealing with entitled kids. You are
dealing with children that can’t speak
English. Gang members as young as 12. You
are dealing with abject poverty, abuse, drags
and transiency. And as much as I hate to say
it, the possibility of violence.
So, what do our intrepid public servants
do? Rather than fix the problems that sur
round you and make your job so difficult,
they propose to cut-and-run from public
schools on the state’s dime and send lads to
private schools that have a different set of
rales and that can always send them back to
public schools. It is a no-win situation for
you.
I cannot think of more egregious insult to
you than the admission by Lt. Gov. Casey
Cagle that he engineered a bill to raise to
$100 million the amount of money available
for private school scholarships, while
acknowledging it was “bad in a thousand
ways” in order that his opponent in the
Republican primary, former state Sen. Hunter
Hill — a private school advocate — would
not be the beneficiary of a dump of money
from the Walmart Foundation which cares lit
tle for you or what you do.
Of course, the Kool-Aid drinking ideo
logues are busy defending this bad piece of
legislation done badly. They can’t wait until
public schools are the “schools of last resort,”
meaning you will be left with only the dregs
and they can applaud their self-fulfilling
prophecy.
This bunch has just about sucked all the
joy out of the profession with their criticisms
(as if they care) and have tried to make it as
unattractive as possible for those thinking of
becoming teachers. The Georgia Professional
Standard Commission says half of Georgia’s
schoolteachers leave the profession within
the first five years because of the way they
are treated. Perhaps some need to go. Most
do not.
Sometimes, the enemy is within. Education
bureaucrats will change your jobs and your
responsibilities without giving you an oppor
tunity for input. You are told to Teach to the
Test instead of being trusted to teach what
you know. And how you are evaluated can be
as different as the sun from the moon.
I had great hopes that Gov. Deal’s
Education Reform Commission of which I
was a member would address some of the
issues that you face with the same effective
ness as his criminal justice reform efforts.
Alas, it was not to be. Nothing came from
our yearlong labor for reasons that have
never been adequately explained. Very disap
pointing.
While I sometimes feel like a voice in the
wilderness, immodesty requires me to say I
have a pretty good-sized wilderness in which
to work. My opinions ran from one end of
the state to the other and reach a lot of eye
balls each week. I will continue to use my
bully pulpit to support you and to remind
your critics in the Legislature and their deep-
pocketed, out-of-state special interest friends
that they wouldn’t last a week in your class
room, given what you have to deal with. Call
it a public service.
Despite all the aforementioned obstacles,
frustrations and second-guessing, you soldier
on, changing young lives for the better every
day and in doing so, helping to make this a
better world for us all. Yours is a noble call
ing and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Welcome back, schoolteachers, and thank
you. I am glad you are there.
DICKYARBROUGH
Columnist
You can reach Dick Yarbrough atdick@dickyar-
brough.com; at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA 31139;
online at dickyarbrough.com or on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/dickyarb.
"Even though Deal is leaving,
he said it's OK for us to ask
for funding increases!"
"Yeah, but what
bothers me is who
we have to ask!"
Life lessons from me, your dog
As dictated to Jessica
Brown
Hi! It’s me! Your dog!
Did you just see that squir
rel?! He was giving me a
look but I barked him away
to protect you because I love
you!
Master, it’s come to my
attention that there’s a lot
about life that you can’t quite
put your paw on. There’s
some things you haven’t
learned. But lucky for you I
have and I’m going to teach
you all the things you need to
know. I won’t be around for
ever so pay attention and take
notes because you’ve got
thumbs and should write this
down. This is way more
important than butt scratches!
Now that I have your atten
tion, listen up because I am
only going to bark this once.
Put down that glowing
rectangle thing you always
have in your hand. What’s so
great about it? You can’t eat
it. You can’t fetch it. You
can’t give it tummy rubs.
You’re always looking at the
rectangle and not at what
matters. Put down the rectan
gle and pick up a ball. Then
throw it. I’ll bring it back and
then you throw it again.
Spend more time throwing
the ball, less time holding the
rectangle.
Start wagging your tail. I
know you don’t really have a
tail, but that doesn’t mean
you can’t wag it! I wag my
tail to tell you I’m happy and
JESSICA BROWN
Columnist
that I love you and that I am
so excited to see you.
Wagging your tail is how you
know someone is happy. It’s
up to you to find your tail and
to wag it to the world! Let
them know you’re happy and
excited to see them. Always
wag your tail so everyone
knows you love them.
And don’t only wag your
tail, chase it! One day I was
chewing on my bone then out
of nowhere this wiggly thing
appeared in the comer of my
eye. I stopped everything and
knew what I had to do. I had
to catch the wiggly thing that
was taunting me! You
remember seeing me spin
and spin and spin, right
Master? I chased that wiggly
thing until I finally caught it.
I never gave up! And guess
what? It was my own tail! I
was so proud that I finally
caught my fluffy tail. Your
tail is out there. Some might
call it a dream. I call it a tail.
Chase it until you catch it in
your mouth!
Bark more. Sometimes
things are scary and you just
got to bark to chase off the
scary. Sometimes your paw
gets stepped on and you bark
to let Master know you’re
hurt then Master makes it all
better. Sometimes there’s a
cat on your porch and you
have to let Master know
THERE IS A CODE GRAY
ON THE PORCH! CODE
GRAY! CODE GRAY!
Okay, the cat has gone. But
you see what I mean? When
something is important to
you, you have to bark. You
can always bark softly and
carry a big stick. A big stick
that I would love to fetch.
(Please throw the stick!)
Look, take it from an
expert on the color gray, life
isn’t just black and white. It’s
all shades of gray like that
book I tore up. (I remember
you said it was a bad book so
I have no regrets chewing it
up. It was tasty.) I see the
world and it’s all gray. And
lucky for you, Master, you
get to see all sorts of colors
and I bet it’s more than just
black and white! See the
world in shades, Master. It’s
a lot more fun when you do.
It’d be a really sad world if it
was only two colors all the
time.
Don’t be afraid to get out
there and sniff some butts!
Every time we go out on
walkies I never see you sniff
any butts! You tilt your head
at other Masters but you
never bark, you never wag
your butt, you never sniff
theirs...how are you going to
meet your friends if you
don’t get to sniffing?! You
don’t even let others come
sniff your butt! Open up your
butt, the one that’s in your
chest. I can always tell a
good boy and a good girl
from their butt smell. Meet
your own good boys and
good girls by sniffing their
chest butts. You know, that
thing that goes “boom boom
boom” real fast when you
run? What’s that word,
Master?
I’d like to think I’ve got life
figured out. I’ve got a family
who loves me and takes care
of me. My water bowl is
always clean and my belly
always full. I get pets and
treats and kisses and hugs. I
snuggle up next to you,
Master, on your nice, warm
bed. I have everything I’ve
ever wanted and all I’ve ever
needed...your love. And real
ly, that’s all that matters.
And Master, one more
thing.
When it’s time to say
goodbye, remember what
I’ve taught you about life.
You’ve given me the best life
ever and when I go to
Rainbow Bridge, please do
not cry in sorrow. My paws
won’t be there to wipe your
tears. Instead, I want you to
celebrate my life. Tell my
stories. Put down the glowing
rectangle, and pick up the
ball. And throw it once again.
Love,
Your good boy
Jessica Brown is a reporter for
the Dawson County News.
"Don't worry. With good behavior
we ought to be out in 12 years."
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