Badass Teachers Association

Press Release

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  June 12, 2014

More Information Contact:

Marla Kilfoyle, General Manager, BATs

Melissa Tomlinson, Asst. General Manager, BATs

contact.batmanager@gmail.com

Badass Teachers Association -  http://www.badassteacher.org/

 

The Badass Teachers Association (BATs), an association of over 48,000 teachers, is horrified by the ruling yesterday in the Vergara Trial.  A teacher’s right to due process is a guarantee they can advocate on behalf of children, education, and the community without repercussions. Due process IS NOT A JOB FOR LIFE!  The Vergara Trial was NOT about students' rights or ineffective teachers- it was about billionaires destroying public education and unions. Please see http://dianeravitch.net/.../were-the-vergara-trial.../.  Will firing teachers end the poverty, violence, and trauma in many of our urban schools?  Will firing teachers erase gross racial and class inequalities that exist in education? Will firing teachers redraw the lines of a zip code so that children can attend a school with the resources they need to succeed?

Co-Founder of BATs Mark Naison stated, “A fixation on 'bad teachers' is the surest path to getting rid of the best teachers.” Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis stated today, “Due Process prevents demi-gods, tyrants and extremists from firing a teacher for no valid reason.”

The Badass Teachers Association stands in solidarity with the California Teachers Association, parents, and students who will fight this preposterous ruling.  The judge that eventually overturns this ruling will be hailed a hero to public education, a hero for equality, and a hero for children. 

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