Unrelenting: not yielding in strength, severity, or determination.
That’s the word I think best describes the situation we find ourselves in this American Education Week.
The mutating virus, the angry pressure applied on our local elected officials by a small, vocal, misinformed segment of our society, the attacks on public education and those who provide it, and now the bounty placed on New Hampshire educators – all unrelenting.
Also unrelenting however is our dedication and devotion to our students, our desire to safely remain in our classrooms, and the creativity in our approaches to the problems we face each day.
Listening to the angry voices at school board meetings and in the media, it’s easy to feel burned out and demoralized. We endured staggering levels of anxiety and pressure over the last 18 months.
One thing I’ve learned – never, ever underestimate a New Hampshire educator. We’re fierce, resourceful, and always rooting for our students to succeed. We’re driven by a passion to help our students become the success story that’s inside each of them. Those shouting at school board meetings are driven by anger and fear.
Their anger and fear has deprived our schools of millions of dollars in funding, chilled our teaching about injustices, allowed untrained and unqualified individuals to ‘teach’ our students for graduation credit, and extended the duration of the pandemic putting each one of us at increased risk.
In times like these, we have always looked to our leaders for strength, support, and the wisdom to guide us out of the crisis. But when we look to Governor Sununu and Commissioner Edelblut, we see none of these things.
I remember that in the earliest days of the pandemic we remained hopeful. We all seemed to be working together to stay safe and do the best we could for our students. But then we watched Governor Sununu and Commissioner Edelblut do everything possible to avoid responsibility for our children’s safety. They talked about common sense and flexibility, then failed to lead. They capitulated to the very loud, very angry, and very misinformed segment of their base, putting the health of every student and educator at risk, rather than risk their political futures. The Swiss cheese approach they proposed for schools let them off the hook with the angry crowds for a while, forcing school boards, administrators, and teachers to face the mob and provide the leadership and courage to do the right thing that they failed to supply.
We ask Governor Sununu to look around at what his non-policy agenda has accomplished: Kids and educators getting sick; COVID cases and hospitalizations increasing once again, vaccine rates plummeting, bounties placed on educators. And the crowds are still angry. Was it worth it, Governor? Is this what you envisioned when you washed your hands of making the tough decisions to require masks and vaccines in schools? When you remained silent as bounties were placed on dedicated educators?
There is still a great deal of unspent COVID money in New Hampshire that should be used to improve the HVAC systems in our aging schools and cold weather is on the way. We want nothing more than for our kids to learn in person, but we must be sure they stay safe. It’s unfathomable that Commissioner Edelblut and the State Board of Education are considering penalizing schools for moving to remote learning as a last resort during a COVID outbreak.
I know that many of us would like to avoid politics and simply go about our day educating. I would like nothing more than that as well. Sadly, that is not the world in which we live. We have said for years that there are organized, well-funded groups out there who want nothing more than to dismantle public education as we know it. Today in New Hampshire, they are succeeding, making our schools less safe and effective.
Their new voucher scheme just diverted over $8 million from state funding for public schools to offset the tuition bills of parents who are sending their children to private and religious schools.
Playing politics with our children’s future has now spiraled out of control in New Hampshire with vigilante bounty tactics. Politicians like Sununu and Edelblut and their supporters are methodically removing the foundation of a great public education. They are, and have been, unrelenting in their efforts.
So, our response must also be unrelenting. Now more than ever we need to lean on the power of our numbers, the strength of our purpose, and the expertise of our collective organization. We believe in taking collective action to ensure the collective good. When we raise our voices, we help every educator get the support they need to stay and thrive in our profession.
This unrelenting assault on public education needs to end. By joining together and speaking up at school board meetings and voting in local elections, we can make our schools places where every child belongs and can thrive, and where they can prepare for the future by learning both the good and the bad of our history so we can avoid making the same mistakes.
To all of the educators in New Hampshire this American Education Week, thank you. You inspire, you listen, you unlock potential. You nourish, heal and care for our children. You are appreciated more than you’ll ever know. Your dedication is unwavering.
Now is the time to add unrelenting to the list of qualities that makes us who we are.
In Solidarity,
Megan Tuttle
NEA-New Hampshire President