A Kentucky General Assembly interim committee meeting on education drew fire from an unsanctioned, unofficial group of teachers yesterday when it was (falsely) reported that no teachers were invited to address the panel.
Leading the charge of criticism was the group known as 120 Strong or KY 120 United. Remember, this is the same group that called for an illegal sickout so teachers could go to Frankfort to protest proposed pension reforms.
Unsurprisingly, several members of the media jumped into the fray, repeating the lie that no teachers were on the agenda or gave testimony. One supposedly impartial and unbiased newspaper reporter from Louisville even made a value judgment, saying that she was no longer going to tweet one person's remarks because he was not a representative of an established education group.
What's ironic is that in the same thread, that same reporter revealed that the person whose voice she wasn't going to amplify any longer is, indeed, a teacher.
As they say now in popular Twitter terminology, here's the receipt:
Dennis Buschman is the JROTC instructor at West Carter High School. Which means, in plain language, he's a teacher. When this was pointed out to members of "120 Wrong," they immediately got defensive and began belittling Buschman's education and experience. They basically called him "not a real teacher" because he teaches a specialized subject, has a different background, and most importantly, has different viewpoints than the 120 minions. Most of them are unabashed supporters of Gov. Andy Beshear and fully support his agenda on dealing with the Wuhan Chinese virus, including keeping businesses and schools closed and mandatory wearing of masks. The "120 Wrong" crowd decided that Buschman's point of view was not worthy of consideration because he opposes mask mandates. In short, his opinion is invalid and he should be canceled because he doesn't agree with their views.
The "120 Wrong" crowd is openly hostile to teachers who have different viewpoints. The Kentucky Education Association gets all the headlines, but the general public probably isn't aware that there's another, less liberal, group called the Kentucky Association of Professional Educators that actually offers more benefits than does KEA. But since "120 Wrong" is basically the radicalized arm of KEA, their loudest voices are very much opposed to KAPE and its leaders and representatives, to the point of personal harassment.
KEA and "120 Wrong" give teachers a bad name and an undeserved reputation for being overwhelmingly liberal. Fayette and Jefferson counties dominate the landscape, but the truth is there are plenty of conservative Republicans in the education field out in the state. Some of the loudest, most obnoxious "120 Wrong" voices are from Republican counties in rural and small-town Kentucky, which is an obvious indicator that they're not indicative of the majority school of thought -- especially as voter registration trends continue to show Democrats hemorrhaging voters and Republicans rapidly closing the registered voter gap to the point where the GOP will finally take the majority in a few years if the pace continues.
And while it's true that far too many Republican educators believed the lies about their pensions and betrayed their principles and values by voting for Beshear over Matt Bevin, there's also been a great deal of "voter's remorse" the past nine months as they've seen Kentucky descend into an economic abyss and students basically lose two years' worth of schooling with the closing of classrooms in the spring and a delayed start to in-person instruction this summer.
So while the untrue complaint that no teachers were invited to address the legislative committee is false on its face, the gripes about teachers not having a voice are equally hollow. KEA and "120 Wrong" have direct input into every decision this administration makes. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that the leaders (elected for KEA and self-appointed for "120 Wrong") have the personal cell phone numbers of the governor and lieutenant governor. The legislature is not in session, so it's powerless to do anything about any of the executive orders and decrees coming from the governor. All that General Assembly members can do is write or call the governor with their concerns, and he's already shown that he's not interested in hearing what the legislative majority has to say. The educational establishment already has the ear of the executive branch and the Department of Education. Why do they want to appear before a powerless legislative committee except to grandstand?
And this doesn't even address the media's bias and failings in this regard. They gladly downplayed Buschman's testimony and repeated the lie that "no teachers were invited to speak." The Kentucky Freedom Coalition is doing a great job holding the press accountable, as evidenced by their Facebook and Twitter pages. They're turning into Kentucky's version of the Media Research Center and are to be commended for their efforts. Too many reporters and editors have willingly bought in to the "stay home," "mask up," and other edicts and can't be counted on for objective coverage of the issues.
The majorities and the leadership in the House and Senate have been vocal about what the executive branch has been doing. If they can retain their spines and not wilt under pressure, a day of reckoning is coming when the General Assembly convenes after the new year. The governor and Secretary of State Michael Adams are going to face consequences for their actions over the last several months. "120 Wrong" will be fighting them every step of the way. The legislators need to know that the loud, angry, lying voices that purport to represent a majority of teachers actually don't, and that they're more interested in self-promotion and pretending to be important than they are actually solving the state's problems. Liberal Democrats are losing power in the Bluegrass State, and this bunch is desperately trying to stay relevant even as they tie their boat to a sinking pier. And they're not above spreading falsehoods and trying to discredit or cancel anyone who doesn't drink the same flavor of Kool-Aid as they do.
