1) I am active enough in enough circles to have a very good sense of what teachers think on a lot of topics.
2) In general, teachers have tended not to be outspoken, but so many are so upset with this administration that they have been saying and doing things that in the past would have been inconceivable.
3) My diary earlier today, Dear Mr. President, neither said that I would not vote for the President nor did it advocate that other teachers not vote for the President. What I did is to express my concerns and those i hear from other teachers. Whether or not people in either the administration or the campaign want to listen, what I wrote is an accurate representation of what increasing numbers of teachers feel, including those who are members of unions - and until two weeks ago when i resigned, i was my building's union rep.
4) That both unions have already endorsed Obama is not necessarily a reflection of what their members think and feel.
5) I do not not know what my own future holds. I may come back to my current position for one more year and write about a final year of teaching. I might move on to other things in education. I might leave education completely. What I do know is that it is getting increasingly more difficult to teach with integrity, and the call of whether I continue as a a teacher may be a very close one. What is scary is to see how many other experienced teachers I know who are either bailing now, or who have decided that there is little that they can do except mark time for one or two more years until they can retire. These are the kinds of teachers you would want to be there, for the younger teachers and for the kids.
6) You may disagree with what I write. You may want to argue with the implications of my words. I acknowledge my experience is not universal. But then I would suggest you look closely at the reaction my words get from other teachers - you can see what is posted here, or in response to my tweeting. What you do not see is the dozens of direct emails I get thanking me for giving voice to their concerns.
I have a horrible head cold. I don't expect this to draw that much attention. I will watch it for a bit.
Ignore me, dismiss what i say. Maybe you think I am totally off-base.
But what if I am not? What if what I write is an accurate reflection of what many teachers think and feel?