I don't think you could have ordered a worse day for a rally.  Here in Nashville on Saturday, March 5th, it was cold and the rains were torrential at times, and barely ever stopped altogether.  It was the kind of day when you just wanted to stay at home curled up with a cup of tea and a good book in front of the fire.

Instead, at least 4,500 Tennessee teachers drove in from all parts of the state.  They donned their rubber boots and raingear, and umbrellas sprouted along the streets like colorful mushrooms.  They were joined by members of other unions, such as the Teamsters and Steelworkers, to march from Bicentennial Mall to Legislative Plaza, in full view of the State Capitol, to send a message to legislators that their voices would not be silenced.

Since the Republican party has control of the Governor's office and majorities in both houses of the state legislature (for the first time since Reconstruction), there have been a number of bills introduced that target teachers specifically, as well as the Tennessee Education Association, the organization that represents some 52,000 professional educators, administrators, higher education faculty, support personnel, retired teachers, and students majoring in education.

Bills are making their way through House and Senate committees which would abolish collective bargaining for teachers, substantially weaken the tenure law, take away payroll dues deduction for members, take away the TEA's ability to elect representatives to serve on the state's retirement system board, make it illegal for TEA to give any money to political candidates (which is especially galling after the SCOTUS decision in the Citizens United case), and remove licensure as a requirement to be a teacher.  These bills are supposed to reform education.  

Can't you just see student test scores rising once TEA members no longer elect people to represent them on the retirement board, pay their dues through payroll deduction, or have to obtain a teaching license?

Just last year, legislators welcomed TEA's input in the "Race To The Top" initiative.  The resulting plan, in which the TEA offered compromises, changed several state laws affecting teachers, and brought a $500 million grant to Tennessee from the U.S. Department of Education.  But now, TEA and the teachers it represents are being attacked by the very same legislature now that it has a Republican majority.

Is it political payback?  Republican State Representative Glen Casada doesn't deny that he put pressure on TEA to give the same amount to Republican candidates as it does to Democratic candidates.  That didn't happen, and now there have been more than two dozen bills introduced which target TEA and teachers.  Representative Casada, thanks for providing an object lesson on why the TEA supports more Democrats than Republicans.

The intent here is clear:  to demonize, minimize and marginalize the voices of teachers and their professional association. 

But the teachers won't be silenced!  While a couple hundred clueless tea-partiers gathered on the other side of the Capitol (according to the NPR story on the rally, calling us "useful idiots"), thousands of educators marched, sang, chanted, cheered and held up signs with nary a misspelling in sight.  Here are some photos.  I was proud to  be there that day!