Is ‘SC for Ed’ actually ‘Red for Ed’ and Political?

I’m sure by now you have heard of the SC teacher group SC For ED. This SC group of teachers seem to be very aligned with the dues paying National Teacher’s Red For Ed of the National Teacher’s Association.

We don’t have teacher unions in SC, we are a right to work state. However, recently, approximately 10,000 SC teachers took a school day off from teaching to march on Columbia… all wearing red, to call attention to SC Legislators of their demands. Their rally produced a salary increase from legislators. Leading up to this march they promoted all teachers and anyone else in the community to “wear RED FOR ED on Wednesdays.” It worked.

I would think most of us support our great teachers and know that they have a vital role in educating students. After all, a huge share of our state and local taxes here in SC, as well as federal tax dollars, go towards funding education which includes teachers’ salary and benefits.

Should a teacher ‘dress code’ be addressed with our legislators? Should teachers while on the tax payer dime in the classroom be wearing a certain color one day of the week to promote their profession and their political agenda?

Is wearing Red on Wednesdays secretly promoting a political message? Are President Trump supporting teacher’s allowed to wear MAGA hats or t-shirts on a certain day of the week? Are teacher’s allowed to wear Social Justice Warrior t-shirts? Are teacher’s allowed to wear Stop Fracking t-shirts? Are teacher’s allowed to wear Stop Abortion t-shirts? Are teacher’s allowed to wear I Support Black Live’s Matter t- Shirts? Are teacher’s allowed to wear LGBTQ Supporter t-shirts with the rainbow flag? Are teacher’s allowed to wear I Support Heterosexual Marriage t- shirts in the classrooms?

Are other teachers who do not belong to this Red For Ed movement being ostracized and bullied for not wearing red on Wednesdays?

So if a teacher or student or parent doesn’t wear red on Wednesday does that mean they don’t love and support public education? These are all questions we as taxpayers need to be asking about what is going on during instructional time in our classrooms. Shouldn’t teachers be teaching and not promoting their own agenda during the instructional day?

The concern I have as a former teacher myself is whether or not some of these teachers and the public are being duped? Is this RED FOR ED movement really just about supporting public education while respecting teachers and awarding them better pay and benefits? Or are there other support for “political agendas” being implied by wearing red? Are they sending a message to their students that they too should be wearing red on Wednesdays to show their support for specific political agendas? And by wearing red to school in the classroom are they aligning with the NEA’s teacher union who also pushes wearing red? If you are wearing red on Wednesday does that imply you are in support of all the goals the National Education Association has just adopted? NEA’s agendas can be viewed here.

Our SC Legislators recently gave all our SC teacher’s raises ranging from 4% to 10% with more of an increase going to new teachers. This all came about due to this movement of wearing red and marching.

But teacher’s are still not satisfied… they are still pushing wearing red on Wednesdays this school year. SC FOR ED teachers are still calling for all SC teachers to wear Red on Wednesday’s to show their “solidarity“ on wanting their further demands met. On their Facebook page on August 16th they state… “It was so awesome to be back to school this week and see the sea of red on Wednesday. Keep it up! #enoughisenough #timeforchange #payteachersmoremoney“

Do you, as a critical thinking taxpayer think this is purely a non-political movement? Or, is this organization more about electing SC legislators who will meet their demands? SC is a right to work state with no unionization of teachers. But teachers leaving their classrooms on a school day when they are supposed to be teaching to march in Columbia sure is similar to striking don’t you think?

Recently, SC for ED advertised a meeting that took place titled “SC for Ed State Caucus” held October 5 with keynote speakers followed by “breakout sessions” on a variety of topics related to advocating for their teaching profession.

I checked on the definition of “caucus”… it is defined by Webster as “a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy.” The National Education Association has caucuses too. The last one clearly shows their adopted business political agendas as a result of their caucus.

If one takes the time to look into the backgrounds of the key note speakers for this SC for ED caucus meeting, you will find many involved are aligned to the Democrat Party such as Sen. Mike Fanning from SC District 17. Another speaker, Executive Director Kayla Gilchrist of “MORE JUSTICE” whose goals are similarly aligned with the Democrat Party agenda of social justice. See here for her non-profit group’s web page.

Speaker for the event, Karla Gilchrist’s group has a Facebook page labeled, “MORE Justice: Midlands Organized Response for Equity and Justice.”

It is imperative as the new school year has begun that parents remain vigilant about what is taking place in their child’s classrooms daily. Are you as a parent fine with political agendas being pushed on your child? If not, it’s time to take action and speak up.

 

 

Johnnelle Raines is a retired public school teacher of 29 years in the classroom. She is also a Board Member of the United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE).