by David Safier
Anyone who follows the comments here at BfA knows Tucson Vice, a sometimes witty, sometimes sarcastic, always passionate supporter of public education whose wife, he's told us a few times, teaches middle school in south Tucson.
What I didn't know until a few days ago is that he's stationed in Afghanistan as a linguist/translator with the Air Force. Or that his wife was one of the many teachers pink-slipped in TUSD.
When I found out, I contacted him by email and asked if he would tell us more about his story. A young man serving in one of the world's danger zones, a young woman who is a dedicated teacher in danger of losing her job -- those are two stories we all benefit from hearing first hand.
Both Tucson Vice and his wife are intelligent people and good writers, so I'm putting the rest of this post in their hands, with an occasional comment from me so you know who's saying what. I was asked to keep their identities private, so whenever Tucson Vice refers to his wife by name, I put in [my wife] or something similar in brackets. Other than that, this is their story in their words.
Let's begin.
My location in Afghanistan will have to remain undisclosed. I am a linguist/translator in the US Air Force. I have been here since before Christmas, and thankfully, I expect to be home within the next two months. I can't say for sure because we don't always know exactly when we will get to leave. Prior to this deployment, I also deployed to Kuwait/Iraq. My location gets attacked with fair regularity, and these attacks pick up as the weather warms up. I balance this war with my home life as best I can, but it is difficult sometimes, and it helps to have a wife like [mine].
I will soon be out of the Air Force. After four honorable years, I will separate from the military to finish the last year and a half of my undergrad at U of A, beginning this fall. In the meantime, [my wife] and I will travel this summer to Africa to teach English at a university in The Democratic Republic of the Congo (she has already been once, during my last deployment but it will be my first time in Africa). As soon as I finish my undergrad degree (Near Eastern Studies with a minor in Arabic), I hope to go straight into law school, and then back into public service.
I bring up my UA stuff because this is one more way that we are being hit by the war on education. As a teacher, [my wife] may lose her job. As a grad student at ASU, her tuition will increase. As an undergrad at UA, my tuition will also increase, lessening the worth of my GI bill benefits. Talk about a perfect storm, right?
Here in Afghanistan, I am taking a full class load through the University of Maryland (they send Professors to us) in an effort to minimize the amount of money that comes out of my GI bill before law school. In addition to my wife getting pink slipped, enemy attacks and every other dang thing going on out here, the lege has put me in a position in which I have to be a full time student in a warzone just to make this all even out.
Tucson Vice's wife wrote a bit about herself and her current situation.
I graduated Cum Laude in 2 years from NAU with a GPA of 3.68 at the age of 19 [she is now 21]. I am currently enrolled in my Master's program at ASU. I am also taking the Arizona state mandated Structured English Immersion course on top of working full time as a teacher.
Throughout my teaching career, I have always been given exemplary remarks on all of my evaluations. I attend Professional Development classes once a week. I attend before and after school parent-teacher conferences, IEP meetings (for Special Education students) and other kinds of meetings, which I do not get paid for.
I work incredibly hard. My contract day is from 8:15 am to 4 pm. I drive 26 miles to work everyday and, on a typical day, spend 2 hours driving. I leave my home at 7 am everyday and usually do not get home until about 5 pm. I usually work at my home at least two or three hours a night, whether it is grading papers, creating lesson plans or working on my Master's degree. [Tucson Vice adds, "She has an affinity for underprivileged kids which is why she drives to south Tucson."]
On Friday, April 3rd, I was given a notice from my Principal and two Assistant Principals that stated my name was being submitted to a Governing Board meeting to be included in the RIF [Reduction in Force]. The letter states that the order of the RIF is determined by the district seniority date in the bargaining unit, the program or level in which I am currently working and my highly qualified/certified status. It also states that if the Govering Board authorizes the RIF, the district expects to be able to recall at least some of the positions. I have recall rights to my teaching position for three years from the date of the lay-off.
It's important to remember that the RIF notice doesn't mean TUSD is letting her go. It means she's one of the people who could be released, depending on how much is cut from the education budget.
More comments from Tucson Vice:
We weren't entirely shocked by this...we could see the writing on the wall as the 2008 election unfolded and again as the Republicans rolled out their state budget. I must admit though, that despite having mentally prepared for it, it still bothers the hell out of me. [My wife] is a trooper. She knows she will not have a problem finding a new job if it comes to that, and she is generally a very optimistic person. Together, though, both as a young married couple and as two people in service to our nation, we see this unfold and we have real concerns.
What worries us most, I think, is how many other young, vibrant, enthusiastic and well qualified teachers just like [my wife] might be getting the chop. We are struggling to find real teaching talent in the first place...struggling to find young professionals willing to take the plunge into education. Not only do the cuts in education funding discourage the children in today's classrooms (fire their favorite teachers, increase their class sizes, etc), but it is bound to discourage the children in tomorrow's classrooms as well by demonstrating in as profound a way as possible that we didn't care about them then, and we don't care about them now.
[My wife] has decided to draft a letter and send it to every member of our state lege as well as the guv, Senators Kyl and McCain and our entire congressional delegation. She wants our elected officials to know that we are not satisfied with the quality of K-12 education in Arizona, that it should be last on the chopping block, not first, and express her dissatisfaction with this most recent wave of teacher firings
This Republican war on education will continue claiming casualties through generations of Arizonans if it continues on this course. [My wife] and I feel it is our obligation to shed light on it and share her story. Unfortunately, it isn't unique. Far too many young teachers experience the same thing year after year--an uphill battle against the Arizona lege that doesn't end until they are forced to quit teaching all together.
If this last paragraph from Tucson Vice sounds a little self congratulatory (on my part, not his), so be it. I was intensely gratified to know I -- and other writers and commenters on BfA -- are contributing to his connection to home.
Thank you for your work on BFA. I am a daily reader, even from here in Afghanistan. Reading through BFA every evening is one of the many ways that I find to stay connected to my home and my state. I comment on the progressive blogs fairly often under the name "Tucson Vice," and your blog in particular is a real booster for me. It keeps me informed, keeps me sharp (after 20,000 rounds with your detractors) and I always know that, even on my worst day, I can log on, click over to BFA and feel better.
Duelling Conventions Answer Key Questions
We have seen the past two weeks the best presentation of our Party’s message in Denver, contrasted with the best presentation the Republicans could muster in St. Paul. The results are starkly impressive.
Let’s consider some of the questions posed about our two Campaigns just a few short weeks ago...and answered so well by the duelling Conventions.
Can our Democratic Party unite? Honestly, can anyone who watched the collective leadership of our Party speak at Denver seriously question whether we are united today?
Does our Party have the national security credentials to keep America safe in this dangerous world? Not only did we put national security issues -- and endorsements of veterans, military leaders, and national security policymakers -- front-and-center last week in Denver, but it’s clear once again from McCain’s bellicose and feckless rhetoric on Georgia these past weeks that he has neither the temperament nor the strategic sense to deal with the critical questions of war and peace.
Barack Obama’s national security message at Denver was three-fold, highlighting his judgment, competence, and most of all trustworthiness in addressing American national security. Barack knows that American national security is related to both the strength and intelligence with which America addresses complex challenges of this century. And Barack knows we need to muster all elements of our national power, including a strong, ready military, but reserving it for the last resort, after we’ve tried diplomacy and all the other tools at our disposal. For their part, veterans know, as is obvious from the numerous powerful endorsements in Denver, that they can trust Barack Obama to honor their service when they come home. Growing thousands of national security experts, veterans and family members, many of whom were out front in Denver, are adding their enthusiastic endorsement of Barack as our next Commander-in-Chief.
Contrast this with the central message of John McCain…that the belligerent and reckless strategy of the Bush Administration over the past eight years should not only be continued, but that it was too timid. If you listened to McCain pop off in Fall 2001, we should have attacked Iraq, Iran and Syria in response to 9-11. If you listened to McCain in 2003, our adversaries included France and Germany in addition to Iraq. John McCain wants to keep American troops in Iraq for as much as 100 years. And John McCain actually jokes publicly about bombing Iran. Simply speaking, John McCain lacks strategic sense, and lacks the temperament befitting a Commander-in-Chief.
And what about McCain’s allegations these past months that Barack lacks experience? Well, John McCain must have had a senior moment last Friday when he settled on Sarah Palin’s resume.
Again, nothing is more important for a President than the decisions on war and peace…and for this reason alone, McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin is alarming. Yes, as the renowned Fox News scholar Steve Doucy has said, she is the governor of Alaska which is next to Russia. Some recommendation.
Palin is truly a foreign policy blank slate, ripe for neocon engraving.
Actuarial tables and American history tell us that Palin has a nearly even chance of acceding to the Presidency…in McCain’s first term. In selecting Palin, John McCain confirmed once again that his judgment is seriously impaired.
So truly, we Democrats had a great Convention…full of substance and full of energy. We are fired up and ready to go!
We have a powerful, compelling message for the American people and the world, that addresses the real challenges Americans face at home and abroad. We have brilliant, convincing nominees in Barack Obama and Joe Biden…and they’re out front in the polls as well as in the electoral vote forecasts.
We’re going to coast to victory in November, right?
Unfortunately, assuming victory at this stage is absolute lunacy.
Not only are the stakes far too high to take anything for granted, but we can expect the Republicans to do whatever they have to do to retain the White House. They will pull out all the stops.
And the greatest enemy we face is not the Republicans, but voter apathy.
The real lesson of the duelling Conventions, for this first-time Delegate, is that now more than ever, it’s important to take the energy, the enthusiasm, the issues, and the facts back home to our neighborhoods here in Arizona. The work that good Democrats do every day, the canvassing, the phone-banking, the discussions with your friends and neighbors…that hard work is what will get us to victory in November.
Our hard work will bring John McCain “home”, wherever that is, because we must not let him occupy the White House.
And only our hard work will elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States.
We will win this election, not because the polls and pundits say we will, but because of the hard work of everyone in the Party, pulling together these next few weeks. For my part, I’m looking forward to marching with you, to our battle with the Republicans, and to our victory in November.
Sep 7, 2008 9:40:07 AM | Activism, Commentary, Convention, Elections, International, Party Politics, Veterans, War