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Former teacher mourns for Wisconsin’s demise

I have written this editorial in my head for several months, but I never seem to get it on paper.

I compose in my head when I read editorials by others calling teachers selfish. I think about how I should share my beliefs with good friends and close family members that believe we should stick with Scott Walker as Governor; how can people I love and respect fall prey to this man? The words flow as I mow grass, drive the car, or read posts on Facebook. It is now or never to put my words where others may read or see what I’m thinking.

I have spent my whole life living in Wisconsin, watching our state go through ups and downs, but generally thinking we have a wonderful state to live in and raise families in. I taught for 32 years for the districts of Shiocton and New London, loving almost every minute of it. I was proud of the education we offered students in our area.

I now wonder about the education students receive in our state with budget cuts that are too huge to overcome with the pay cuts teachers have conceded to over the past year. When I substitute in classrooms with too many students for one teacher to truly meet the needs of, I can’t believe the changes I have seen already. These changes are not for the better.

When I think about the character, or lack of it, of Governor Walker with his lies and deceit, or when I think about the money he has collected from the very rich from all over the country, and when I see the advertisements and the signs that are purchased with this money, it makes me very sad and scared for the future of our state and for our country.

What is happening in Wisconsin is happening in other states with the agenda of providing more for the very rich and less for those of us in the middle to lower economic classes. If we cannot provide quality education for everyone, it will eventually be everyone’s loss.

Please vote with your head and your heart for your children, your grandchildren, your neighbors, and your friends. Please join me and vote for someone who realizes that an excellent education is what is needed to pull us ahead. Without a well educated workforce and a strong economic middle class, there will be no growth in jobs in Wisconsin. Vote for Tom Barrett for Governor and Mahlon Mitchell for Lieutenant Governor on June 5. It’s the right thing to do.

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