It’s time to quit acting like everything is OK and support our teachers

We’re all suffering from emotional burnout after the past several years but one of our most important resources — our teachers — are suffering doubly so. Not only are teachers expected to educate our students, they’re also expected to act as security and mental health counselors for a traumatized student population.

Teachers need support from education leaders. Let’s repeat that, our teachers need support from their administrators, central office leaders, superintendents and legislators.

We’re hearing so many teachers concerned that their leadership is passing the buck when it comes to education, discipline and duties that it’s crushing a group of people we really need to be at their best.

School systems that value education metrics over their teachers are failing our students.

Testing is a good measure of academic performance but we need well-rounded students. We need teachers to have the ability to be empathic, creative and excited for their students. We need our school systems to quit worrying about test scores or spending ridiculous amounts of money on their public image.

Spend that money on instructional materials and more staff — shrink class sizes and boost teacher-to-student ratios. Our administrators need to support teachers so they can bring their students back to pre-pandemic levels of emotional and educational engagement and performance.

We need our school administrators and school boards to take steps to allow our teachers to teach.

CONGRESSMEN GIVE TOURS, IT’S WHAT THEY DO

We’ve known Rep. Barry Loudermilk for quite a while, and his character doesn’t speak to the accusations coming from the U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

We appreciate the tough work that committee is doing to investigate the incidents leading to the insurrection attempt, but they missed the mark on this one.

If you’re unfamiliar, the chair of that committee raised questions about a tour Loudermilk partially led on Jan. 5, 2021, suggesting the tour may have been a way to somehow gain layout intelligence prior to the attack on the Capitol. Those concerns were worth looking at but the accusations and response to those accusations don’t come near any evidence of wrongdoing ... and the attacks by members of the public are even worse.

Loudermilk represented Floyd County in the state legislature, first as a representative and later a senator, from 2005 to 2012. Despite him being shifted into a new district and later becoming a U.S. representative, we feel like we got to know him pretty well.

Loudermilk in his elected capacities has always represented his district and been what we expect of an elected official. We don’t always agree, but agreement isn’t how character is measured.

It’s not surprising that on Jan. 5, 2021, Loudermilk would meet with constituents at the Capitol, nor is it surprising that some of those same people supported now-former President Donald Trump. And it’s also not surprising that during a tour of the Capitol, visitors might take photos.

The Capitol Police investigated the incident and cleared Loudermilk, so why is this still an issue? Politics, plain and simple.

The committee has a lot of difficult and important work to do, they need to get to it.

AG CENTER MOVEMENT AT LAST!

There’s a saying that good things come to those who wait and the proposed location for the SPLOST-funded agriculture center is a great example.

Since being approved, the project has largely remained undefined with the exception of its intent. It’s good to see not only the location taking shape but also the use.

The location between the mall and tennis center has a lot of potential, and the possibility of more housing in the area alongside potential connectivity to the Mount Berry Trail would make it even more useful.

We’re excited to see where this project will go as it moves forward. But we would also like to see future SPLOST projects — especially keystone projects like this one — more defined from the beginning.

Keeping those projects on our SPLOST list well-defined and well thought out will keep it a viable growth opportunity going forward.

Thank you for reading.