Once Again, NBC Ignores Teachers

So there's another one of these big reformy lovefests on the "liberal" (ha!) MSNBC tomorrow. And, oh, huzzah - this one's in Jersey:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be at Fort Lee High School for a “special town hall meeting” Friday morning as one of many guests on the live broadcasts of MSNBC’s Morning Joeand Way Too Early, according to producers.

Gov. Jack Markell, D-Del., Gov. Dannel Malloy, D-Conn. and Students First founder Michelle Rhee, among others, will join Christie on the live broadcast from the high school gymnasium.

The discussion will focus on education reform.

No, the discussion will focus on how "bad" teachers are destroying America and the only solution is to eliminate their job protections on the basis of inaccurate and arbitrary testing. There will also be plenty of discussion about how we just don't have any more money to pay teachers decently (bull) or keep promises that politicians have already made to them.

I will guarantee you there will be no discussion about income inequity or solving childhood poverty or the tax schemes this country perpetuates to keep the wealthy from paying their fair share. But I'm sure Joe will make time for the fabulously wealthy people who sit around his table to complain about public workers being able to go to the dentist without running up their credit cards; he and Christie love singing that song when they get together.

According to the Morning Joe website, guests will also include Mike Barnicle, Harold Ford Jr., Rev. Al Sharpton, Mike Allen, Howard Dean, Jon Meacham, Cami Anderson, Randi Weingarten, Deborah Kenny, Elaine Wynn, Melissa Harris-Perry and Jose Diaz-Balart.

Gosh, I'm sure it's just an oversight that no actual working teachers, or education researchers, or officials from the NJEA, or parent advocates, or (heaven forbid) students are on the panel. I'm sure NBC will fix it the next time...

I and thousands of other teachers would have loved to participate, but:

Attendance at the live broadcast at the high school is by invitation only.

Of course it is; can't have the rabble asking inconvenient questions, can we? Besides, we'll be busy getting ready to go to our schools and actually teach the kids. It's a job that all of these fine folks keep telling us is terribly important - just not important enough that teachers should take airtime away from them.