Marion Teachers Frustrated by Early Timing of Governor's Education Forum Today

The Gazette reports that some teachers are frustrated with the early afternoon scheduling of Governor Terry Branstad's town hall meeting on education today.

The event is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the Linn-Mar Learning Resource Center, a time when "none" of Linn-Mar's schools are out of session, according to Jackie Wellborn, both teacher and president of the Linn-Mar Education Association.

"Of all the people that need to be at those meetings, it needs to be the teachers. It effects our salaries and what we teach in the classroom just as much," said Kathleen Kelley, Linn-Mar High School English teacher.

The forum will likely touch on Branstad's "Education Blueprint" unveiled early last month.

The program has garnered criticism from some, according to a Des Moines Register conservative guest columnist, Shane Vander Hart, as he said it increases class sizes, divides teachers into distinct classes and does not adequately meet the needs of at-risk students.

Another Des Moines Register guest columnist, Graham Gillette, criticized the plan for emphasizing test results.

"In 2011, testing has become so important in the classroom it overshadows the most important aspect of learning.  Teaching students to think and apply subject matter often takes a backseat to helping students successfully parrot information by filling in bubbles on a standardized test," said Gillette.

Despite this criticism, some teachers at Linn-Mar say they aren't strictly opposed to the plan and would like a chance to hear the governor state his case, according to the Gazette story.

"Frankly, we’re not opposed to the plan, or parts of the plan. We just want to be a part of the conversation. Until we know any specifics, we could get if we were a part of the conversation, we can’t make any decisions," said Wellborn.

The public is invited to attend the forum at the Linn-Mar Learning Resource Center at 2999 N. 10th St.