State reps, teachers react to Tenn. education advisor’s ‘irresponsible’ comments

State representatives and education leaders responded to Tennessee education advisor Dr. Larry Arnn’s “reprehensible and irresponsible” comments Friday.

State representatives and education leaders responded to Tennessee education advisor Dr. Larry Arnn’s “reprehensible and irresponsible” comments Friday.

By Camruinn Morgan-Rumsey

Published: Jul. 1, 2022 at 12:15 PM EDT|Updated: Jul. 1, 2022 at 3:59 PM EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - State representatives and education leaders responded to Tennessee education advisor Dr. Larry Arnn’s “reprehensible and irresponsible” comments Friday.

The incident happened at a private event, hosted by Arnn and Gov. Bill Lee. CBS affiliate WTVF out of Nashville managed to obtain video of the two on stage, during which Arnn belittles and mocks Tennessee teachers. WTVF listed some of Arnn’s comments, none of which Lee disputed in the video:

“The teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.”
“They are taught that they are going to go and do something to those kids.... Do they ever talk about anything except what they are going to do to these kids?”
“In colleges, what you hire now is administrators…. Now, because they are appointing all these diversity officers, what are their degrees in? Education. It’s easy. You don’t have to know anything.”
“The philosophic understanding at the heart of modern education is enslavement…. They’re messing with people’s children, and they feel entitled to do anything to them.”
“You will see how education destroys generations of people. It’s devastating. It’s like the plague.”
“Here’s a key thing that we’re going to try to do. We are going to try to demonstrate that you don’t have to be an expert to educate a child because basically anybody can do it.”

Dr. Arnn is currently working with the state to establish charter schools all over Tennessee. The plan is to establish anywhere from 50 to 100 charter schools in the state, all in part planned with the help of Arnn, who is also the president of Michigan’s ultra-conservative Hillsdale College.

WVLT News reached out to Rep. Jason Zachary about the report, and he provided a few comments, saying “In terms of the actual words themselves, of course I completely disagree with the words Arnn said.”

Zachary also defended Tennessee’s teachers, saying the state has top-of-the-line educators.

“We have some of the best teachers and administrators in the country,” Zachary said. “They serve the community by teaching and loving on our kids.”

Zachary also defended the governor’s education policy. “I think all you have to do is look at the track record of our governor and resources and time and putting the 1 billion recurring dollars into TISA,” he said.

Rep. Gloria Johnson, a democrat out of Knoxville, was so fired up about the comments that she planned a news presser for Friday morning to address the video. At the event, Johnson told WVLT News that she was disappointed with how Lee reacted.

“He could’ve said at any point ‘I’ve got to say Tennessee teachers are great.’ He didn’t do that. He didn’t say a single word,” she said. “Not saying anything is complicit.”

Johnson went on to praise teachers for the work that they do.

“Teachers have been giving their all, their entire career. But the last few years have been incredibly tough,” she said. “And a lot of teachers are wondering do I want to go on? And this is what they have to hear.”

Several people gathered at Johnson’s event, holding signs that read things like “Privatizing schools is dumb, but teachers aren’t” and “Governor, Governor listen to me, NO Hillsdale in Tennessee.” Teachers at the conference told WVLT News that they are furious over the video and Arnn’s comments.

WVLT News spoke to a retired teacher at the event, who said “Public education is the cornerstone of our democracy.”

J.C. Bowman, the CEO and Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, also spoke out against Dr. Arrn’s comments. His major issue with the video, however, was Lee’s lack of response to his chosen advisor.

“Larry Arnn’s comments are reprehensible and irresponsible,” Bowman said. “What was even more hurtful than Arnn’s comments is that Tennessee Governor Bill Lee sat there while educators, Colleges of Education, and public education were disparaged. Lee’s silence spoke volumes.”

When asked for a statement on the video, a representative of Lee’s office provided the following statement, which does not address the comments made:

Governor Lee has been an outspoken advocate for Tennessee public school teachers by raising their pay each year in his term. Under Gov. Lee’s leadership, the future of public education in Tennessee means a new funding formula that closed the bureaucratic loopholes that often prevented raises from making their way to classrooms. When it comes to supporting the profession of teaching, Gov. Lee’s Department of Education built a pipeline to encourage public high school students to pursue teaching through the “Grow Your Own” program. This program is now a national model and was the first in the nation to become a federally recognized apprenticeship program.
Under Gov. Lee, the future of public education looks like well-paid teachers and growing a workforce to support our students and build the profession.
Office of Gov. Bill Lee

WVLT News followed up on the statement, asking for office representatives to address the video itself, and has not received a response.

You can read Bowman’s full response here:

Recently I was shown a video by Phil Williams from Channel 5 in Nashville. When I watched the video of Larry Arnn and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, I became infuriated. This was not about charter schools or Hillsdale College. This was an attack on public schools, teachers, and Colleges of Education.
Mr. Arnn has a clear disdain for public educators. “Anybody can do it.” He had zero Confidence in Colleges of Education. “They are the dumbest part of every college” and “teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.” He claims public education enslaves students. “The heart of modern education is enslavement.”
Arnn also made comments related to diversity. Given Arnn’s track record on race, it would seem that he would steer clear of those issues. He did not.
Larry Arnn’s comments are reprehensible and irresponsible. What was even more hurtful than Arnn’s comments is that Tennessee Governor Bill Lee sat there while educators, Colleges of Education, and public education were disparaged. Lee’s silence spoke volumes. Lee then told the audience that this “vision for educating children…is a vision that Tennesseans will embrace.” I disagree.
Governor Lee should know better. His wife, our first lady Maria Lee, has a degree in education and is a former teacher and coach. In our state 83% of the teachers are women. Teachers have the greatest impact on student achievement. Teaching is a science, an art, and a craft. It is not for everyone. Most people do not want the responsibility, stress, low salary, or long hours. Parents do not just want anyone instructing their child.
Colleges of Education are vital for teacher preparation, so every child has an effective teacher in the classroom. They are key partners in developing and strengthening K–12 education. They must identify and recruit future teachers and graduate them as certified teachers to meet the licensure requirements set by the state. We need them now more than ever because veteran teachers are quitting the profession. Teachers must pass an entrance requirement, maintain a certain GPA, and pass an exit exam to become certified. Licensure is the function of the state and the gatekeeper to employment.
Public education is not perfect. However, attacking public education with words like enslavement and despotism is unjustifiable. Teachers do not create the standards, choose the curriculum, or buy the textbooks. Educators teach students how to think, not what to think. The governance of public schools is a complex issue that includes different government entities at the local, state, and federal levels. In the end, we want ALL our students to succeed, wherever they are educated.
Unlike most Tennessee Colleges and Universities, Hillsdale College avoids federal rules and regulations because they forgo federal aid. This makes an apple-to-apple comparison impossible. But Arnn and Lee want our tax dollars to open Hillsdale charter schools in our state. That seems hypocritical. The Tennessee Charter School Center stated that Arnn’s comments “do not in any way reflect the views or opinions of Tennessee public charter schools, leaders, parents, educators, or operators.”
Educators or Colleges of Education are not the problems. They certainly are not “dumb.” Teachers contend with an array of student challenges — substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition and food insecurity, lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and schools with limited resources. This may be unfamiliar territory to Mr. Arnn and Governor Lee.
Finally, we should embrace our diversity. America, like our Judeo-Christian heritage, is reflected by different ethnicities, genders, opinions, and experiences. Our Declaration of Independence reminds us we are created equal and endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.
In a state as diverse as Tennessee, we should want citizens to work together to eradicate discrimination. We must also work together to educate ALL our children in Tennessee. Most importantly, we must support and praise our educators for being the tireless beacons that they are.
J.C. Bowman, CEO and Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee

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