Open Your Eyes, Georgians

As I was thinking about the calamity facing education in Georgia, Governor Neal’s Opportunity School District, I thought of the phrase “open your eyes.”  I had actually thought of the phrase, “now is the time,” but it was replaced with “open your eyes.”

In 2006, the fantastic Northern Ireland band, Snow Patrol, recorded the song “Open Your Eyes” as part of its fourth album, Eyes Open.  When I listened to the song and read the lyrics, I was moved to include the song in this post, and relate the song writer’s insistence that we open our eyes.

Here are two lines of lyrics in “Open Your Eyes” that bring up my anger when I think about what Deal and 159 state legislators think should happen to Georgia’s struggling schools.

Get up, get out, get away from these liars
‘Cos they don’t get your soul or your fire

Georgians need to open their eyes, and read very carefully the amendment to the state’s constitution that will appear on the General Election Ballot in November.   This is what you will find on the ballot this November:

“ Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow the state to intervene in chronically failing public schools in order to improve student performance?
( ) Yes

( ) No”

Governor Deal thinks that he has the moral duty to create the Opportunity Misfortunate School District, when in fact to do so would be an immoral act that would label thousands of students, their parents and teachers as “failures.”  Indeed what will happen next year if this amendment is passed is that 20 schools will be pulled from their districts, and forced to adhere to a system of education that is much akin to a boot camp style of education in which students are trained to take tests and jump hurdles that have little to do with learning.

Don’t be fooled by these fools.  Open your eyes.