John Kuhn Speech at the Save Texas Schools Rally 2011

John Kuhn, superintendent of Perrin-Whitt Consolidated Independent School District, gives an amazing, inspirational speech at the Save Texas Schools rally on the steps of the state capitol 3/12/2011. I transcribed his speech below (sorry if there's any mistakes) along with his Alamo letter that he reads at the end. The video misses the first few words of his speech, unfortunately. Please share this with as many people as possible, and let's mobilize to save Texas schools! www.savetxschools.org

John Kuhn, March 13, 2011:
"....the bad kids out. Exclude the children that are hardest to teach and let them go to public school. But we say send them to us. We will take them. We say send us your poor, send us your homeless, those children of your afflicted and your addicted. Send us your kids who don't speak English, y nosotros le hablamos en Espanol. Send us your special needs children. We will not turn them away.

And I tell you today, public school teacher, you will fail to take the shattered children of poverty and turn them into the polished products of the private schools. No, the most damaged public school children will not turn out as shiny and nice and new as the children whose applications are vetted and approved, whose parents buy their books. Nor will you scrub them as clean as the parents of those who keep them bundled in the snug blanket of home schooling.

You will be unacceptable, public school teacher, and that is your badge of honor.

I stand before you today proudly bearing the label of unacceptable because I educate the children they will not educate. I, day after day, take these children broken by the policies adopted by the people in this building, and I glue their pieces back together. And at the end of my life you can say those children were better for passing through my sphere of influence. I am unacceptable and proud of it.

So I say to this legislature, go ahead and label me. I will march head long into the teeth of your horrific blame machine and I will teach these kids.

Millionaire senators cut my pay back to minimum wage, and still I will march into that classroom full of children who need me. Still I will walk proudly into that classroom with its broken ceiling tiles and burned out florescent bulbs. I will walk forward! Bail out the bankers and bankrupt the teachers. We will still teach!

Bumped and bruised and labeled we will educate these kids because contrary to what they say, I'm not in it for the money. I'm in it because it's right. I'm in it because the children in Perrin Texas need somebody like me in their lives.

I'm in it for a 6 year old little boy right over there named Evan. And for a nine your old little boy out there named Noah, and for a three year old little girl named Liliana somewhere in this crowd. I'm in it for them, and I will fight to secure their future.

I will never follow the lead of those who exclude those who need education the most so that my precious scores will rise.

I will never line up with those whose idea of reform is a subtle segregation of the poor and desperate.

I want no part of the American caste system.

Look around you. Public school teachers, you are the saviors of our society and always have been. You are the first responders standing in this rubble while they sit in their offices and write judgmental things about you on their clip boards. You are our heroes, and 27 billion is not near enough for what you're worth. You are priceless, public school teachers of Texas.

So do not be surprised when the men and the women in this building behind me fail to stand up for you...when they fail to stand up for the children you serve day after day. Their congressional districts may be rife with poverty, rife with drug abuse, rife with poor health care, rife with crime, but they will not take on the label of legislatively unacceptable.

For they do not share the courage of a common school teacher.

They do not embrace our accountability. They will not lend their shoulder to one corner of this sacred burden we bear every day. They will not sully their hands or let their children play in the sandbox with the poor. But fear not, for this is our eternal glory. It is ours to educate. It is theirs to fund or to not fund.

Where our heart is, there will our treasure be also. Let history judge.

And with that ladies and gentlemen, I will read to you my Alamo letter.

Alamo Letter Full Text: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/educational-leadership/texas-su...

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[maciboy9]

John Kuhn is on Twitter now: @johnkuhntx

[Impeachleoberman]

State Rep. Leo Berman Steals From Tyler Schools

youtube.com/watch?v=iEeASkTXo9­Q

[wingding90]

Agreed Mr. Kuhn takes education very seriously. He was my Principal to I say right on Mr. Kuhn. He truly cares about his students and school. Mr. Kuhn MW has got your back.

[tamuc08]

Preach it John. He should publish that as the Public School Teacher's Creed!

[lilypad145]

I WANT JOHN KUHN FOR MY GOVERNOR.

Save our schools - vote out the fools. Perry, you have to get out.

[lilypad145]

Thank you for posting this!

[taramtonche]

I posted this on my blog so hopefully it will gets some more hits. I wish it started at the beginning, esp when he said "Rick Perry just text me, he said to tell you it's not his fault."

[cristinamiser]

I am a first year teacher in Wichita Falls, I am probably not going to have a job next year. I want to meet this man and thank him for getting the message out there that these kids need us and no matter what , be proud of teaching!!!!!!!!! Maybe Austin listened!

[txmick57]

John Kuhn rocked the rally. I'm furious that his speech got so little air time. Make this video go viral!

[CestElise]

Mr. Kuhn was my high school principal. I can honestly tell you he is 100% sincere. I was probably the most difficult student in the school, and I never felt disrespected or looked down on by Mr. Kuhn in any way- in fact, he was an inspiration to me, he listened to me, he understood, and more importantly, he cared.