Controversy over Hillsdale College president anti-teacher remarks won't go away

David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean

July 13, 2022 at 8:16 PM·3 min read

Greetings, readers:

Often, a news story about a controversy gets hot for a moment and simmers down after a few days.

However, the story concerning the Hillsdale College president disparaging teachers at a recent private conference, in front of Gov. Bill Lee, continues to heat up.

Last week in this newsletter, I shared commentary and letters from current and former educators who were appalled that Hillsdale's leader Larry Arnn said: "The teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.”

This was revealed in secret footage leaked to News Channel 5 in Nashville.

Remember: Lee has touted the state's partnership with Hillsdale to open 50 to 100 charter schools and teach civics education in Tennessee.

The controversial comments united both right and left in defense of teachers, and many criticized Lee for not denouncing the comments.

Among the latest rebuke is from the USA TODAY Network Tennessee editors in an editorial calling on the governor to decry Arnn's statement and move on.

"(Arnn's) statement pretty much offended everyone in Tennessee. Even if you think your local school can be improved, you can name a teacher who’s made a difference — in your life, in your child’s life," said the editorial written by Editor Michael A. Anastasi and me on behalf of our state network's top editors.

We also suggested what Lee might say — and could still say — to work to rectify the issue. That includes these lines: "Larry Arnn is wrong. I should have spoken up sooner, but I pledge now to put the interests of Tennessee citizens over this partnership."

Scroll to the read the editorial. You will also find there links to guest opinion essays on the subject of defending teachers from columnist Keel Hunt, public school parent Billy Kilgore and Lillian Hartgrove, chairman of the State Board of Education.

What else is in this week's newsletter?

Crystal deGregory was at the White House on July 7 when her friend and mentor, civil rights icon Diane Nash, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden. Read her essay about why she thinks Nash deserves more recognition.
Bill Haltom, who resides in Memphis and Monteagle, reflects on the 50th anniversary of Title IX and how legendary University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt fought for women's rights.
Columnist LeBron Hill spoke to leaders of the effort to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville and why their focus on equity is essential for the proposed Nashville Stars to be successful in the historically Black North Nashville neighborhood.
Watch the Tennessee Voices video podcast episode with Gretchen Funk, chief program officer with FiftyForward, who talks about how the group is meeting the needs of older Americans.

Twitter Spaces on Friday

Join a conversation about the Republican National Convention in Nashville on Friday at noon CDT/1 p.m. EDT. While a majority of the Nashville's Metro Council were cool to a discussion of a draft agreement recently, the issue is not dead yet. What do you think? Listen and have your say by going to The Tennessean's Twitter account.

Upcoming candidate forums

The final of six USA TODAY Network Tennessee gubernatorial and congressional primary forums is at University of Tennessee Southern on Thursday at 7 p.m. CDT/8 p.m. EDT. If you can't make it, watch it live at this link.

Replay videos of the last five forums, and sign up for tickets. Admission is free, but registration is required.

Thank you!

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee. Email him at dplazas@tennessean.com, call him at (615) 259-8063 or tweet to him at @davidplazas. Subscribe to a USA TODAY Network - Tennessee publication.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Hillsdale College president anti-teacher remarks keep getting scrutiny

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