"Teachers are Democracy's Last Line of Defense from the Tyranny of the One Percent"

Cortney O'Brien | October 22, 2013 3:30 PM

Minnesota's 2013 Teacher of the Year gave a five-minute acceptance speech at the 2013 Education Minnesota Conference in St. Paul, MN. While most of her remarks were spent praising her fellow teachers and students alike, she seemed to think it was also an opportune time to take a jab at rich Americans.

Hall, who teaches at Open World Learning Community in St. Paul, talked to her audience about teaching character and modeling traits she associates with success. But, her message quickly turned hypocritical, for she managed to sneak in a potshot at America’s wealthiest Americans, many of whom gained their riches through the hard earned success Hall herself seemed to champion.

“From where I stand, teaching is a profession which takes a gritty patriotism. And from where I stand, teachers are American democracy’s last line of defense from the tyranny of the one percent. I feel Americans do feel a debt of gratitude toward us, for teaching character, for modeling persistence and generosity and responsibility.”

From where I stand, Ms. Hall, you’ve got some mixed messaging. Her biased comment nonetheless received a round of applause and when she ceded the podium back to the emcee, the latter was quick to call the teacher “fabulous” and “amazing.”

Even more laughable was when the teacher of the year lamented how educators are mistreated by the media.

“I have to admit, these negative messages baffle me, they don’t match up with the teachers that I know [...] These messages must come with people who haven’t been in our classrooms.”