By Steve Hunley It seems to me many of us are missing the point of public education. We’ve moved away from the basics of education in this country, despite spending more than ever. Ultimately, the goal isn’t passing as many tests as possible, collecting data or even graduating. The ultimate goal is helping a child […]
By Steve Hunley Anyone expecting anything new in Superintendent of Schools Jim McIntyre’s annual State of the Schools address had to be terribly disappointed. Recently, there has been an attempt to make McIntyre more human; the fact a public official who has been here six years needs to be humanized should be quite telling. McIntyre […]
By Steve Hunley Governor Bill Haslam unveiled his “Tennessee Promise” plan in his State of the State address. Evidently, the governor had not previously shared his plan with the members of the General Assembly, as one could hear an audible gasp from the audience. That particular reaction is easy to understand, as the governor’s plan […]
By Steve Hunley With the arrival of the New Year, politics will heat up in Knox County. Virtually every office in the county is up for grabs, with the exception of the Law Director and Property Assessor’s office. Oddly, the races seeming to draw the most attention are well down the ballot; those for the […]
By Steve Hunley I think the thing I like least in any human being is hypocrisy. I don’t doubt for a moment my attitude is uncommon. It seems to me most people really dislike hypocrisy, especially in our public officials. It is increasingly apparent that there is a huge double standard in our media in […]
By Steve Hunley Teachers, parents and students turned out in force at the most recent meeting of the Knox County Board of Education. For months The Knoxville Focus has been telling readers about the ties between Superintendent James McIntyre, the do-nothing Chamber of Commerce and local news media outlets. Evidently, WBIR-TV news reporters had done […]
By Steve Hunley Suddenly Knox County teachers are beginning to let the public know about the unreasonable constraints they have been laboring under for the last several years. Finally they have allowed their dismay and dissatisfaction to explode after literally suffering for years under almost impossible circumstances. It didn’t start just yesterday. The Legislature has […]
By Steve Hunley The Knoxville News Sentinel does nothing better than pontificate, telling us all what we ought to think. The Sentinel recently pontificated on the glorious news the Chamber of Commerce is banging away and steadily improving our local economy almost singlehandedly. Of course Patrick Birmingham, the publisher of the Knoxville News Sentinel, also […]
By Steve Hunley Well, it looks like the 2014 election season has already begun. The flap about innocent folks being arrested without cause is being laid at the doorstep of Criminal Court Clerk Joy McCroskey by much of the local media. They have likely been fed this information by a disgruntled (with McCroskey) prosecutor in […]
By Steve Hunley Despite some claims to the contrary, there are some things the Tennessee General Assembly needs to fix. Our superintendent of schools has loudly proclaimed his support for the evaluation system of teachers, which was enacted in Nashville. Frankly, Dr. Jim McIntyre’s support for the new evaluation system is less because he thinks […]
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