When it comes to education in Alabama, one could most definitely see that Gov. Robert Bentley is not a fan. Bentley stated at a recent Alabama Association of Regional Councils Conference luncheon that “our education system in this state sucks.” Bentley made this public remark — now able to find in multiple videos around many news sites — just months after proposing a move of $181 million from Education Funds to General Funds. Thankfully, Legislature rejected that proposal.

After Bentley’s remarks, many of my teachers commented that those remarks embarrassed them, which is completely understandable. I was honestly disappointed in our governor after I heard those rude comments. We may not be number one in the country, but our teachers do their work admirably.

Bentley followed his statement with a jab on how the state’s national rankings was “sad” and “intolerable”, and a claim that “we’re going to do something about it.” I was confused about what he intended that sentence to mean, and his explanation of that statement a few days later did not make much sense either.

“We have to have new ideas. What we’re doing now is obviously not working, so we have to come with different ideas, different types of schools. We have to be flexible.”
I was most definitely dissatisfied with his semblance of explanation. Methods of education are fluid. I cannot remember a single year in middle school that had a class schedule style that was the same as the year before. Education is very much trial and error, so I was concerned as to why Bentley had commented on it as if it was his idea, and like we had not already been doing that for decades. I was also a tad irritated by the fact that while he said changes needed to be made, he offered no ideas himself. Had he not looked into schools personally? Had he made that statement on a broad assumption without doing any real research? Since those remarks had been made, Bentley has not taken any further steps to try to improve the state of our schools as he had claimed he would.

All in all, Bentley’s remarks were only funded by statistics that he had no emotional or personal involvement in. He had made an offhand comment that most definitely did not reflect majority of the schools. This assumption outraged me, as every teacher I have had have all put in their most into the education of their students, and motivating them to do the best they can do to look forward to a bright future.

Assumptions and rude comments will not solve any problem we run into. Hard work and determination will. Teamwork will. Bentley’s comments have suggested that he has no intentions to actually contribute to our — apparently much-needed — evolution as an education system. If we truly do need a shift into different methods of education, division is not the way to do it.