State senate candidate Aaron Bean has harsh and ignorant words for Florida's teachers' unions.

In a Times Union article he said: "We just have to know the unions are out for getting the most they can for their union members," Bean said. "My goal will be to make sure that kids are the priority."

Mr. Bean doesn’t understand when he disparages teacher’s unions he is disparaging teachers and Mr. Bean if your priority is our kids, not to privatize education which is Jeb bush’s priority, it should be to make sure that teachers are adequately compensated and put in positions where they can succeed. That is the best thing he and the state can do for our children.

The powers-that-be don’t understand that in the education equation teachers not students are who is most important because they will be the ones doing the teaching.

If teachers are not adequately paid then we won’t be able to find anybody to teach.

If teachers are shoddily treated we won’t be able to find anybody to teach.

If teachers aren’t given the proper resources, kids won’t learn to their potential.

If teachers are given bad directions, like teach to the test, pass kids along, and don’t enforce discipline then kids won’t learn to their potential.

If teachers are constantly put upon and marginalized then the whole profession will suffer and in turn our kids will suffer too.

Teachers, not politicians like Aaron Bean, have always been the number one education advocate of children and the better they are the better they will be for their students and Mr. Bean obviously don’t understand that. Instead he feels it is okay to imply they are selfish and greedy and friends if the teacher’s union is opposing something the legislature is doing you can bet there is a darn good and valid reason behind it.

Mr. Bean throws around words like school choice but what he really means is privatization and he wants to throw our kids into a system without the same accountability and standards as public schools and where people profit off our children.

I think Mr. Bean would be bad for our children too.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2012-06-04/story/northeast-florida-candidates-push-different-proposals-educational#ixzz1wpaZxzp2