Talking with Teachers in South Carolina
Road Report from Ted Chiodo:
This weekend I traveled down to Columbia South Carolina to meet up with John Kerry who was speaking before The South Carolina Education Association (SCEA). The weather in South Carolina was clear, warm and sunny—a nice break from the blustery rain of DC. Marvin and I flew down the afternoon before with a plan to meet up with JK in the morning. While walking with my victorious head held high through the Columbia Airport, I noticed that the powers-that-be had installed rocking chairs in the main terminal. 
Marvin and I agreed that this was a singular achievement in airport design and clearly an advancement over most airport seating arrangements. I only wish rocking chairs were available in places like ORD and LAX. Clearly this is a topic I could write about at length but other important issues are pressing.
We were picked up from the airport by our friend and counselor at law Bill Nettles and his wife Zoe who took us to a great restaurant called Motor Supply in Columbia. I highly recommend the pork chops.
The next morning we picked up John Kerry at the airport and headed down to The SCEA headquarters on Zimalcrest Drive in Columbia. The headquarters was a large brick building buzzing with teachers and education professionals. JK hopped out of the car and was greeted by gracious President and Vice President of The SCEA, Shelia Gallagher and Judy Fair. I snapped some pictures of the greeting as we all headed into a large auditorium to speak to the 200 gathered educators.
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John Kerry began by thanking everyone for their efforts in 2006. I captured the entire speech on video that’s posted on our multimedia page. It was a speech straight from the heart about the importance of education and the possibilities facing a Democratic Majority. It is well worth the viewing.
The teachers listened intently as JK talked about the work to be done with a new and powerful majority which will treat the education of future generations of Americans like the priority it is. He emphasized that the American people had changed course in this election and that a focus on making sure children have the tools necessary to thrive in the global economy, will be at the forefront of their effort.
Mahalo and let’s get to work.
-- Ted 
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I just watched the video (ps to dick bell: any chance you could add a direct link to the video in this post? I know it’s on the website, but . )
and JK was great! Watch for 7 minutes in, when he jokes about “The Joke” (is this man a class act, or what?!), and for great remarks on values at around 14-15 minutes (lots of “amens”, at least one “absolutely”, and general rousing approval— it began to feel like a revival meeting!). Judging from the speech itself, Sen. Kerry’s level of informality, comfort and connection with this group, and the group’s reaction, I’d guess that they gave him an A for his work that day. I agree with Ted that that speech came from the heart. It showed.
mbk, looks like the link is here, if you click where it says “posted on our multimedia page”. I just got home from work, so guess I better get clicking!
Thanks, Ted. Good to hear from you again.
Thanks for the report, Ted. The speech was heartfelt and had a sense of urgency that was entirely appropriate. We really have left too many children behind and it is time for a change.
Kerry’s explanation of the four types of teachers was spot on!
Thanks for the report Ted. This speech proves that John Kerry truly understands the problems facing both children and educators today. Moreover, he CARES and wants to help solve those problems.
I was particularly happy to hear him stress (once again) the need for adequate health care for children in order to assure success in school. This is key IMO. If children aren’t healthy or if they have undiagnosed health problems, they won’t do as well in school. What a simple concept - JK gets it!
I have several extended family members who are either teachers or administrative staff in the South Carolina public school system. I hope they hear this speech.
Ted, thanks for the report! The JK Blog team is doing a great job with the site. The photos on the front page and throughout are terrific!
I loved the speech. I agree with Island Blue, Senator Kerry gets it!
Great report, Ted. And a very nice speech by Senator Kerry. I especially liked the line, “testing should be used like a stethoscope, not a hammer.”
My brother’s family in WV experienced a case of a quality school being shut down due to NCLB scores, because the school had served many more than its share of special needs kids. Why did it have so many special needs kids? Because those kids did better there than at other schools. But apparently not well enough for NCLB.
Thanks Ted,
It is great to see Senator Kerry speaking so comfortably and freely. He clearly is at his “best” in front of smaller crowds. Eventhough I am not involved in education for a living, it seemed he connected with the audience. Also others in this thread have commented how accurate his statements were. I really liked that he could be self depricating about a “joke”.
Hopefully when the audience members go home, to their Churches, and to other gatherings, they will tell people how impressed they were by Senator Kerry.
Once upon a time there was a peanut farmer from Georgia who had no money, no national following, but he did have sincerity of purpose and determination. The rest, as they say, is history.
It’s really just great to see the Senator speaking again. Even with the election victory it has been a sad and lonely week and a half. Hopefully he can get on some talk radio shows and get the buzz going again.
Oncall
Interesting observation. I’ve not seen JK be anything but at his best in front of small or large crowds. He’s always well received no matter how large the audience, in my opinion.
I was so impressed with Senator Kerry’s speech, I just had to share it with Keith Obermann. Here is the note I sent along with the link to the video:
This video is not high fidelity, but after you watch it, you will be impressed by Senator Kerry’s presence in front of a smaller group of people. He is very relaxed and at about the seven to eight minute mark, his self deprecating humor is something many Americans should see. Over fifty million people voted for this man, and they deserve to be reassured that their support wasn’t wasted on a heartless, insensitive, snob. Please take some time to watch some of this video, and get a better idea of what kind of man John Kerry really is.
I do not work for his campaign, but as a patriotic American, I believe that the more people know about Senator Kerry and what kind of person he is, the more likely they are to recognize a man who can lead this country to higher planes.
Thank-you for fighting for what is good and right about this country. Your Special Comments will be remembered for speaking truth to power and helping Americans see what was happening to their country. I look forward to more of them.
Sincerely,
Thank you Ted!
And thank you Senator Kerry! It is good to see the Senator back on the trail again. We are all ready to be foot soldiers working for those things that matter for us all.
In particular, I enjoyed listening to him point out that nobody can beat us for “values”. We are the ones who care about education, who care about healthcare who care about the environment, and yes who care about world peace.
And ‘No Child Left Behind’? Senator Kerry pointed out the problems of endless testing of even children with disabilities making compliance impossible and the ultimate draining of funds through vouchers to private schools unacceptable. As so much of Bush-talk, NCLB means many children left behind.
It is ironic that when Iraq or the military have problems, these are met with “supplemental funding” by Congress. And yet when our weakest schools are having problem, the solution offered by the Republican designers of this Law is to reduce funding. Perhaps what this nation needs is “No War Left Behind” and when conflicts or regimes fail to meet criteria we cut funding to them, and give social programs like education a much needed “voucher” instead!
Thank you Senator Kerry! And thank all of you here on the blog for continuing your fine work.
Robert Freedland
John Kerry for President 2008John Kerry for President 2008</a>
Pamela,
I know you appreciate that my comment was not a back handed compliment. However, I honestly believe that Senator Kerry appeared more relaxed in that speech. I don’t know if my observation is correct, but that is all it is, an observation.
Sometimes when people get in front of larger crowds their speech patterns become a little more forced - not contrived - but due to the environment, forced. Maybe that’s what I was noticing?
This probably belongs on the previous thread:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/13/pace-terrorism/
Joint Chiefs Chairman: Administration Is Pursuing Same Terrorism Policy Bush Trashed In 2004
“During the 2004 election, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) likened the war against terrorist networks to fighting crime, suggesting that both could never be fully defeated but their impact on our lives could be drastically reduced…”
more at link
oncall,
That is especially true of Senators in general, too.
They become used to speaking in a rarified atmosphere, preaching to a choir of similarly-stentorian colleagues who think nothing of using phrases like “that is occurring and undoubtedly will continue to occur between our two nations” and “whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective” in daily discourse.
This acquired habit of conversational coruscation can tend to negatively impact their verbal communication skills when speaking to, say, the person charged with changing the oil in their weekends-only S.U.V., or the person who just handed them their change from the two-biscuits-for-two-dollars breakfast special at their local drive-thru window.
Fortunately for all concerned, the more well-grounded examples of the Senatorial class are able to overcome these external influences and speak not only truth to power, but understandable sentences to common folk as well.
... Mr. Kerry, of course, being one of these, as anyone who has listened to the remarks he delivered at the Livestrong Summit can attest.
ahem and/or quite possibly but not necessarily limited to ahem, as I’m sure my esteemed colleagues from across the aisle would undoubtedly agree,
Otter
Oncall
It could be that he was more relaxed since the election is over and yes there is an ease that everyone gets in speaking to smaller group than a larger group. Kerry is passionate about education, we all know that… It’s great to see him out and about speaking more on the subject.