BOE chair, others praise teachers amid controversy

Oak Ridge Board of Education Chairman Keys Fillauer praised the school system's staff as its "cornerstone" at the end of early August School Board meeting.

“We support you. We are there for you,” he said regarding the staff, including teachers. “We thank you for that job.”

He said these comments came “regardless of what our governor failed to say” and “regardless of what the person whose name I don’t use did say.”

While Fillauer did not quote Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee or anyone else directly in these comments, it came amid a controversy involving comments by Larry Arnn, president of the Michigan-based Hillsdale College. Arnn spoke at an event that also involved Lee in Williamson County. Nashville News Channel 5 shared video of the event, which the channel described as invitation only, but recorded secretly by one of the guests.

Arnn called education departments, which train teachers "the dumbest part of every college."

"The teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country," Arnn said in a video clip Channel 5 shared.

While much of the media coverage has focused on teachers, Arnn's comments shown by Channel 5 also included school administrators.

"The administrators you hire are all diversity people, and that helps you by the way, with your federal requirements that you have a certain number by color," he said. "Now because they are appointing all these diversity officers, what are their degrees in? Education. It's easy. You don't have to know anything," he said.

Lee later gave a response to reporters regarding Arnn's comments at the event he attended.

"I disagree with left-wing activism in public education," Lee said. "But I fully support the teachers in our state, a vast majority of them who are well trained and who are fully committed to serve the citizens of Tennessee."

Hillsdale has become nationally known for its politically and religiously conservative identity, and is helping start charter schools in Tennessee. The governor first visited the college in February 2020 to discuss charter schools.

Since 2010, Hillsdale has built a network of charter schools and curriculums to put its own stamp on all levels of education throughout several states. At his State of the State address earlier this year, Lee announced a partnership with the college to teach "true American history, unbiased and nonpolitical."

Emily Stack Davis, a Hillsdale College spokesperson, said Arnn was “clearly criticizing the educational bureaucracy that has done a great disservice to both teachers and students.”

“Dr. Arnn continues to hold the utmost respect and admiration for all those who choose to devote their lives to teaching,” Davis said. “It is disappointing — though unsurprising — that entrenched elements of the education establishment would take criticism of their abysmal and damaging track record and deflect it towards the very teachers they've undermined for decades.”

Still, the comments yielded criticism. Oak Ridge native and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, both released statements criticizing Arnn's comments.

Sexton said he would never agree with or support Arnn’s comments, and that the Hillsdale president had "insulted generations of teachers who have made a difference for countless students."

McNally called Arnn's comments "ill-conceived, unfortunate and untrue," and said they would "feature prominently in the vetting process" for Hillsdale's proposed charter schools in Tennessee.

"As a former classroom teacher, I have some idea of the challenges our public school teachers deal with on a daily basis. They do an outstanding job preparing our youth. I support them and say thank you," Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, stated in a Tweet, responding to criticism of Arnn by Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby.

Arnn has had a chance to address the controversy in a column in The Tennesseean newspaper in Nashville.

"At a recent event with Gov. Bill Lee, I remarked that 'Teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.' I’ve made similar critiques of the education bureaucracy my entire career.

"This does not contradict my deep and abiding affection for teachers. After the students, the most important people in the college where I work are teachers (the maintenance workers are third — and I tell everyone this often).

"Dumb can mean 'unintelligent,' which I did not mean. Dumb also means 'ill-conceived' or 'misdirected,' which is, sadly, a fitting description for many education schools today," the college president stated.

Adam Friedman and Liam Adams with The Tennessean contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: BOE chair, others praise teachers amid controversy