An Open Letter to Sen. Rodney Tom of Washington

This is a verbatim copy of the email I sent Sen. Tom after reading this article today. If I receive a reply, I'll be sure to post it as well.

Hello Sen. Tom.

I just read an article with a quote from you about teachers salary, budgets, etc. The particular quote I'm referring to is:

“Education is one of the few areas where a superstar and a slug get paid the same,” said Tom. “In any real profession, it doesn’t work that way.”

My question is what exactly is a real profession if education is not one? I am a student in Tennessee that is one year away from my certification to be a 7-12 Math teacher. I am so excited about my chosen profession and can't wait to get in the classroom. Once there, I hope to make a difference in even just one of my student's lives, much like some teacher made an impact on your life I'm sure. So please explain to me how education isn't a "real profession" or what exactly was meant by that comment. I understand that I am not one of your prospective voters at this time, but I would love a response on this matter.

Thank you,

Kayla Fisher
615-934-4052

P.S. I would like to remind you that without educators, you wouldn't be able to correctly form that sentence or read this email. Just a little food for thought.