This is the forth in our series of current and former teachers who play a role in making the policies that impact our district and state. This profile is on JC Bowman, the Executive Director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET), pictured with his wife to the right. Mr. Bowman responded to our questions via email rather than by phone interview, so we’ve chosen to post his responses in their entirety. 

What experience brought you to the teaching profession and education initially?

I was fortunate to attend one of the best public school systems in the state: Cleveland City Schools, in my hometown of Cleveland, Tennessee. When I graduated high school, my dad told me I was going to college or getting a job. I thought I would outsmart him and joined the US Marines.  While serving in the Marines, they made me take college classes at night.  And I ended up teaching other Marines while serving. I helped lead Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Training, as well as Drug & Alcohol Counseling, in addition to my military specialty of Embarkation and Logistics.  I also got to see the world and look at things through different eyes.

I initially planned to attend officer candidate school after graduation from Lee University undergrad degree in education, and then I added a Master’s Degree from Trevecca Nazarene University in Administration & Supervision. I realized that teaching was another way to serve my state and country.  I really enjoyed teaching and found that I had a gift that allowed me to communicate effectively with students. I loved teaching.  I truly miss those days.  One day I would like to end up teaching or mentoring children again. Teaching is one of the most honorable and noble professions.  Who wouldn’t want to serve their community?  Teachers shape the next generation, impact society and determine the future of our state and nation. We need to do a better job of honoring our teachers for their self-sacrifice.

In your current capacity, what role do you believe that teachers should play in making education policy and how has your experience as a teacher influence this belief?

Teachers should be the key to shaping public policy, as they determine what works and what does not work in our classrooms. Policymakers need to engage them more, rather than philanthropists with the deepest pockets.  We can make excuses why we don’t engage classroom teachers but we have to understand the benefits of greater teacher participation in decision-making and teacher leadership in schools.  Sure there are some very real constraints, such as lack of time, lack of training and support, lack of expertise, lack of confidence in teachers’ own ability, politics, role ambiguity, professional jealousy, inadequate availability of data for decision making availability, information and decision-making overload, etc…  However, that pales in comparison in letting non-educators drive our entire policy agenda.

As Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, I spend a lot of time with teachers all over the state.  I have made some enemies with policymakers standing up for our members.  They need thicker skin in my opinion, if they cannot handle divergent opinions.  I think time will prove that not all education reform has been done for the benefit of students, teachers, or parents.  I also detest partisanship in education debates.

As an organization, we have made a firm commitment not to fund candidates or endorse parties or candidates with our members’ dues. We are incorporated as a professional trade association, not a lobbying organization. We do not become overly involved in politics, and couldn’t afford to, even if we wanted to, with such an economical dues structure. Ironically, it is the union that doesn’t accept the fact that many of their own members would like their leaders to concentrate on educational issues and stay out of partisan politics. However, we do want our members to give to whatever person, cause or issue that they so choose.  We want our members engaged in their community, and they need to look past the political label.

We need to do a better job soliciting teacher input on decisions that affect their classroom, as well as that of school administrators. The success of teachers in influencing policy decisions, as well as the substance of these decisions may be crucial in having teachers actually become leaders in schools. Influencing the decision-making process shifts teacher or educator participation in the direction of education leadership.  In sports, a coach will talk about the next man up when someone gets hurt, traded or retires. Building the next generation of school leaders has to be a priority for every school system across the state.  We are now seeing a transient workforce in education.  One of our core commitments of our organization is to help in that endeavor by providing high quality professional development and learning opportunities to help all educators—members and non-members alike.

Did you do any advocacy work as a teacher? How did this influence where you are today?

I have always engaged in advocacy.  I started writing letters to the editor of my local newspaper as an elementary school student.  I served in student government in high school.  I went to Boy’s State in high school, where I first met then Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander.  Life has a funny way of coming full circle.  Alexander will now take a huge role in future federal education policy, and we look forward to working with him.

The key for educators and what I stress to our members:  stand up for what you believe in.  In our publications, we do little, if any editing of other’s contributions.  We merely provide the vehicle and allow members to express their own unfiltered opinion.  Personally, I can almost always argue either side of a political issue.  It comes from growing up in a family where I had a dad who was one party, and a mother who was another.  My in-laws, Dr. Robert and Nancy O’Bannon, used to have debates at the dinner table.  So you had to be prepared for the topic of the day.  However, like we stress to our own members we need to conduct ourselves as a professional.

In public policy, too many folks like to criticize, but don’t offer attainable solutions. I have made mistakes, and have a few regrets over the years.  However, I think I have matured some through the years and really seek more input in my decision-making process. I have become a better listener. This has helped me be a better messenger for educators across the state. The fact that I know the state so well being a Tennessean also helps me with legislators.  It was one of the major reasons we requested Governor Haslam to pick a commissioner from within the state, and we are very pleased that he did so.  Tennessee teachers need someone who speaks their language, and understands the difficulty in some of the transitional changes.  We have high hopes for our new commissioner and genuinely want to work with her.

What led you to leave the classroom?

Students are my first priority. I always took the position that when my outside activities interfered with my classroom responsibilities I would walk away.  That happened by 1998.  That decision was agonizing — both personally and professionally.  I had to move away from security of a tenured job into the unknown.  I was already writing and speaking around the United States on various education issues. I was also elected to serve as the vice-president of the National Association of Professional Educators (which later merged with the Association of American Educators) that served classroom teachers.

“Independent” state-based education associations began flourishing across the nation in 1975, when the NEA, took a major step toward mandating national membership among all educators, rather than allowing membership to be optional. Many educators did not like the concept of forced “unified dues” and they were opposed to the militancy of teacher unions nationwide. They were equally uncomfortable with the aggressive political partisanship and the organization’s wide-ranging social agenda on issues unrelated to education.

I was one of the first public school teachers that joined Professional Educators of Tennessee.  There are nearly a 1,000,000 members now nationwide in state-based organizations like ours.  In states like Georgia, Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, and Mississippi, the independent organizations are much larger than their union counterparts.  I remember one weekend I was in Chicago with hundreds of other educators, I simply realized that I had a platform and opportunity to speak out for other educators here in Tennessee and across the nation.

We all recognize that it is problematic when our public education system becomes so challenging and so confusing, that students ultimately suffer and excellent teachers leave their chosen profession.  We really must examine the how and why we do certain things in public education—and we need greater participation by our classroom teachers. My personal, as well as our organizational philosophy, is to place the educational interests of students first.  Our members and staff work every day to make Tennessee a better place for students to learn and for our teachers to teach. That simple, positive message has not only led to the remarkable growth of Professional Educators of Tennessee, it has also resulted in the respect and support of the business community and governmental leaders for our efforts.

How has your experience as a teacher influenced the decisions that led you to your current position and influenced the decisions you make in this position?

My previous experience is directly responsible for me being here. I am a product of public education, attended public schools and I have never forgotten my experience of being a classroom teacher in Meigs County and Bradley County, Tennessee.  After leaving the classroom I worked directly within public policy in Texas and in Florida, two states that have enacted many notable education reforms. Some of which were questionable, some that are still being debated and many that are now considered standard practice in other states.

I would like to say everybody had principled reasons for their effort, but I can only speak to my own motivation.  I left Florida, where I worked for Governor Bush, the Florida Department of Education and The Florida State University to launch along with the former Dean of the University Dr. Steve Rollin a non-profit that focused on faith and community organizations through strategy and capacity building.  I worked on subjects as diverse as AIDS in Africa to Character Education in Rwanda.  I conducted evaluation of federal grants in states like Ohio, Michigan, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Indiana. I worked with Republicans, Democrats and people just like me who no longer cared for partisan politics as usual.  It was about mission and service to others.

One of the first things you will notice is that in our publications we do not even identify the political party of legislators. That is intentional. We simply do not care.  In regards to influencing decisions, as executive director, we understand teachers have a choice of who they want to represent them.  We do not merely look at quantity of numbers, although we have doubled to a little more than 8,000 members statewide in 3 years, we want to be focused on quality. We want to boost educator competence, confidence and leadership skills, which leads to higher academic achievement for Tennessee students, while providing the best in membership, legislative and legal support. If we remained focused on our goals, (and that is my role as a leader to make sure we do) we will advance the education profession and advance a truly modern approach to teacher representation and educational advocacy, as well as promote professionalism, collaboration and excellence without a partisan agenda or answering to a large national organization.

What accomplishments are you most proud of as you look back on your path to date?

Honestly, I don’t rest on my laurels.  I am reminded by scripture: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18).  I have been fortunate to be raised by hard working parents, be surrounded by friends and family, receive a good education and find work that has meaning. There is also a Chinese proverb which says “May he live in interesting times.”  Like it or not we do in fact live in interesting times. There are opportunities all around us.  Many could argue that threats facing our nation and insecurity here with the economy are scary. I happen to believe that challenges are exciting.  Never before in history has our society needed so many creative men and women ready to take on these difficult challenges, especially within public education. I will let other people discuss accomplishments at my funeral.  For me, life is a long race to run, and if I don’t hear “Well done my good and faithful servant,” at the end, what will I have achieved?

How have you balanced your personal life and your work life as an advocate?

Wow, that is the toughest challenge for me.  I don’t do a very good job of it.  I am very connected to social media (Fyi, @jcbowman on twitter or email [email protected]).  I will answer emails take calls at all hours of the day and night.  I have begun turning the ringer off my cell phone after 9:00 PM, 8:00 PM on Tuesday for NCIS.  The truth is that I recognize I am created in the image of God, but I am not God.  And God hasn’t asked me to assist him in judging people.  So, as an advocate I tell people to get their priorities in order, not mine.  For me, that means God, Family and Country.  That is simple enough for a simple man.  I am a son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend.  I enjoy all of those of roles.  I love my state and my country.  I enjoy writing.  My grandmother used to tell me stories of our Native-American ancestors in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.  I share them with my kids and grandkids.  One day I need to write them down.  I am a fairly committed amateur genealogist.  It is a project I began as a kid.  My ancestors have been in Tennessee before statehood.  Even with my hobbies I like to work.  What is balance?  Like Warren Zevon said, “I will sleep when I am dead.”

What advice do you have for teachers interested in taking a similar pathway to yours?

Educator Engagement is my most important advice.  Don’t wait to be invited to participate.  We will be glad to plug you in at Professional Educators of Tennessee, and I am sure other groups will plug you in as well.  Your profession, just like your life is not a spectator sport.  If you do things for the right reasons and you will often be surprised by the outcomes. Every workplace has its limitations and challenges. We must accept that fact.  But public education is one of the few careers where you make a real difference in the lives of others. Your voice is needed.

We have to be optimistic about our state and our profession.  It will continue to take hard work and strong leadership to preserve public education. Look for the challenges.  Question the status quo.  Don’t accept that something has to be a certain way just because it was always done in a certain manner.  Make it your mission to help keep teaching an honorable profession with your relationships, talents, and image.   Every corporate executive, lawyer, scientist, legislator and entrepreneur has to go through somebody’s classroom door before they embark on their own life journey.  It is very often educators who teach these future leaders the values and ethic of hard work, time management, critical thinking, and good manners.

What do you believe is the most important education policy decision facing our state in the next five years?

Community Engagement is going to be critical.  We simply must have more involvement and help from parents, local communities, and state government, rather than the federal government. I really do believe the schools and their administration, instructional services, and curriculum should be primarily accountable to the parents and taxpayers of the local communities they serve. That means we have to define and reduce federal mandates and returning decision-making to states and communities. There is no doubt that a quality education is still the best method for Tennesseans to climb the economic ladder. We will transform education at the grassroots level by forging strong partnerships between public schools and local communities.

To get this done the number one issue is going to be finance.  Money changes behavior and lots of money changes lots of behavior.  We have grown dependent on federal dollars, which is in the giant scheme of things may cost more to maintain than we take in.  In Florida, there is a saying that sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.  When it comes to the federal dollars and the federal strings attached, perhaps the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.  Keep in mind, there is a looming budget war coming as we head in the 2016 elections on the federal level.  Joel Packer, executive director at the Committee for Education Funding predicts that “fiscal year 2016 will be very chaotic, confusing and confrontational for education funding and the federal budget in general.”  He added, “I think there is a high probability of budget gridlock and a government shutdown in October. The return of the fiscal cliffs! Either the Congress passes a Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill that gets vetoed by the president (because of deep cuts and unacceptable policy riders) or the Labor-HHS-ED bill gets filibustered in the Senate by Dems for the same reasons.”  That means the state is going to have to step up for K-12 funding.

All funding components of the Basic Education Program (BEP) should accurately reflect true costs through an annual cost review and cost determination process. The State should fully fund the BEP and ensure that basic state funding and procedures provide equal opportunities for all school systems. Any future state-mandated programs or added responsibilities must, without exception, be accompanied by 100% state funding for all direct and indirect costs associated therewith, and without corresponding reduction of state financial support in any other areas of public education. And I would argue that whenever 100% state funding is not received it should result in an automatic waiver for the LEA’s.

The 109^th General Assembly, as well as any state legislative bodies or regulatory agency should determine the full impact on local school systems before taking action on any proposed legislation, regulations and guidelines related to public education.  And LEA’s better pay particularly close attention to every education bill this session, which is likely to be at a frantic pace in 2015.

We’d like to thank Mr. Bowman for being a part of our ongoing series on current and former teachers as policy leaders and advocates. Know someone you’d like to see profiled? Send us their contact info at [email protected]! Also, please visit PET’s website to learn more about their programs and services!