Beating Back Bad Banter

These days, catch phrases are popular and attempt to convince us that the rhetoric they spread is actually the truth. For example, I recently did an interview on a morning television show with Dan Fagan. He has built a reputation for being controversial and conservative. He treated me pretty well in the studio and had a co-host named Elizabeth there. During one part of the conversation, he brought up teacher salaries. He asked what they were and tried to confirm the amount was for nine months of work. I said no, it's for 12 months of work. I pointed out that teachers are responsible for their own professional growth and often requires summer to complete. After I had already corrected his statement, he followed up with another stab at saying teachers have a three month vacation each year. I corrected him a second time. I have concluded that we MUST take issue every time misstatements are made. It is the only way we will combat those who are willing to believe what others say, whether the facts are real or not.