Tim Childers, a Southeast Tennessee teacher who blogs about education, attended the annual conference of the Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET). Six gubernatorial candidates spoke to the conferees, and Childers ably scribed his reaction to each. Here’s an excerpt:

Ron Ramsey (R) – Mr. Ramsey is currently the Lt. Governor of TN. He is the first Republican Lt Governor in 140 years. He has experience working directly in the state legislature. It is unclear to me yet if this is a positive or negative. He still works part-time as a real estate auctioneer in Eastern Tennessee and surrounding states, so he has business experience as well. At first glance, he reminded me of a television evangelist. He is tall and fit with silvery gray hair slicked back away from his face. Two things hit me negatively about Mr. Ramsey during his talk. First, he kept using the word “physically” instead of “fiscally.” That’s my English background raising its head I’m sure. Second, when asked about Race to the Top he stated that if it comes with strings attached he doesn’t want it. Come on, Mr. Ramsey. All federal dollars come with strings attached.

Samuel Duck (I) – Mr. Duck holds a bachelor’s degree. He has no political experience. One of the first statements out of his mouth was that he believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible and the Constitution. He actually carried a copy of the Federalist Papers with him and quoted from them often. At one point he gave us his explanation about why education exists. It is a quote from the Constitution (as it relates to the Patent Office). He asked if anyone knew where it came from. When no one volunteered an answer, we were chastised and told this is “one of the problems with education.” I don’t think Mr. Duck scored any points with a group of teachers then.

Be sure to read the entire thing.