
Man, I'm pretty good, Earl, man.
It was a great weekend.
Just want to make sure that we have a great show today.
I heard you got a special guest coming in for us.
Good morning.
I'm doing pretty well.
I'm getting over it.
Well, I have a cold, but I'm doing well.
Thank you so much for having me on the show.
All right.
So my name is Brittany Kinzer.
I'm running for state superintendent of public instruction.
I have been an educator for 25 years, can't believe it's been 25 years.
I was a special ed teacher for 10 years in Chicago Public Schools and I was in the classroom and then I also was, I worked at the district level for a few years.
Then I spent another 10 years working in public, the public charter school space.
as an award-winning principal here in Wisconsin and other leadership positions also.
Sometimes I think people forget that charter schools are public, so I want to make sure that I say that they're public.
And then I worked as a CEO at a nonprofit here in Milwaukee, and now I'm running an initiative, a reading initiative called the 95 Wisconsin.
95 Wisconsin stands for the fact that we know that 95% of children
can learn how to read well enough to go to college or have a career if we make sure we're using the science of reading and teaching phonics in the early grades.
And so my initiative is working with schools here in Milwaukee to make sure students are getting the one-on-one tutoring that's proven to catch them up if they're behind.
And then making sure teachers have the support they need to teach phonics in the early grades and school leaders also so that we don't need as many kids needing tutoring.
So that is who I am.
I got in this race because I believe that 95% of our children can learn how to read well enough and need to restore our high standards and refocus on teaching, reading, writing, and math.
So all our kids can have a meaningful job, go to college or master a trait.
So
But I don't know, 30 years or so ago, people made a decision to get away from phonics.
And so when we talk about what has happened and the public school system is blamed for children not knowing how to read, it really is, you know...
When people explore the realities of why there are many different reasons, I spent 12 years volunteering in Milwaukee public schools.
So I kind of know what I'm talking about.
And it's the fact that they decided to move away from phonics.
Why was that?
Yeah.
Yes, oh my gosh.
So about 30 years ago, the whole education system decided to move away from it and go to something called balanced literacy.
And if anyone hasn't listened to the podcast, I don't know if you've listened to Soul The Story.
She does a fantastic job of outlining the history of what happened.
But you can see what happened as soon as we stopped teaching phonics.
our results, our reading results just go downhill.
And now we have this reading crisis in our country, where in Wisconsin we have three out of 10 children who are reading well enough to go to college or have a career.
And in Milwaukee, like you said, you're in Milwaukee, we have the worst results out of any city in the country.
Only 5% of our Black children are reading well enough.
Over all, only 9%.
And so, it took way too long for us to get back to teaching phonics.
But we could even see that at the school I taught at, or I opened.
We taught our teachers how to teach phonics, and we had fantastic results in our first two years.
And then again, the schools got away from it, because everyone was doing this balanced literacy.
But thank goodness we're back to teaching phonics again, because we know it works.
Really, Earl, we know like 30% of people don't need phonics, and that shows that in the data, but the rest of us do.
And some of us even need small group intervention, even after we've gotten phonics in the whole group, class group, you know, class, and then some of us need one-on-one.
But we know that it works.
about it.
So let me ask you because, you know, as somebody who's lived in this city in Milwaukee for 70 years, had my children
go to Milwaukee Public Schools, we saw what took place.
Then why was the school district, Milwaukee Public Schools, blamed for the fact that children couldn't read?
I heard you just state that three out of 10 across the state had trouble reading.
Why is it that we just see the focus on Milwaukee Public Schools?
Only three out of 10 can, seven out of 10.
are the ones that are not like so three out of ten are reading so like sometimes people are like oh wait a minute maybe I should say it differently oh seven out of ten can't but in Milwaukee it's even worse it's worse and so we should have
been able to switch to phonics as soon as we saw that dip, right?
Like we should have been, because we can see the data every year and students and teachers see it too, right?
But teachers also are going to school early.
I went to a teacher's college, you know, 25 years ago.
I was a special ed major and I realized when I got out of school, oh my gosh, I don't know how to teach reading.
Just because I know how to read doesn't mean you know how to teach it.
There is a science to it.
And so I had to take classes on how to teach phonics.
I had to go back and get training.
on how to teach it.
And I thankfully got, I was taught how to read through phonics.
And so we need to make sure that our teacher programs are teaching our teachers.
Every teacher, when they go into teaching, teachers want to help students.
That's why you go into it.
So we need to make sure that our teacher colleges are teaching teachers how to teach using phonics.
But if they haven't, then we do the school districts and DPI need to make sure that we are training our teachers on how to teach really how I learned.
So let me ask you because politics played a role in this and and and the fact that, you know, after decades of trying to get them back.
The people who made that decision.
on board and I know why the decision was made.
Clearly it was about money and about somebody padding their pockets.
And so we live at a time in a society where children cast aside.
And so when you look at Milwaukee public schools, the largest district in the entire state, what are your thoughts about the public school system as opposed to private and choice schools?
So I started 95 Wisconsin to actually spread it throughout Wisconsin.
The one-on-one tutoring, we know works.
And then also making sure I'm using a research-based phonics curriculum called UFLY.
Everyone can look it up, UFLI.
It is affordable, there's free training.
It's out of the University of Florida.
Dr. Holly Lane is brilliant.
and she wants to make it affordable for everyone.
So I started this program so that we could spread it throughout Wisconsin.
I did approach Milwaukee Public Schools.
It didn't end up happening.
I didn't get to be... I haven't yet been able to get into the schools there, but I did approach them right away to see if I could work with them because we do have half of our students in the city going to Milwaukee Public Schools.
We have to help our teachers there and our students and families.
When we see the results and we see everything that's going on, we have to come together.
This is a reading crisis, right?
We have to get in and help our students.
We are focused on Milwaukee, but I've traveled throughout the state, Earl, and everywhere I go, families are concerned that their children are not learning how to read.
Grandparents.
The bank, where I bank,
here in Wallatosa, the teller has been there for 25 years, and I said, you know, I'm running for state superintendent, and I got into it because we only have three out of 10 children reading well enough, and she stopped me or else.
She said, oh, Brittany, you don't have to tell me.
She's like, I've been doing this job for 25 years, and every year it gets worse.
I'm now reading people their bank statements, because they can't, and they don't know how to read the directions.
She's like, I'm actually having to help them write out their banking information.
And so we're seeing this across our country.
The real enemy, and this is why I'm in this, is to make sure the enemy is illiteracy for our country.
have to make sure that more
So you are running for state superintendent, and there has certainly been constant conversation about your opponent and her failure.
And she's been blamed because the students and the children can't read, but I hear you saying teachers didn't know how to teach reading.
If that's at the root of it, then there are a lot of different reasons why.
I know when you look at the conditions that exist with parents and children who are transient in Milwaukee public schools, who don't know whether they're gonna be living from day to day, who are hungry, and the socioeconomic realities of what children and families face in the city of Milwaukee, not only is Milwaukee.
one of the worst places for children to read is one of the worst places in the entire nation for black people to live.
And so there is a correlation between both.
And so can you can you fix the issue with education if you don't fix the social economic issues that that persist in the city of Milwaukee for black people in general?
So we have to have a we know great schools build great communities.
And I will take ownership and work with our local leaders, the legislature, the governor to ensure that we are supporting Milwaukee public schools and schools across
And I promise you I will do that.
I already have relations.
something.
legislature?
I will, I've already have those relationships.
I have worked already on a bill that was bipartisan.
It was the Republicans, five Democrats from Milwaukee and the governor's office that has to build increased education spending for all children in the state.
Mental health.
Sure.
All right.
My guest is Ms.
Brittany Kinzer.
She is a candidate for the state.
superintendent of schools.
855-752-4840.
I don't know why I'm having that block.
Maybe I forgot my phonics.
I need to take a phonics sandwich.
855-752-4842.
A Motown Monday on the Earl Ingram Show.
Some people think we don't have the right to say it's my country before they give
They'd rather fuss and fight than say, it's my country.
I've paid 300 years or more of slave driving sweat and wealth on my name.
This is my
Now Supreme Court.
So let me ask you because
You know, you said you have a relationship with the legislature.
The legislature has been part and parcel why systems across this state have not been receiving their fair share.
So what's different about your approach to the legislature than anyone else that they've now decided to do the right thing?
They chose to do the wrong thing all those decades, why now and why you?
Um, I am going, I, I've shown in the past that I've been able to work with them with the bill two years ago.
And, you know, I, I want to use, um, you know, mayor Johnson and County executive Crawley as an example.
Okay.
So I watched those two Milwaukee leaders.
work across the aisle.
They attended meetings with Republican legislatures, the legislators and Governor Evers and all the other stakeholders, cities, counties, villages and towns across the state.
And they modernized the shared revenue formula that hadn't been changed for decades.
And I think they are a great example of how they worked across the aisle.
They worked so, so hard.
And they, you know, worked to find common ground.
And so there's an example of what can happen.
And as they were doing that, I was, I was there also, like watching on education side, and I will continue for our children.
It is.
that we have relationships across the aisle because our kids are relying on adults.
I think about the little four-year-olds that come into school every year, and they're like, hi, I'm here, teacher, I'm here, right?
And I'm here, school leaders, and they are relying on us to get along and to find common ground for them because they deserve it.
And so when I see that our Milwaukee leaders were able to do it, that's an example.
I can also do that.
And like I said, I have the relationships.
and I have those relationships.
I built them because I know that our kids are relying on us.
So I'm going to
I support our children first and foremost, and I hope that everyone in education supports our children first.
And we have to start coming from a place of
what is best for our children.
And of course I will talk to anyone at the union.
You know, we all have to talk.
I know when I was at, when I, you know, a couple of years ago when I was at the Joint Finance Committee meetings, I was talking with people who were in the unions there and we were talking about how it's important to work, you know, everyone has to work together.
We have got to put politics aside for our children.
I think that, like I said, Mayor Johnson and County Executive Crowley showed us how to do it.
And it was just recent, right, on how to work together across the aisle.
And I believe when we bring parents into the fold too, I don't know, informing parents on the issues, I think we can do that.
I promise.
And I have been, you know, been able to do that.
I think even, you know, you had said something about blaming Dr. Underly about the results.
What I want to make sure is that Dr. Underly lowered the standards to make it, that's why I got into the race.
to lower the standards, which covers up the reality of where our children are at.
And that would be my number one.
My number one job is to make sure we raise the high standards and make sure that we are focusing on teaching our children how to read, write, and do math so they can get a job or go to college or master a trade.
And part of that is we have to support our teachers.
And I know the teachers union is interested in teaching, you know, supporting the teachers.
And I've been in a teachers union.
I was in the Chicago public.
school teachers union for 10 years when I first got out.
So I will be able to, I'll be able, I will, I will attempt, I will give it all of my effort to work together with everyone to be able to do what's best for our kids.
Like I recently just got the endorsement for the Democrats for education reform on the same day that governor Thompson endorsed me.
So I'm able to work with both.
So, so let me, so let me, let
me do this.
a caller?
Take a caller.
I don't know.
I've never done this before.
Good morning, girl.
Good morning, Miss Kinzer.
Yeah, recently, Miss Kinzer, I attended a Brad Schimmel fundraiser and the moms for Liberty were there.
The John Birch Society was there, Turning Point was there, which is Elon Musk's funding machine in Wisconsin here.
And I saw your yard signs and your literature there with the Brad Schimmel literature and yard signs.
And so I have to ask, do your values align with Brad Schimmel and Moms for Liberty?
And also as superintendent, will you seek increases in voucher funding across the state?
And you didn't say when Mr. Ingram asked you whether you support the teachers union, you said you'll talk to the unions.
And I'd like to know whether you will support the union.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you,
So like I said, I will work with anyone who want to work, who wants to put our children first.
And I think that is the problem where we are like,
these people are this.
And then we don't talk to each other.
We have all got to talk to each other.
Like I said, when I was a principal, you know, I got a.
I had to work, I
had to work with every family, right?
Whether they were Republican, Democrat, independent, whatever it was, I never asked them.
We all have to work together for our
kids.
And if we, if we start talking about what's best for kids, not one person or whether it's been up North, down South, wherever, everyone agrees that all children should read.
That is, that is the key freedom.
Hey,
Thank you very much for the call.
All right, 8-5-5-7-5-2-48-42.
You're tuning into a Motown Monday on The Earling Room Show.
All right, welcome back to a Motown Monday on the Earl Ingram show.
As always, you can join us at 855-752-4842.
That's 855-752-4842.
I want to thank my guest, Ms.
Brittany Kinzer, for appearing on the show today.
And I want to say this, our phone line's open at 855-752, you know, 4842.
But I want to say this.
You know it is about politics and and the issue with the lack of education In a public education across this nation, it's always been about politics and it is today It's still about that Because the truth of the matter is you know when you talk about all over this state
I don't care where it is, districts have had to go to referendum, in order to be able to fund their schools.
And so who prevented that?
It was the Republicans at the state level.
At every turn, they blocked all of that.
If I'm not telling the truth, 855-752-4842.
is the number, refute what I'm saying with facts.
And so Republicans chose to not support economically the school system.
And so the question becomes, why are they now set if we're to believe Ms.
Kinzer, why are they now all of a sudden going to be able to work?
and do the right thing because Ms.
Kinzer is there.
855-752-4842, prove me wrong.
So at the root of it was an organized effort on the state level and actually across this nation to support private schools at the expense of public schools.
Just a fact.
That's what took place.
Well, I've got someone who's taking the challenge.
Let's go to David from Mechwan.
Prove me wrong, David.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Number one, I mentioned to your guests, it was a week ago, that the MPS got $880 million of federal money.
Where did it go?
And your guest said they're hemming in Hine.
Nobody knows where the money went.
Number two, Jill Underly.
Where in the hell is she doing?
You have multiple schools have been closed down with lead poisoning.
I haven't heard a thing from her.
Nothing.
And she is the current state superintendent.
And she has not said one thing.
Not one thing.
Haven't seen anything
read anything, it's like it doesn't even exist.
That should piss you off.
Number three, she did lower the standards for the kids.
Why?
To exactly what your caller said or Ms.
Kinsler said, which is to make the students look better when in reality it's hiding.
the actual reality.
Hey, David.
Did you you just happen to slip over the fact that she said seven in 10 students across the state of Wisconsin, uh, having reading problems.
Okay.
Now you want to focus solely on the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee public schools.
Why didn't I hear you respond to the fact
that 30 years ago they chose to not do phonics anymore and the impact that that had.
Why did you not respond to that?
Well, I didn't
hear that.
I know.
Okay.
So if you didn't hear that, then you didn't hear the meat of the whole debate and conversation.
The fact that because she said that teachers can't teach phonics.
And one of the biggest problems and one of the big issues is when they took away phonics, okay?
And so she is put together a group that is now going attempting and they made a decision to go back to phonics.
Politrix made that decision, David, over 30 years ago.
Well, the other thing is I would add, I would have told her to follow what the state of Iowa is doing her neighbors
in
the store.
And what they did was in the city of Otomo, Iowa, when we finish the city of Otomo, Iowa, did a pilot study of not having the kids having their cell phones.
on.
Hang on.
Okay.
I spent 12 years in the public school system volunteering.
So I know what I'm talking about.
Okay.
So the city of Milwaukee, so the city of Milwaukee.
is have the worst conditions for black people to live in the entire nation.
Are you aware of that?
Yes.
OK, OK, so hold on.
OK, so hold on.
No, no, hold on.
So I know that the social economic conditions impact children as it relates to learning because when there is no stability in the home.
The chances of a child being able to overcome that is extremely difficult.
And when I said that to her, she admitted that, David, I don't hear you admitting any of those things.
It's easy to point the finger at Milwaukee public schools.
And I'm not one to be quite frank with you.
I have a problem with some of the things that happen in Milwaukee public schools.
I'm not a shield.
from Milwaukee public schools.
The fact that they are dealing with the lead issues are a big issue.
And though, but that didn't just happen on the jail undoing that has happened for decades because the buildings are old because because the buildings are many of the buildings are a hundred years old.
When is the last time they built any new schools and not like the suburbs?
They're dealing with buildings that over a hundred years old.
I'm not making any excuses.
They should have done a better job.
Well, at the end of the day, again, your guests ran over a week ago.
I point blank asked them, where did $880 million go and federal money?
David.
I saw that Dr. Posley got a nice golden shoot parachute out of the.
MPS there was no repercussions.
Harley.
regardless, a early garlic, his administration, his under his watch, Governor Evers.
Hey David,
I'm not supporting, I'm not supporting Dr. Posley.
I'm talking about a district of 60,000 or so students and children who we need to make sure that they get a fair shot because guess what?
If they don't get a fair shot, they grow up to be adults and adults who can't read and can't write and who live in a capitalistic society.
I'm going to figure out a way to get whatever it is they feel they have coming to them.
All right.
Let's go to, uh, let's go to Brendan.
Hey, good morning to you, Brendan.
You say what?
Yeah.
Good morning, Earl.
This is just a continuation of term one before it was Betsy Voss with the, uh, you know, with the chips, uh, going to, uh, I'm sorry, the charter schools.
which were just a shadow work for private schools where all the money was getting shipped to.
And this is all part of the dictator plan because we want to keep everybody stupid and uneducated and not being able to read so that we can pay them nothing and they can work in our factories and push along the elites, okay?
Uh, this is what's going on.
This is why you put the, uh, vice president of the world wrestling, whatever in charge of schools, or you put a moron from Fox news in charge of your military, another guy and so on.
But it's all part of the plan.
I mean, it's, it's just so obvious.
You got to boil it all down.
what?
They're doing the best they can with funding that they have, and it's going to be even worse.
So, sir, I worked in that area.
I tested kids.
I saw how teachers were trained.
I wasn't a teacher.
I evaluated kids, worked on how they learned, did testing.
Wake up folks.
Don't listen to this guy and don't go to those charter schools because they don't have people there like me because they don't have school psychologists.
They don't have counselors.
They don't have special reading people.
Get wake up folks.
Get out there for under way and vote for the female judge because we need to save
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for the call.
So so education, you know,
And let's just be, you know, this is all politics.
All of it is politics.
The destruction of the public school system, all politics.
Again, I know who created voucher schools.
Okay.
I know the people who were at the root of it.
And it came out of the city of Milwaukee.
And that Polly Williams, Larry Hardwell and Dr. Howard Fuller created.
voucher schools, and they spread across the nation like wildfire.
I know the reason and the rationale for why they were created.
Because it happened in my backyard.
It happened at the time when my children were in the public school system.
OK, so let's stop.
Well, I can't say let's stop.
not being truthful, because if you don't know the origin or the history of it, then you really shouldn't be running off at the mouth because you don't know.
But everybody's got something to say about it because it's become a political football.
And so conservatives have done a great job of vilifying
the public school systems, not just in the city of Milwaukee, but all over the country, all over the state, because vouchers used to just be in Milwaukee.
The last time I checked there across the entire state of Wisconsin, challenging and threatening the public school systems.
There's been an assault and an attack on the public school systems across this nation.
Okay.
If I'm not being truthful, eight, five, five, seven, five, two.
4842 is the number.
Let's have a dialogue.
You know, David tried.
Let's see what you can do.
Tune into a Motown Monday on the Earl Ingram Show.
you
That's 855-752-4842.
You can text us at that same number.
Before I go to the phone lines, I just want to say this.
I am not opposed to private schools.
I've never been opposed to that.
You know, I just have always supported where the majority of the children are.
How does it make sense to not support where the majority of the children are?
That makes no sense to me long term.
That can't be a great Model for for you know the country Ignore the majority of the children's education at a time when we are involved in a global Technological competition globally and yet and yet
We ignore what a majority of the children had.
That's nonsensical to me.
And so if people want to send their kids to private schools, I have no problem with that.
But man, not at the expense of the majority of the students, 855-752-4842.
Let's go to Ann.
Good morning to you, Ann.
You say what?
Good morning, Earl.
I've been a public rural area school teacher for 25 years.
And there is a big problem.
First of all, kindergarten shouldn't be learning how to read.
We need to let these kids socialize, play games, learn by game.
So they're more interested.
Shoving reading down their throat doesn't work.
First grade, great time to start reading.
But once again,
All we do is test, test, test.
We need to take a child where they're at and move them forward.
Our problem is this prior knowledge.
These tests are going for kids that have lots of experiences, world experience, travel experience.
The stuff that these kids have to read, they don't even understand it.
It doesn't relate to their life.
And it's so frustrating to me because these tests make these kids look like they're not smart.
That's not our problem here.
Our problem is prior knowledge.
We have taken things so far advanced.
These kids don't even know where to start, where to go.
We need to get back to what's important.
Stop testing, testing, testing.
We need to take the child where they're at and move them forward.
They will be much more successful and they won't have anxiety.
You wouldn't believe all the anxiety and kindergarten kids crying because all they're doing is being tested.
When you test the rural area kid that has no experiences, they're not going to pass those tests, and we're going to look like we're very, very low academically.
But if we took the kid where they're at with their experiences and move them forward, we will have great, great
You know what, Ann?
I agree with you totally.
Again, all of this has been concocted for this reason.
that Tony actually hit the nail on, if you want to go, Tony said, I'm opposed to private schools at the expense of public schools.
If you want to go to a private school, pay for it yourself.
You know, hey, Tony, that's it.
Hey, Ann, thank you very much for the call.
David from San Francisco, David, you say what?
Yeah, well, that's well stated and when I was a kid there were all of these I came from a section of st.
Louis that had the biggest collection and John birchers in America and they were trying to get the taxpayers to pay for their private schools and We were lucky enough that we sat shoulder to shoulder with rich kids poor kids everybody all these ethnicities and we
As we grew older, not only did we become friends, but we also still rely on each other.
United we stand, divided we fall.
And the reason I called today, did you see Rachel Maddow last Friday night?
No.
Well, she had this little piece on there about how Mike Johnson has frozen time.
He's declared that last Thursday is forever more until he says it's not.
And the reason he did it was when Trump declared a national emergency, Congress has the ability to challenge it or to amend.
Hey,
Hey, David, I'm getting ready to talk about Donald Trump in the next segment.
So you're welcome to call during that time.
Thank you very much for the call.
You know, coming up, uh, we're going to be talking, uh, about, you know, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, and some more Donald Trump.
And so, you know, people may say we're tired of hearing about Donald Trump, but I don't know how anybody can not talk about what this man is doing.
I think when we don't talk about him, and when we don't, oh, he just wants to see you guys in the media.
Yeah, well, the media should be talking about it.
He's attacking and assaulting the media and everybody else.
855-752-4842, up next on a Motown Monday on the Earl Ingram Show.