Question: Would every Liberal-controlled school system be better if a hurricane hit it?
Education Secretary Arne Duncan, one of the Chicagoans brought to Washington for “The Golden Age of Hope and Change” (aka, “The Unmitigated Disaster of Unprecedented Proportions”), said recently that “the best thing to ever happen to the school system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina”.
He’s right.
New Orleans public schools were terrible before Katrina. Post-disaster, they were rebuilt from the ground up, along a charter school model that’s already showing great progress.
But, Duncan ran Chicago’s public schools, and those are terrible. Liberals control Chicago, and thus the schools. So, why aren’t Chicago public schools doing better? We must need more hurricanes.
While we’re on the topic, why are the public schools in every Liberal-controlled city that we can think of so terrible? Cleveland Public schools were at one time ranked the worst in the world. Worst in the known universe, to be technical. To this day, they need a hurricane, or at least a plague of locusts or a shower of toads, to make them adequate, because it’s unimaginable anything on Earth could make them good.
Why is everything that’s Liberal-controlled always so terrible?
What does that say about Liberalism, that the massive destructive power of a hurricane actually makes things Liberals control BETTER?
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I was in 4th grade when Sputnik went up. I still remember my teacher’s declaration of shame. She believed she — and every other American teacher — was an educational failure because the Russians beat us into space. It was after that that “New Math” came into vogue, along with a lot of other weird experiments.
Speaking of 4th grade, my mother taught 4th grade for several years before going back for a masters in “media science” — what used to be referred to as library science. All told, she spent a good 30 years of so in the class room and in school libraries. She belonged to the Teacher’s union, and was in fact, steward for her school for at least one year. In her later years, she had nothing but harsh words for the young teachers coming into the system. They were lazy, ignorant and ill-prepared to teach.
I entered college in the fall of 1966, and I majored in history. Even then, the Liberal “narrative” was creeping into the teaching of history. America bad, Soviet Union good, Viet Cong good, Mao good.
I have two near-genius level kids who are both dropouts. (Both sailed through their GED exams.) The Omaha school system didn’t have the least bit of interest in either kid. All the money and all the attention went to the slow and retarded kids. To create special programs for the bright kids would have been elitism, you see, and no hint of elitism was allowed into the Omaha school system.
For two generations, Liberals have been dumbing down the school system to accomodate the slow kids, kicking the smart kids to the curb because you just can’t have “disparity of outcome”. It’s just not fair!!!!!
Liberals have also been indulging themselves in a lot of social engineering by way of the classroom. Who cares if Johnny can’t read? At least he knows that Christopher Coloumbus was a monster and that Columbus Day is a day of shame for every white in America. Who cares if Tiffany can’t add 2+2? At least she knows that Jews, Israelis and Americans are Islamaphobes and that Palestinians are the most oppressed people in the entire history of the world.
A few years back, Nebraska was reviewing its secondary school educational standards. Some bright light decided that the American Civil War should be taught without mentioning Robert E. Lee even once. But Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth got at least a half-dozen mentions each. (There were enough screams from the non-brainwashed voters to shoot that idea down.)
My two youngest were taught — in a Catholic grade school no less — that Mommy and Daddy were racists because both of us had been alive during the 1960s.
In short, Liberals do not regard public schools as a place for children to learn math, reading or writing. They regard the public schools as places where children are to be indoctrinated into the proper patterns of thought. You’ll notice that they mostly send their kids to very expensive private schools. They intend that their children will be tomorrow’s ruling elite. Our children will be properly subservient to them, quietly imbibing every drop of the Kool-Aid because they know that their liberal-elite leaders are omniscient and omnipotent while they are too stupid to know what’s good for themselves and cannot be trusted to make any sort of meaningful decision.
in…a…Catholic…grade…school….
wow…..
That does shock me. I remember nothing racially, politically or socially pointed in Catholic grade school (64-72). It was strict Math, English, Spelling, Science, History and Penmanship. Even the lay teachers n 6th, 7th and 8th grades were strictly apolitical.
I guess nothing is safe.
I had the same kind of Catholic elementary school experience. Apolitical, though Sr. Geraldine ran thru the school crying when JFK was shot. That’s about as “political” as it got.
Same classes as you but also reading (the SRA program) and catechism. And all the textbooks were a grade ahead.
So sorry to hear about Kate’s experience. Dang those retarded kids! The retarded kid in my family went to a special public school, with Special Ed teachers teaching him.
In public school in 7th and 8th grade, and then public high school, we had some standout teachers. We had advanced classed for the brainiacs, shop class (bring back technical skills!) for the non-college-bound, which included “dumb,” “smart,” and even “genius” kids.
And most every kid who had a special talent, need, or interest could easily engage one or another teacher for further study and guidance.
We did have sucky algebra teachers. But overall, back then (I graduated high school in June 1973), public school teachers were of a much higher caliber. No one’s parents were uber-radicals, especially when most of them were only first generation Americans, so political correctness was mercifully absent from the curriculum.
Today, the only public school system that I know of which stands out (or used to, last time I did a photo shoot for a textbook, a long time ago)is the one in Montclair, NJ.
Most public school teachers today (whom I’ve met) have sub par intellects, no expository writing skills, and are devoid of both common sense and wisdom. Lazy, too.
And they don’t know anything about civics or American history. Underskilled, overpaid, with too much time off.
Garlic: Sorry if I sounded resentful of the money spent on the slower and mentally challenged kids. I didn’t phrase it at all well. My point was that Omaha was prepared to spend whatever it took to try and get the slow kids up to speed, but not a single penny to help the bright kids reach their potential.
When I challenged Central HS’s guidance department on the disparity between my middle son’s CAT scores (99%) and his grades (F-), the counsellor chirped back at me that that simply indicated that my son was bright, and no, they weren’t going to do a thing about it. No effort whatsoever would be made to reach out to my son. I got pretty much the same response from South High on my oldest son. No effort whatsoever would be expended to help him find the classes and enrichment programs he needed. Only the “good” bright kids were worthy of attending the higher level classes. (The “worthy” kids were the ones who turned in every speck of homework in addition to making high A’s on every test. They were the kids who spent half their class time teaching the slower kids the material they grasped the first time through. They basically took none of the teacher’s time and did half their jobs for them. An “unworthy” bright kid was a kid who needed some extra time from the teacher.)
I’ve talked with other parents with the same issue — bright, unmotivated kids that the Omaha school system basically kicks to the curb because the teachers are too lazy and too poorly trained to deal with them. And, unfortunately, Himself and I were too poor to afford private schooling beyond Catholic grade school.
No, I don’t begrudge a dime spent on the slower kids. I am angry, though, that the kids at the other end of the spectrum are basically ignored.
Short answer…yes. I work in a public school, and agree that 90 percent of the teaching is to the extremely low kids because under NCLB EVERY student, regardless of ability or IQ, has to pass the same grade level test. Any “mainstreamed” special education student or newly immigrant student is expected to perform on grade level. Like Kate I also had extremely bright children who did not do well in public school. I moved them to a private school and they excelled. The majority of teachers are frustrated with the system, but there’s little to nothing we can do about it. It’s also interesting that in my school at least union membership is WAY down. Less than 20 percent of the staff belongs to the union, most have quit in the past 2 years.
I never understood the whole notion of mainstreaming, and I say this as the sister and sole caretaker of an adult brother with Down syndrome. An editor I do work for has a niece who’s 15 and mainstreamed. It’s not working out so well, since she feels isolated and left out by the whole dating scene.
Bring back special ed schools! My bro interacted with plenty of us so-called normal people–he did so out in the community at large, through neighbors, friends of mine and my other brother’s (evil twin), and at community events.
Forcing mainstreaming hurts everyone in the long run.
I’m a speech pathologist who worked in a private, special ed. school (1975-1980)and then in a public school system for a year. When I was in training (1972-1975), special schools were still around. I thought it was an “advanced” idea at the time, that those children were given appropriate instruction in an appropriate educational environment. Prior to those schools, the special kids just “sat in the back of the classroom.” Where are they now? Mainstreamed: sitting in the back of the classroom. The regular education teacher is expected to know how to teach these children as well as the normal kids. I don’t think this arrangement is the ideal for either group.
Q: While we’re on the topic, why are the public schools in every Liberal-controlled city that we can think of so terrible?
A: Teacher’s Unions that care more about collecting dues and protecting bad teachers than educating our children.
Amen!
I’ve often fantasized a scenario in which laypeople who work in their specialized fields would test teachers who taught in a related field.
I know too many English teachers who can’t pass my copyediting and grammar tests and who can’t even compose a coherent and concise memo.
Garlic: This is not a new problem. To pick up a few extra bucks back in the day, I typed up papers for other students. (I was cutting edge technology in 1966: My folks sent me off to college with a portable typewriter!) I swear to you the damn Lit students couldn’t string two words together without a single mispelling or grammar booboo. This history major had to do major surgery on each and every paper I typed up.
I live in the Detroit metro area, and am old enough to have attended public school (in the Chicago suburbs) before the political correctness and propaganda took over public education.
Back to Detroit. The Detroit Public Schools have the worst outcome in the United States right now. High School dropout rate is above 60%, maybe 70%.
The level of corruption in the DPS is appalling. The man now running the schools has uncovered an amazing level of theft, including individuals drawing paychecks who did not work for the school system, but somehow got added to the payroll. Closed schools were found to contain private student records, computer equipment, school books, furniture etc, which were ruined because the schools were broken into and the school property and records had not been secured. Security in the schools that are open is such that students have died in shootings and stabbings on school property.
The students clearly have not been the focus of DPS or the teachers’ union, the Detroit Federation of Teachers.
We all hope here that the Robert Bobb, the man now in charge, can turn this school system around. There is a little hope now.
I’m originally from Detroit myself, but our drop-out rates in Florida are even higher. The school district I worked in last was 75%.
Robert Bobb sounds familiar. What system did he previously wreck?
Evan Bayh of Indiana uses Anita Dunns firm for his campaigning. Does that cause concern? yes
Only if the hurricane could eliminate teachers unions as well. Almost every year, our local unions go on strike for weeks, even months, demanding more pay & better benefits even though they are among the most well paid & benefited workers in the state. Then, they think parents should appreciate their sacrifice. Plus, the liberal “multicultural education” initiatives are the reason students can name every “sin” committed by the U.S. against everyone else but have no idea that Japan invaded China during WWII.
I would like to see the public school system completely trashed and a nationwide voucher system implemented. That would truly be an equal education opportunity.
As for me, I’m doing what my mom did & homeschooling my kids. No brainwashing and “new math” for my kids!
Only if the hurricane could eliminate teachers unions as well.
and the Dept of Ed.
It does nothing for education, everything for ruinous multi-culturalism, useless progressive programs and costly, ineffective affirmative action which should have been stopped decades ago.
that sounds just like what was happening in Australia.
I went through the Catholic school system and the teachers never went on strike in those days.
That is no longer the case
didn’t the head of the teacher’s union once say something like: once kid’s pay union dues, we will care about them?
It is not the best environment. But it is school by school. Parental involvement is key, but most parents don’t care so much.
NCLB was passed without one educator being a part of it. It is awful and the teachers and parents hate it.
Whenever there’s no penalty for failure, there’s no incentive for success. A public school CAN’T fail, even if none of the students never learn anything and all become infested with head lice. The government will fund it, no matter what. The politicians will ensure that no incompetent administrators (i.e. cronies) will lose their jobs. The teachers union will ensure no dues-paying teachers will lose their jobs. The two sides will “figure out” that the problem is lack of funds, so the school will likely be REWARDED for its incompetence. Nothing short of a hurricane will fix it.
Look at it this way: if your local WalMart is run poorly, people will stop going there. Eventually WalMart will hire new people to run it and if that doesn’t work, they’ll close the store. They WON’T let the situation go on forever (it’s costing them money) and, unlike the school, the government won’t force people to go there and keep it open. So the employees at the store better get their act together or they’re all going to be looking for work (penalty for failure.) This motivates most private enterprises to some degree (not GM, but they’re no longer private.) But it is not present in public enterprises due to civil service laws, unions, political cronyism and nepotism, etc. So you need hurricanes to fix these.
another thing. Here in Atlanta, well, our school taxes go up incredibly year to year. And then they keep telling us how enrollment is dropping. Why is that? We pay about the highest amount per child in Atlanta to get the kids educated, and well, have one of the worst systems in the country (yeah, us!).
Why if enrollment is dropping do they keep increasing (by an awful lot) the school taxes? It makes no sense.
They don’t want to close the elementary schools that have 100 kids in them (yes, 100 total) – because it might be seen as raaccciiisssttt….that might keep costs down.
One thing I hate about the public schools is how they ‘share’ stuff…like, say pencils. My kid brings in his own pencils, and well, we label everything we send in – but for some items, they just put them all together and take them out as needed. What’s that teaching? socialism. BUT it’s also teaching how HORRIBLE socialism makes you feel…so at least it’s not completely doing what they think it is.
The government control of schools must be broken, so children can start getting educated properly again.
Plus, we need an entirely different approach to education and what is taught, from kindergarten on.
For example, children need to be taught logic and logical fallacies, in a progressive fashion from the very start through 12th grade.
Knowledge of logic is so useful in itself, and has the side benefit of immunizing children from leftist propaganda and totalitarian tactics such as name-calling.
If junior high and high schools taught critical thinking and logic, the progressive agenda would evaporate within four years.
I agree with that statement.
When I went to school we learned all about logical fallacies which means having the ability to spot them
One of the reasons the New Orleans school system is being rebuilt with a competent Voucher system is Bobby Jindal. He was elected after hurricane Katrina and has done a good job trying to rebuild things, from what I’ve heard.
No teachers’ unions here in Texas – we are fortunate that our kids go to one of the best public high schools in the nation. That is a real source of pride for the TEACHERS in that school. Some of it is parents, some of it is administration, some of it is government. That having been said, not all of the schools in our district are good – it depends on the individual school, and parental involvement.
Thank goodness for Rick Perry – he told Obama in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that Texas was not going to accept any federal government money for his “Race to the Top” scheme. We need to get the federal government out of our kids’ schools.
I ran across this last night – you might find it interesting (it’s from the 1980′s):
http://itdontmakesense.blogspot.com/2010/01/are-you-wondering-how-uk-has-become-so.html
I applaud the Texas school system.!!!!
My granddaughter lived and attended school in Michigan. As a preschooler she was cute smart and a quick learner. As a teen in jr high and high school she was labelled slow and placed in the slow classes. She became sullen and withdrawn. 18 months ago she went to Texas to live with her mother. She enrolled in high school and the admin there was appalled at her failing grades from MI. They nearly put her in the slow persons class again, BUT one teacher said no, lets give her a chance, she is NOT retarded.
She passed every class with 80% or more! She learned how to say “maam” and “sir”. She became more outgoing and has a lot of friends. She was discussing plans with me yesterday, via phone, to take classes this summer so she could graduate with a real diploma in Dec 2010…all because the teachers there believed in her, took a chance and pushed her to be the person I knew she could be.
The teachers, admin and parents in Texas are absolutely wonderful!!
They challenge, encourage and discipline the kids to be the best they can be.
Please read anything by John Gatto. Weapons of Mass Instruction is his best work on the corruption of the entire public school system.
Homeschooling will continue to explode as a movement as long as the liberals control education. I choose not to have my children brainwashed.
I second that. We homeschool. We made our decision after reading most of Gatto’s work.
I agree. In my niece’s school, they celebrate and honor Gaia and all types of environmentalism, among them Wicca. Another of my niece’s goes to private school where she says she has become a lazy agnostic. I remember when we said the Pledge of Allegiance at school, but no school in America is allowed to thanks to the ACLU.
Woodshop and home economics were taken out of the schools because feminists said that they perpetuated gender stereotypes.
Pamela Geller has a very good article at American Thinker about the liberals, feminists and the public school system. She’s dead on regarding what they have done and continue to do to our children.
“I remember when we said the Pledge of Allegiance at school, but no school in America is allowed to thanks to the ACLU.”
that’s wrong. i have worked in different school districts over the years. they all say the pledge every morning.
the problem with schools today is complex. one reason has been mentioned..no child left behind, while a noble thought, is a disaster. it forces children into the mainstream who really need to be in special classes. and the children who don’t need special instruction are hurt as well.
the sheer number of kids with problems is exploding. approximately 1 child in 100 births will not be able to keep up. and the number of kids who don’t speak english is increasing exponentially.
we’ve got a 20th century model trying to deal with a 21st century population. parents expect, no demand, that their children receive treatment and additional help. who is going to pay for this? who is going to fill the need?
i don’t have the answers…just the questions.
Ah, I’m glad Jerseyjill and Jerseygarlic agree with regard to mainstreaming.
I don’t believe we should be educating illegal immigrant kids or even anchor kids. You hear that, La Raza? Get off your fat assess and homeschool these kids. And teach them English, pronto!
So, yes, I surely appreciate what you’ve said about the problem being complicated. It’s a big ol’ morass of complimacation.
Let the hurricanes begin!(And may they also blow away low-life disinterested parents, too.)
The 2007 AZ State Report Card showed that AZ ranks 49th in amount spent per student in the nation. Oh, how the teacher unions wail and moan. But guess what—AZ students rank above the 70%ile in most areas scored. We were in 2007, below average for Special Education and English Language Learners. When compared to NM, TX, and FL, states with the same immigration issues, we excelled above them. Maybe some think that is low but coming from the bottom of the barrel I am amazed at what good talented teachers can do.
Guess who receives the most money per student in the nation – Washington DC and their rankings are in the sewer.
Teaching is a talent not an occupation. Too many people have gone into teaching because they haven’t figure out what to do with themselves after college. And too many children have fallen in the cracks of a nationalized education system. Return education policies to the local community. If school officials truly are concerned about the best interest of the students they will adapt their standards to college admission standards and students will be prepared.
They want to base teachers salaries on test scores; it is not the teachers this should be done to but the administrators. School Administrators salaries (not just their bonuses) should be based on test scores.
Boards of Education need to partner with local business’ and not hire anyone without a diploma or GED If a student is employed they need to show their report card to their employer to prove school enrollment and attendance.
All of this can be done without the federal government.
Sometime go down to your local school and thumb through the new history books, you will be shocked at what is missing. Our Founding Fathers are now called Founding Persons.
I work at the local school (not a teacher) and I seen that the difference between a successful student and the students who don’t make it, is the involvement of the parents in the school. Even students who struggle are more likely to be successful if parents are aware of what is going on at the school and are visible on the campus volunteering and participating in activities.
Thank you for letting me post my rant of education.
“Teaching is a talent not an occupation.”
The same is true of counseling. You can’t really make someone a good counselor if they lack the necessary inherent talent for it. The difference is, there is no union for counselors.
Unions are good for the workers, but not for the larger entities. It works better in the business world, because the different companies still have to compete with each other. If they fail, they will collapse and the workers lose their jobs. Most schools don’t have any competition, so the risk’s not the same. They know their job is going to be there tomorrow.
In third grade, my teacher came into our classroom and tore down a beautifully artistic poster of God creating the world. She announced to the class that she was no longer allowed to mention God. We were to be taught that man came from monkeys, which made the entire class laugh.
From that moment on, pretty much everything I learned in public school was a joke, except a really cool unit on vikings and any music class I had.
My kids are in a ‘good’ suburban public school district in PA. We (fortunately) are in a fairly red part of PA (think first day of hunting season is a school holiday and male teachers routinely have gun racks in their pick up trucks)…yet we do have ‘liberal creep’ coming into the curriculum.
Barry’s ‘Immaculation Day’ was ‘celebrated’ (but most of the HS teachers gave the kids the option of sitting and doing homework or studying if ‘you don’t want to watch it…’) I would have loved to pose the question ‘Were either of Mr. Bush’s Inaugurals ‘celebrated?’ but I already distress my two youngest with my proPalin FB postings that I exercised restraint. (They will pick out my future nursing home).
That said…I am going to go ‘back’ to a frequent education topic here on HB…Catholic schools and ‘old school’ (no pun intended) nuns.
I have already waxed (many times here) nostalgic on my middle school level science teacher, Sister Phyllis and her 1970/80s rants against ‘the coming Ice Age’ (she taught the Maunder Minimum of following sun spot activity). But the Sisters back then (the older, non hippie ones) TAUGHT. You had to learn. You would be tested. You would fail if you did not study.
They didn’t have a Union; a rep; or any agenda other than be a Good Catholic and a Good Student and you will grow up to be a Good Citizen.
To put it briefly…liberals believe in cooperation, conservatives believe in competition. Competition is what motivates people and leads to progress and innovation. It’s really that simple.
This comes into play with students and teachers alike. As a counselor, I think that educators have grossly misunderstood recent psychological advancements and turned them into a bunch to touchy feely BS that’s completely disconnected from its original intent and purpose. As a result, students are no longer encouraged to compete. Unions basically do the same thing for teachers. Once you’re in, that’s it. No need to compete with other teachers for the job(s) you want, ’cause they’ve already got a system designed to work all of that out.
As a side note…I love how BO said, during the campaign, that we would “take teachers who can’t teach and find them another line of work.” (not sure if that’s an exact quote) The funny thing is, all of the teachers’ unions voted for him anyway ’cause they all thought, “He’s not talking about me. I’m one of the good teachers.” I wonder how the teachers’ unions would feel if he actually tried to implement that promise!
Any family that can is looking seriously at home schooling and/or private school options (which often are not that expensive since they are associated with a faith – not just Catholic).
I completed an Master’s degree in adult education about 20 years ago – even then many of the professors in the Education faculty were either homeschooling their kids or had them in private school – that should have been a clue.
I should also add that I’m very distressed at the continued emphasis in both Canada and the US on the NEED to bring back manufacturing to Canada/US as a way to improve the economy. What bothers me is that usually means assembly line jobs that pay $25/hour and only require a Grade 10 education or can be done by robots.
Yet – in Canada at least, we spend billions upon billions upon billions of dollars on the k-12 system and the post secondary education system (universities,colleges, technical institutes). AND WE WANT TO BRING BACK JOBS THAT CAN BE DONE BY PEOPLE WITH A GRADE TEN EDUCATION!!!!!! Does anyone else think that this is a mismatch of money spent to result obtained.
I’m fine with bringing back such jobs, but at the same time we don’t need to spend anywhere near the amount of money we do on education. Fund public education up to Grade 10 and funnel all those people into factory jobs.
But if we are going to spend so much money on education, then I want results and I want graduates who create new knowledge and new jobs, not just work on an assembly line.
The elitists insist EVERYONE needs a college education. Therefore anyone who doesn’t make it in college is a low-life janitor retard.
However, I take a very different view. Some people are not college people, my brother in law being one such person. He’s a steamfitter and LOVES his job. He had to study, went through an apprenticeship and is now highly respected in his field. He would have sucked at college but I dare anyone to intuitively AND with knowledge put together a heating system in an apartment building and be able to identify a problem with a phone call.
Some people are wired to make things and find it vastly satisfying to be able to say at the end of a day – I made 10 excellent widgets.
Some people go to college and really love that.
The problem is that the liberal agenda for education is similar to every single other agenda liberals/progressives have – one size fits all and that one size is my choice.
Manufacturing jobs would bring many many people much happiness.
but but but they’re for the underdog and the little guy! Liberals are the saviors of the downtrodden…
F*ck…
I don’t get it…they hate everyone—
Rich with education,
Poor without education,
Rich without education
Poor with education.
I gotta say, I’ve come to see Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs as an American Hero. He goes and shows people doing all the necessary jobs for civilized life, shows the dirt, sweat, and danger, and treats the people with such respect and good humor.
This is so “anti” to what you get in school- where actual labor was seen as something beneath you. My dad was quick to disabuse me of those notions real fast. There’s nothing “low” about honest work. I thank Mr. Rowe for showing that.
I love watching Dirty Jobs! It’s one of those shows I hope my kids will like, too.
Where I grew up, people would tell us kids that there was no shame in honest labor, but they didn’t ACT like they meant it. I learned the lesson of the actions much better than that of the words, unfortunately, and it’s only recently that I’ve seen the light.
There is an acute labour shortage in the skilled trades, at least in Canada. 50,000 skilled trades jobs are projected to go unfilled in 2010; you’d think all those people who would have aspired to assembly line jobs could go into the skilled trades. Particularly as it’s now possible to make a six figure income. Yet the solution most often proposed seems to be an expansion of university education, with a particular emphasis on boys, who are the ones most likely to drop out or fall through the cracks.
there IS an easy way to get manufacturing jobs back…just lower taxes on corporations. duh. It’s easy.
There are so many things wrong that it is hard to know where to start. I will start by commenting on some of the other poster comments. I have been teaching at an inner city high school for seven, going on eight years now and here are a few observations.
Katie, yes you are correct. We are absolutely “dumbing down our students.”
Interestingly enough, liberal teachers constantly cursed Bush’s “No Child Left Behind.” However, it is based on a socialistic ideology that all children can learn equally. That is a beautiful theory. But believing in unicorns does not make them real. The liberal teachers, 98% of my campus, hate the idea of what they call “teaching to a test.” I think this is hilarious, if there is no standard then no one wins or loses. Sound familiar.
Tonawonda wrote, children need to be taught logic and logical fallacies, in a progressive fashion from the very start through 12th grade.” This should be a nobrainer, but instead of teaching critical thinking skills starting in grade school, the lower level teachers are busy making sure everything is equal from pencils to crayons. Sameness. That way, if we are all the same, no critical thinking is needed. After all global warming is a consensus.
Marla, I teach in those Arizona schools and while your statements are correct as a whole, those numbers are only due to the fact that Arizona is predominantly conservative and religious. There are many Mormons and christians in this state. While many of you may have negative feelings about the religion, I know from experience that they are committed to educating their children, (and no, I don’t mean the “Big Love” crew) and they are very involved in the arts which are an integral part of critical thinking and developmental skills. Therefore, I would have to say that conservatives play a major role in these statistics.
Now, liberals would love for the world to be equal and sing John Lennon songs all day while someone is reciting a poem on a stool in the background that no one knows the meaning due to the communal think that they are all a part of. Liberals would also “like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony,” but here is the problem as my daddy taught me.
First, if there is a welfare program available without having to work in the community garden to be a eligible for free food, then only a few out of the many will be the workers. In education terms this means that if all students are given the same grade without having to do all the work, (we adjust assignments for certain students who are eligible because if you fail them they can come back and sue you because you did not follow their IEP instructions, therefore that is why they didn’t pass). These include special ed and english language learners that are in our regular classrooms of 30-40 students. Then there are only going to be a few who actually do the work and move on to university. That is not acceptable to liberals and all they can do is throw money at the problem. They are uninterested in fixing the problem systemically because that would make them have to admit there are no unicorns and John Lennon is dead. Instead, they can tell their unmotivated constituents that it will get better because more money is on the way.
Second, our school is 40% illegal aliens. Ssshhhhh, we are not supposed to talk about that because they are all just “God’s children.” Yes, they are and there are many very responsible students that would be wonderful citizens of this great country. They are not afraid of hard work. However, they know the system and have become major siphons of it. They are no different than the above non-garden workers. They would love nothing more than socialized medicine. They have never had to contribute to it and they are getting something in return. They laugh at this. Liberals have taught them that they are “God’s children” and can sing “Imagine” just like everyone else. However, we the teachers are still responsible for test scores even though they just came from across the border last month with a third grade education and are now required to take a 10th grade state assessment test. Only liberals can ignor that kind of insanity. Ssshhhhh.
Solution: Taxpayers pay only taxes to the federal government for basic services and military support. States are responsible for implementing and funding education and the standards that are taught. Parents are 50% of the committees made up to decide curriculum. When you reduce the education system to a state controlled entity, then parents can choose a state to live in that has the educational standards and environment that they want their children to have. Just like the control they had when they chose the neighborhood they wanted to live in.
I know this was a long post but I have a lot of experience with the failed system.
Stupendous post!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!
I thought it was fabulous. I don’t always read the long ones, but you hit the bullseye with this one.
Rain, I appreciate your comment very much, particularly the part about the Mormons. I am a fairly recent convert to the LDS church. They are very attentive to the education of their children and youth. One of the things I noticed from the very beginning, even before I joined the LDS church was the participation of children and youth in the church services as well as in their classes on Sundays. The children and youths are encouraged from the time they are only 3 years old to speak publicly and also sing and perform music during church services as well as in their classes. There is great emphasis put on music and a great love of it in this church.
BTW, you are so correct about “Big Love”. I watched the series and enjoyed it but it was a work of “fiction” and played on “stereotypes”.
I live in a Red county and work in a Blue county. The schools in my small town, red county have some of the lowest dropout rates in the state, the highest SAT scores and winners in everything from science fairs to football.
The blue county city schools have high dropout rates, low SAT scores crappy football teams.
Seriously— if an area is conservative and the parents have input, the schools are great— if the area is liberal and the parents don’t give a rats azz, the schools suck.
That easy.
Yes…and drop-out rates are more of a societal issue, than an education system issue. A lot of parents I worked with around here told me, “I never finished HS and I turned out just fine.” When I used to work with teens with substance abuse problems I got, “I do drugs and I turned out just fine.”
Usually the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, because the parents actaully encourage these types of behaviors.
I would not want every public school to be hit by a hurricane, at least not literally. But, I sure do think they need to be hit by a hurricane figuratively. I graduated from public school in 1973 and public university in 1977. During that time, I studied American history in grades five, eight and as a sophomore in college. Not once did I learn anything of significance regarding our Constitution. Do I think this was by design? Yes.
When I became a public school music teacher, my principle pulled me aside and said that if I had disciplinary problems with a student, I was not to make that student sit outside my room, not send him to the principal’s office, and never call the child’s parents. And of course, spanking was not an option. With 400 students per week, discipline became a nightmare.
I graduated two daughters from homeschool who went on to community college. Every student entering was required to take a test in math and English. While both daughters passed with flying colors, I was told by a teacher that one third of all students required remedial math and/or English. What a sad commentary on the public schools. Social promotion guarantees you a graduation, not an education.
Here is why I think that public schools should be dismantled. They are unconstitutional. Education is not part of the federal jurisdiction; it’s supposed to be under state jurisdiction. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution says, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people.”
An even greater reason for me to wish they were dismantled is because I view them to be an infringement on my Constitutional (both U.S. and CT) right to freedom of religion. In 1972, in CT, through the amendment process, a “free public education” also became a right. This set the stage for a battle between conflicting constitutional rights.
Since my religion is Christianity, and public schools teach some sort of belief system which is not Christianity, it automatically infringes on my freedom of religion because it now forces me, via taxation, to support a religion contrary to my own. I think that education should fall under the portion of the Tenth Amendment phrase, “or to the people.”
So, in light of the lack of teaching about the Constitution, the lack of discipline, the lack of real education due to social promotion and the infringement on my freedom of religion, yes, let the hurricane come.
wow…it sounds like my au pair’s friends…who weren’t allowed to discipline the kids. We had to work hard with my au pair to tell her that YES she needs to discipline the kids – if they don’t listen you have to do something. You can put them in time out , send them to their room, take away TV, whatever it takes but DO NOT LET THEM RULE. Well, what is going on in public schools is…we don’t discipline, we let them rule.
There used to be schools where kids who were a nuisance (and I don’t mean a little bit – I mean – did not want to learn, and were only biding their time) – well, they would get sent to some school where they’d learn school stuff but ALSO discipline. But today, you can’t discipline the kids, and then you end up with everyone not being able to learn.
Also – well, when these kids are in college (i mean, I taught in college 15 years ago) I had parents PARENTS callign the head of the dept cause they were unhappy with grades. HELLO?!?!?!? the parents are part of the problem. not MY johnny…he couldn’t do THAT! he just needs an A.
“Education is not part of the federal jurisdiction; it’s supposed to be under state jurisdiction.”
Traditionally, public schools were run by the states. That’s why so many people objected to No Child Left Behind.
In the past, the federal gov’t was much more covert about how they exerted their control. In recent years, it’s become more overt and that’s what getting everyone so worked. They’ve been gradually taking over the schools and the power needs to be given BACK to the states.
There is a song, or maybe it was a story, about the subject of a teacher dumbing down the children by determining the colours they were using for their drawings. I cannot remember the name of the song or the story, but it goes back to around the 1960s or early 1970s.
All I can remember is that the teacher contradicted the child.
There is a protest song: Little Boxes… on a hillside… little boxes made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same…..
I remember that song very well, because I am reminded of it when I see a lot of the ugly architecture in new suburbs. A lot of the houses resemble those little boxes…. and they all look just the same……
Maggie: here are the lyrics . . .
by Malvina Reynolds
1. Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.
2. And the people in the houses
All go to the university,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
And there’s doctors and there’s lawyers
And business executives,
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.
3. And they all play on the golf-course,
And drink their Martini dry,
And they all have pretty children,
And the children go to school.
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
And they all get put in boxes
And they all come out the same.
4. And the boys go into business,
And marry, and raise a family,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.
Here’s the video of original artist, Pete Seeger, performing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN3rN59GlWw
An article on Pajamas Media today discusses the racism involved in education today. Advanced placement students in Berkeley School will have labs eliminated because not enough minorities are taking AP classes. http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/the-new-racial-school-follies/
The comments are fascinating – a few liberals spouting Raaacism, but most folks disgusted with the idea of lowest-common-denominator education.
Funny, I was think this very thought a couple days ago – why is it, exactly, that liberals/progressives always blame conservatives for the bad schools when most schools are run by liberals and suck?
You really don’t expect them to actually step up and take responsibility for their failure, do you? It’s like me and my sister – for a long time every political disagreement I would have with her ended with her saying “You just need more education!” I finally said “No, you need to accept that I have a fundamentally different world view than you do and that world view informs my opinions, kinda the way yours does.”
Yep, I have a friend who addresses every issue I tell her about from work with “Well, if they only had more education.”
I’ve blown up more than once with “I’m the one who has spent my ENTIRE LIFE educating them and they have CHOSEN to do something different. It’s not education, but their chosen path.”
and seriously – when I heard the big O talking about EVERYONE getting an education – what a piece of idiocy. Stupid. Cause, well, not everyone WANTS an education. That’s the first thing.
And well, it’s not even that he says everyone should get an education – he says the govt should pay for it all!!!
Doesn’t he have a brain cell? Even one? NOWHERE in the world do they do it like that. Yes, college educations don’t cost anything for SOME people in other places. BUT – and here’s the but – it’s VERY hard to get in. You want the state to pay, well, you have to earn it. SO FEW people in Europe get a free ride. Cause you have to work hard. It’s a totally different system, but not EVERYONE has a degree. Some people don’t pass the tests and then they have to pay for it (just like the US, in a way). Idiocy to say everyone can have a ‘free’ education. Well, these days, a high school degree is meaningless, right? Do we want that for a college degree (which seems required for everything these days, whether it really matters for the job or not).
When my grandmother went to school – well, she didn’t speak english (they WERE here legally, tho). Her parents never learned english. So she went to school. and, well, there was NO english as a second language. She just learned english. We are doing people a HUGE disfavor by ‘teachign’ them in their native language. Does any other country DO that? IT’s absurd. Because, well, it means that those students don’t really learn english. WHY IS THAT??? It’s pretty condescending.
and when i argue with my friends now (oh, we don’t pay enough in taxes – or whatever argument). I ask them…do we think things are working well? Why do more of the same…when it’s not? I completely agree with you that it would be NICE if the world worked as a utopia, but it does not and we’ve already shown how crappy it can be.
So go ahead, make us more of a ‘european’ economy. GREAT. You know what – then we won’t have the money we have had in the past. We won’t be able to have the military we have (that makes some soooo happy) – and then.. in the end, we will NOT be able to send aid when we would like (i.e., haiti). Great. We KNOW how to be a prosperous nation, yet you want to throw that away. wonderful.
I disagree re: educating illegal aliens. Because, well, we should educate everyone who is here. It shouldn’t be up to the schools to be the INS. Of course, my real thought is we SHOULD BE deporting people – if they are here illegally, then the schools wouldn’t be so overwhelmed. But I’ve always said you could either pay for education NOW or prisons LATER. So what do you think these kids would do if they weren’t in school? It’s doubtful the parents would be home schooling them.
Of course, we should certainly change the constitution – just because you are born here shouldn’t make you a citizen.
And, well, if the kid’s a ‘citizen’ but the parents aren’t – sorry, you got into this mess, send the parents back, and they should take their kids with them.
The ole US of A has caused these issues cause we just don’t seem to want to deal with it (sound familiar?) and it’s AWFUL.
In my not at all humble opinion, La Raza, and all such ethnocentric separatist groups, should take on the burden of educating (homeschooling) the respective group of illegal and anchor kids they purport to represent. No ILLEGAL or anchor kid should be taught in public schools or even accepted into a parochial school.
Not a red cent of our tax dollars should be spent in this manner. And educating these kids via public school is a tacit acceptance of their parents’ criminality.
Furthermore, immigrants who don’t speak the language should bring La Raza volunteers with them to wherever it is they need a translator, just like my LEGAL immigrant grandparents did before they LEARNED TO SPEAK ENGLISh. No federal, state, or local notices, documents, etc., should be bi- or multilingual.
Let one of us, as an illegal, try to pull this shit in Mexico, for example. “We demand free education, housing, medical care, and checks in the mail!”
As frigging if!
Only the U.S. encourages and appeases this kind of disrespectful, arrogant, behavior…from criminals, fer crap’s sake…thanks to libtards.
UNIONS PEOPLE UNIONS…Money in the wrong hands, the teachers are addicted to high pay, low level competencies that are the norm, indoctrination is the mission statement,poor kids are getting screwed. We have to break the UNIONS they are killing the country and directly supporting the liberal agenda. Union members are clueless as to where this will take the country they just want high pay and great insurance no matter what the end result is, they get theirs. Education is the US is substandard is being kind.
Detroit went from the city with America’s highest standard of living to the city with the worst during the time liberals have had a lock on the government there.
What destroyed Oakland, California, for example, was LBJ’s “war on poverty” that poured and amount of cash into the city annually that was three times the city’s budget.
Liberal policies generally end up worsening the problems they are trying to solve. They treat the symptoms but never address the underlying causes of the problems.
And in the course of “easing” people’s suffering, they remove many incentives people have to try to advance themselves by making it possible to live better without striving for more. Heck, they are even giving people cell phones now as if that is some sort of “right”.
Three reasons kids aren’t succeeding in schools today:
1) Standardized Testing. So much impact is focused on test results in earlier and earlier grade levels that students are not getting the chance to build the foundation upon which to develop critical thinking skills. When more and more ‘curriculum alignment’ is legislated without expanding actual school hours, less and less is truly learned because of the limited time available for each subject. So far, the states’ answer to this involves…more standardized testing. Students in second and third grade are being expected to do work that used to be done in middle school, without having built a firm grasp of basic reading, writing, and math skills.
2) Breakdown of the family structure and/or economics: More single parents and/or both parents having to work means less time developing a child’s early childhood skills. A baby put into the swing in front of a tv at daycare is not getting the one-on-one stimulation he/she needs for critical language development and social interaction skills.
3) Technology: Watch today’s young parents at the park with their young kids. Are they interacting with their kids, telling them about the green grass and the tall trees and the birds and the squirrels? Nope…these adults are on cellphones texting and checking their email. Again, critical brain development in the young child is not being stimulated.
So the schools are having all these other problems, and the kids coming in are ill-prepared for a real education. Teachers are trying to meet the needs of these kids while at the same time implementing state regulations. These two aspects have long since become mutually exclusive. That’s why the educational system is failing.
“Technology: Watch today’s young parents at the park with their young kids. Are they interacting with their kids, telling them about the green grass and the tall trees and the birds and the squirrels? Nope…these adults are on cellphones texting and checking their email. Again, critical brain development in the young child is not being stimulated.”
I’m gulity of that. A lot of parents nowadays also send their kids off to preschool starting at 2-3 years old. There’s nothing wrong with wanting your kid to be educated, but, typically, this takes the burden of responsibility off the parents, because they figure the child is being educated at school. One more reason for the parents to disconnect early on.
As a Chicago Public School Teacher for the past 23 years I can tell you that Arne Duncan did not do ONE damn thing for the school children of Chicago. When we heard he was heading to Washington no one at school said a thing, just alot of head shaking and eye rolling—there was nothing to say. Arne played basketball with Obama – that’s his claim to fame. Oh Yeah, 36 Chicago Public students killed in 2009 and now this monster is head of US schools – Nice! I think everyone has figured out by this time that “they” the people in control, want us dumb. Easier to control the masses to get in yo-yo’s like Obama.
I spend a few years working with the CPS as a part-time GEAR UP employee, tutoring kids in math & science.
I got to meet a lot of people involved in Ed School and concluded that an M.Ed. would be a waste of time for me — as far as I could tell, the tutors on the M.Ed. track were no better than the ones who weren’t, and maybe even a little worse, on average…
To paraphrase Amy Winehouse, “They tried to make me go to Ed School. I said, no, no, no.” I increasingly got the impression that modern Ed School is pretty much a waste of time.
Laura, what’s your experience with young public school teachers? Do you think Ed School’s gotten more pointless? Are the effective young teachers good because of Ed School or despite it?
I did meet talented teachers during my work, but I was amazed at how the CPS system seems designed to crush their souls. Here’s one little horror story:
A talented, idealistic biology teacher had a group of students wanting to study for the AP Bio exam. He had judged the students ready to tackle the challenging material (he knew the students personally, after all). He and the students had coordinated their schedules (no mean feat) so they’d all have the same period free. He had ensured that there would be an empty science classroom for them to use during this period. He had arranged with some friends to get free college bio textbooks for the students, and promised the schools that he would pay for any lab equipment out of his own pocket (there are a lot of good biology labs that can be done for pennies, and lab technique isn’t that necessary for the AP exams, anyhow). The result of all his work? He was denied. The school administrators wouldn’t let him teach that AP Bio course. Just ‘cuz.
So there are teachers who want to teach, and students who want to learn. But it seems the system is set up to deny them exactly that.
When I have kids? Home school or private all the way. I’d thought of becoming a public school teacher myself, but my experience with CPS has disillusioned me: I don’t think I could stand all the inanity and heartbreak.
If I do become a teacher, it’d be at a charter school, or through a home-schooling network.
My experience with younger teachers and all the student teachers I’ve had throughout the years is that if you have the natural teaching ability you’ll do good despite any knid of garbage they put you through in Ed school (which now-a-days comes straight from left-wing liberal ideology – but that’s a whole ‘nother story). Same thing with discipline techniques – you either have it or you don’t – and today you need to “have it” because administrations do not like it and usually won’t help when you have bad classroom management. I can relate to your biology teacher story, the same thing happened to a colleague of mine when she asked if she could teach a “great book” class after school. The principal said, “Plato has no place in the school”. Okay! Good idea to home/private school the kids.
Public school’s, Yes’ it is truly a freakin mess. I’m a former “school bus driver” and I can tell you story’s… Love the kid’s, but “hated the politics” in the bus yard…
The driver’s were the only one’s there who would gave each other support. How-ever, unionised we were, not for the driver’s,,, we were always talked down too, told how to vote and what not to say”"”"!
These damn teacher’s and their arrogant attitudes. Not to take anything away from their dedication and work to get that teaching degree– but’ come-on already,,,The driver’s see right through-it”
I say, home schooling and or private school’s are the way to go to insure your child or Grand children will get a decent education. “The public school system is broken” and to much brainwashing and liberal ideology implemented…
I live in northern MN-a town of about 1600. I graduated (from a school in CO in 1973). Below is a copy of a Letter to the Editor I sent to our local paper this last week:
To the Editor-
Looking through the latest edition of the Pioneer, I’m struck by two things. In the article concerning Senator Stumpf and Rep. Olin, it is mentioned that one of the budget problem areas is education. Nothing new there. Somehow, no matter what astronomical sum is spent on education, it is never enough. In the same edition, we had a picture and brief description of the paraprofessionals that help at our local schools. All very nice ladies (and a gentlemen), some of which I am personally acquainted with and want them to know that I am happy that they are employed and I am certain they do a wonderful job because they are caring, lovely people. However, how is it that when we ‘baby-boomers’ were in school, we were taught well (and our grades weren’t inflated either) by one teacher in our classes…classes that-in my town of almost 10,000-had upwards of 35 kids in each? How is it that back then the only monitors on the playgrounds for recess (remember that…clear up until 7th grade?) were the teachers that pulled duty for that day? There were no aides, no paraprofessionals, no playground helpers. At each school there were teachers, administrators (a principal, vice principal), secretary and a janitor or two, cooks and some bus-drivers. Period. That lone teacher kept 35 kids in their seats, kept them respectful of authority, and taught them what they needed to know. If a kid didn’t do those things they went to the principal’s office. You did not want your parent involved. No parent rode to the rescue while you watched and learned as they do now. Currently we seem to be swarming with workers of every description yet we watch as education costs skyrocket and grades plummet, curriculum devolves and respect for adults and each other is practically non-existent. Makes me wonder…
I realize I have reached the age where I am sounding old and crotchety, but the nonsense that is going on in this country makes me want to holler! I am the proud grandparent of 8 grandchildren all of which are or will be home schooled. Our taxes and those of my homeschooling children still go to fund this mess and I am finding it increasingly harder to ignore the whole debacle.
“Since my religion is Christianity, and public schools teach some sort of belief system which is not Christianity, it automatically infringes on my freedom of religion because it now forces me, via taxation, to support a religion contrary to my own.”
This might be the stupidest thing I have ever read, and it is abundantly clear now how the fact that you didn’t learn about the Constitution in your public school history classes has affected you in later life. Then again, I don’t believe a word of your claim that you never learned anything meaningful about the Constitution. My guess is that you just weren’t paying attention.
Please explain the belief system taught in public schools and how that belief system constitutes a religion.
“We are doing people a HUGE disfavor by ‘teachign’ them in their native language.”
You may wish to recheck your work.