Public Schools - gone too far - again! - Page 2

Ahh, yes - the traditional family that right wing nuts like to act they are protecting, as if they were the guardians against the liberal hordes.

And the Palins' are the epitome of the "traditional family" according to the matriarch and her supporters but here is the reality:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/0611/An_ugly_portrait_of_Levi_in_Bristols_new_book.html

Sitasmom's semi-literate rantings that are usually followed by "cut and paste" excerpts from right wing websites lack even minimal critical thinking and logical thought process - like her statement: "Thank Prez. Clinton for the oral sex thing.............".

Is it a coincidence that Texas where Sitasmom lives,  has an abysmal record when it comes to education? Here is what Barbara Bush - no flaming liberal - had to say about attempts to cut funding for education in Texas:

•  We rank 36th in the nation in high school graduation rates. An estimated 3.8 million Texans do not have a high school diploma.

•  We rank 49th in verbal SAT scores, 47th in literacy and 46th in average math SAT scores.

•  We rank 33rd in the nation on teacher salaries.

•  Despite our outstanding universities and colleges, we also lag behind in several critical higher education criteria. For example, California has nine nationally recognized research institutions, New York has seven and Pennsylvania has four. With the University of Houston's recent designation by the Carnegie Foundation as a top research institution, Texas, the second largest state, has four.

In light of these statistics, can we afford to cut the number of teachers, increase class sizes, eliminate scholarships for underprivileged students and close several community colleges?

At a time when the United Way estimates that the price tag for dropouts to Texas taxpayers is $9.6 billion every year, can we really afford to cut state funding for our students?

The answer is a resounding "no."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7414727.html

Yes SM,  let's give more tax breaks to oil companies and to the wealthiest Americans and cut funding for education! Texas, after all, does not rank last among all the states yet!



 

so you assume that since i live in texas i'm a product of the texas education system...


assume -

to make an ass of u and me..... lol

No SM, I did not assume anything about your own educational background. Read it again and you will see that what I was commenting on was the fact that Texas which has an abysmal record when it comes to education wants to cut the education budget and that even Barbara Bush said that was short-sighted.

So your comprehension is as inadequate as your other written skills. Your inability to logically think through things is evidenced by your statement linking the practice of oral sex with Clinton's conduct. Whether that is the failure of which ever school system you were educated or your own personal limitations is open to question.

But you and your ilk are so obsessed with not raising taxes and providing tax subsidies to oil companies that it does not matter to you if something as vital as education is impacted in the process.

SM, in which educational system did you receive your education? I mean elementary through high school, and levels?

If "education dollars" were going to teachers and school supplies rather then administrators or fancy school buildings with huge stadiums I would feel much better about the tax.


Superintendents.......paid too much........

1. Beaumont ISD – $347,834 - only 19,893 students
2. Alief ISD – $345,943 - 45,768 students
3. Dallas ISD – $332,832 - 157,162 students
4. Fort Worth ISD – $328,950 - 81,651 students
5. Spring Branch ISD – $309,400
6. Houston ISD – $300,000
7. North East ISD – $297,105
8. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD – $292,736
9. Plano ISD – $291,717
10. Austin ISD – $283,412
11. Garland ISD – $282,220
12. Coppell ISD – $281,945
13. El Paso ISD – $280,314
14.  Katy ISD – $280,000

While the average salary of a teacher is close to 45,000.

SM, let me see if I understand where you are coming from: superintendents of various school districts are ostensibly being paid too much and that is your rationale for cutting the overall education budget.

So let us say that one halves the salaries of thoses superintendents, how far do you think those savings would get you in terms of improving teacher salaries or providing other resources.

The future of the children in Texas is best served by providing them a quality education and ridiculous rationalizations for cutting the education budget will not serve the best interests of those kids.

It is not a coincidence that several southern states have appalling education standards - and they are the very states that view increases in education budgets as anathema.

BTW, I agree that those salaries are excessive but the answer is to address that issue - not to use it as an excuse to cut the overall budget.

I hate to disagree......schools keep saying they need more and more money and the scores are not going up......why continue throwing good money after bad?

School vouchers and competition from the private sector, let the poor schools fail (private or public).
Failing schools should not be given more money, it just gives them another reason to not improve.
Teachers should be paid by merit only, if their students dont improve, the teacher should be fired - no more tenure.
Schools are adminestratively top heavy, yet the teachers are laid off - layoff 10% of the non-teaching staff.

WRONG COMPETITORS!! This is a society that pays teachers, who perform one of the most valuable functions in society, peanuts. At the same time, professional athletes are paid mega-millions for playing games---literally. What does that say about us as a society??

Teachers should be fired for being unable to teach students who enter education without the necessary building blocks?  Students who enter kindergarten without an ability to recognize colors, shapes, recite their ABCs or count to five? 

Teachers should be punished for the parental failure to adequately prepare their children for formal education?

Teachers should be punished for students who refuse to complete coursework and therefore fail classes?

Teachers should be punished for parents who refuse to have their children evaluated and treated for learning disorders because "I don't believe in ADHD" or "I don't believe in medication"?

Teachers should be punished for students who refuse to commit the effort to learning?

You show me a teacher who is not making every effort to education their students, and I'll show a teacher who deserves to be fired; but suggesting that teachers should bear the responsibility for making sure that students eat a healthy breakfast, attend school, put forth a concerted effort to learn and participate in the classroom, complete homework assignments and study course materials at home, receive adequate and appropriate medical and psychological care and have the discipline to comply with instruction, is absurd.

When you grant teachers the right to expel students for failing to complete assignments and study for tests, THEN I'll support the notion of firing teachers when students don't perform to standard.

Teachers are not respected, revered individuals in our society [and Mystere lists plenty of evidence of that fact].  Students see it, and they carry that attitude into the classroom. 

Stop looking for excuses and start looking for answers......its not money because spending per student has been going up since the 80's and national test scores are continuing to go down.....

Lets start by bring back corporal punishment, next the trouble makers can be kicked out of class, then how about getting rid of "inclusion - kids that need to be "included" actually need special attention and they don't get it. Kids that don't care about or couldn't make it in college should separated from the rest of them and be put into an apprenticeship (carpentry, mechanics, culinary arts etc.) so that when they graduate they can get a decent job.

Students that refuse to learn should be kicked out.




Teachers should be fired for being unable to teach students who enter education without the necessary building blocks?  Children should be evaluated at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year if the child doesn't progress, the teacher is the issue.

Students who enter kindergarten without an ability to recognize colors, shapes, recite their ABCs or count to five? Teachers are supposed to teach....

Teachers should be punished for the parental failure to adequately prepare their children for formal education? Teachers are suppoed to teach........

Teachers should be punished for students who refuse to complete coursework and therefore fail classes? School is not a human rite, kids dont want to learn should be kicked out.

Teachers should be punished for parents who refuse to have their children evaluated and treated for learning disorders because "I don't believe in ADHD" or "I don't believe in medication"? If the kid cannot behave it should be kicked out - then the parents will deal with the problem - schools are to teach, not baby sit

Teachers should be punished for students who refuse to commit the effort to learning? Kick those students out.

You show me a teacher who is not making every effort to education their students, and I'll show a teacher who deserves to be fired; but suggesting that teachers should bear the responsibility for making sure that students eat a healthy breakfast, attend school, put forth a concerted effort to learn and participate in the classroom, complete homework assignments and study course materials at home, receive adequate and appropriate medical and psychological care and have the discipline to comply with instruction, is absurd. Schools shouldn't be in the business of being a soup kitchen, kid doesn't come to school they should fail, they dont complete their homework, they should fail - teachers are not parents and all of this you talk about is the parents responsibility. The school system should document the issues, put such students into trade schools and never expect them to go to college.....
 
When you grant teachers the right to expel students for failing to complete assignments and study for tests, THEN I'll support the notion of firing teachers when students don't perform to standard. Teachers are not respected because they are not allowed to dicipline the students.