Kerry's Good Intentions

[windansea]

NY Times Op-ed by conservative David Brooks makes some interesting points about Kerry's record.

By DAVID BROOKS

Published: January 24, 2004


n 1998, John Kerry took on the teachers' unions. In twin speeches in Washington and Massachusetts, he described school systems that are "imploding upon themselves," beset with "bloated bureaucracy" and "stagnant administration." He said we had to "end tenure as we know it" so incompetent teachers could be fired more easily.

"Those going into teaching have the lowest SAT and ACT scores of any profession in the United States," he observed. The teacher certification process, he concluded, is "an absurd anomaly" that creates a "convoluted monopolistic structure." He suggested that every school should be turned into a charter school so parents would have more choice.

In 1992, John Kerry took on civil rights groups. In speeches at Yale and in Washington, he said affirmative action had achieved many positive results. But he said it was time to acknowledge the costs. Once, he said, the civil rights movement was a "mighty battle between good and evil," but now the "civil rights arena is controlled by lawyers, the winners and losers determined by rules most Americans neither understand nor are sympathetic with."
Affirmative action, he argued, "has kept America thinking in racial terms." It has helped foster a "culture of dependency." Further, he said, "there exists a reality of reverse discrimination that actually engenders racism."

more
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/24/opinion/24BROO.html?ex=1075525200&en=e80a3806c4dea25c&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

[Raya]

1. Whoa. An "Intentions ' AttackGuess couldn't find Bimbos, Drugs or Bribery.

Amazing how insiduous these attack on Kerry are. Nothing really
specific. But there must be something wrong with his "personality."

[windansea]

2. read the whole article?

[Raya]

7. Yes. Always read RW hit pieces end to end. The usual "Character" hit

against a war hero and a great public servant.

[KC21304]

3. Guess that is why he has higher liberal rating than Ted. LOL

[sandnsea]

24. Shows he's willing to fix problems

And stand up to anything, even tenure that keeps bad teachers. Even affirmative action that causes white people to think they're being cheated out of jobs and education. And he's willing to confront it head on, not skirt around it with slogans and platitudes.

[Sly Kal]

4. Gee, Kerry is wrong about almost everything

His liberal roots must be all dried up.

[bigtree]

5. You coulda pointed out that DAVID BROOKS wrote this

A conservative columnist. David Brooks is a senior editor at The Weekly Standard. Authors include Andy Ferguson, Charles Krauthammer. Do you agree with every position this republican hack takes or just the drivel about John Kerry?

[windansea]

6. guess you missed the first line of my post

are the Kerry speeches he cites incorrect?

[bigtree]

8. The speeches are correct

The reality is that the republicans blocked most of what was not achieved. The notion that Sen. Kerry neglected the issues that he was concerned with comes from folks who either don't understand his positions, are ignorant of his true efforts, or are motivated to present him as ineffective or 'aloof'.

The fact that a conservative mouthpiece (Brooks) is trying to further these false assertions is a revealing measure of their worth.

[windansea]

25. better to shoot down the message

than the messenger

[funky_bug]

9. I'll take the Brooks defense, but...

If those are Kerry's views, then as a future teacher who is currently carrying a 4.0 and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, I am quite frankly tired of the slams that the teaching pool is made up of low achieving students.

I will not deny that tenure keeps bad teachers teaching. But if Kerry really wants to flood the pool with high quality educators, he should look at the facts: Teachers are leaving in droves because of NCLB - any GOOD teacher wants to inspire their students with innovative, exciting lessons. Good teachers do not want to "teach to test." Anyone with half a brain wants to be paid MORE than a McDonald's manager for their four years of hard work in college. The fact is, if someone is going to spend four years, and thousands of dollars to earn a degree, MOST of them are going to pursue a profession that pays them what they're worth. Do you realize that in the state of Florida, you can teach in a classroom with a four-year degree, while you "actively pursue your certification" ? In other words, anyone with a degree in anything can walk into a classroom and start teaching. Why? Because smaller class size amendments have ushered in an teacher shortage that has forced us to lower our standards when selecting instrutors.

The answer is not getting rid of unions and tenure. The answer is a full revision/removal of NCLB, proper funding for mandates, and most importantly, the full respect and support of those teachers who want to make a career of making a difference in the lives of children.

This sounded to me to be terribly negative. I would much rather Kerry tell me what he's going to do FOR teachers, then tell me what he's going to do TO them.

[Karmadillo]

11. Here's a link to Kerry's plan to strengthen public schools.

Given your background, I'd be interested in reading what you think of his proposals.

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/100days/education.html

John Kerry is outlining a real plan to improve K-12 education and make sure that every child gets the skills they need to meet the needs of the 21st Century economy. John Kerry has consistently criticized George W. Bush for signing the No Child Left Behind Act and then leaving schools in a lurch by not funding the bill. However, he also believes that a President or a Presidential candidate should not just be a Critic-in-Chief, but should provide a real plan and a real vision for America’s schools.

more...(links to the actual components of the plan follow)

[funky_bug]

14. I was one step ahead of you

After making my point, I went to Kerry's site and read his plans. I think he has some good points, and I won't deny him that. Unfortunately for him, what he said today is not addressed on his web site. His points say nothing of cutting out unions, which he proposed today, and the full certification in a subject area is more of the NCLB crap we're having to deal with right now. Sure, a teacher should know what he/she is teaching, but it's time to stop telling teachers WHAT to do, and instead give them the resources to do what needs to be done. Higher pay for "high performing" teachers is a stickler, in my book. National Board Certification already does that, so what ruler is he going to measure us by? Tests? Enough of the tests. Student test scores should not be used to measure anyone's progess, until tests are revised to make it fair for the students who take them.


I applaud Kerry's committment to raising the issue, but I see nothing in his plan that counters what he said today.

[bigtree]

12. Can you e-mail your concerns to johnkerry.com?

I would be happy to if you don't mind. I think you make some important and valid points about tenure, which I believe he says he wants to end. But you know how these things go. He can't do it by fiat if he happens to win. He will need your imput to help craft better legislation.

Do any of the others address these concerns?

[funky_bug]

15. One step ahead of you too

I already dropped an e-mail, essentially asking him how getting rid of teachers unions is going to help us? By removing the right to collectively bargain for insurance, salaries and benefits, he removes our collective power to ensure our school district lives up to its committment to honor our hard work. Do you know that most teachers who leave the field after 3yrs, cite low pay, poor benefits, and poor working conditions as their reasons for doing so (exactly the kinds of issues that unions are created to counter)? How is he going to raise the standard of education, by creating educational conditions which are unfavorable for us? I'll repeat, I'm not a low-scoring graduate. I'm a 4.0 honor student, and while I could be pursuing any number of careers, I've chosen to put my money where my mouth is, and give back to my community by becoming the finest teacher I can be, and I strive to become one the finest teachers in my district. Many of us pursuing this goal have the same mind-set. Do you want to see us pushed out in three years because we simply can't take it anymore?

Tenure - I simply asked Mr. Kerry why tenure should be removed? I don't appreciate the tenured teachers who don't teach, but removal of tenure creates a hole in the blanket of security we need to take risks, and do our jobs. Tenure should be renewable and reviewable, not removable.

All schools should be choice schools? I disagree. With the creation of choice schools, all parents DO have a choice... a choice school or not. While I hope to teach in a choice school upon graduation, it is because they are already afforded certain autonomies that all schools should currently have: Principals with proven track records of achievement who hire highly qualified teachers with a proven record of achievement... a team of teachers afforded the luxury of TEACHING... a curriculum that focuses on academics, while centering on a core theme of interest to their students, ie math/science, performing arts, or social responsibility. All schools should be allowed that autonomy, and making all schools "choice" is vague... does that mean that all schools will rise to the standard of the choice schools, or the high quality of choice education will be dumbed down by integrating schools with less vision and automony.

These are, for the record, my feelings on his comments as posted above. I do not transfer my feelings directly to any one candidate. If he satisfies my concerns by expounding on his comments today, then good for him. If not, then I don't find his comments today to be particularly inspiring or helpful.

[bigtree]

18. God I love facts

Thanks for giving me your point of view on this. I've certainly learned a great deal. I intend to represent your concerns in my debate. Hope they get addressed and straightened out. My mother was a teacher for 30 years and volunteered for an incredible 20 more. Volunteered. I always said that anyone who teaches has to love children, and care for the rest of us too. Good luck.

[bigtree]

20. On teacher tenure

MR. RUSSERT: In the '90s, you talked about affirmative action, you talked about teacher tenure, perhaps looking at that or even taking it away, and you...

SEN. KERRY: No, not taking it away. Let's be very clear.

MR. RUSSERT: Amending it. Amending it.

SEN. KERRY: We changed it in Massachusetts. We have what's called a fair dismissal law.

http://www.vote-smart.org/speech_detail.php?speech_id=M000018741&keyword=affirmative+action&phrase=&contain=

[blm]

10. Kerry wanted the LEGAL language for affirmative action tightened up.

Just as Clinton did. It was to PRESERVE Affirmative Action from being assaulted in the COURTS.

Gee...didn't everyone UNDERSTAND that the GOP was trying to use legal tactics to derail AA at the time?

[Karmadillo]

13. Sure, blm, but you're a Democrat. Isn't it wiser for us to rely on Brooks,

a Republican who wrote for the Weekly Standard and who supports George W Bush for President? I mean, after all, why would a conservative want to present Kerry's record in a way that's less than accurate?

[blm]

16. Heh...

Thankfull for your sane observations, as always.

[windansea]

17. perhaps BLM or another Kerry supporter

can find us a link to Kerry's 92 speech re: afirmative action so we can see the context of the quotes??? I couldn't find it

[bigtree]

19. On AA

As a Senator, I voted for every major piece of Civil Rights legislation to come before Congress since 1985, including the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. I also voted for the Equal Rights Amendment, and support the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. I have fought for the economic justice that is embodied in the minority-owned businesses that are the lifeblood of our economy. I have fought all attempts to undermine affirmative action. And I have strongly opposed the appointment of extreme judges who would seek to undo Dr. King's life's work.
http://www.vote-smart.org/speech_detail.php?speech_id=M000027088&keyword=affirmative+action&phrase=&contain=

The issues that were once consigned to a corner called “women's issues,” need to be the concern of all of us. It's time for an equal day's pay for an equal day's work to become a reality and not just a slogan. And whether it is choice or Title Nine or affirmative action - all Americans pay the price when progress is reversed. When I am President, women's voices will not just travel on the campaign trail, they will sound openly from the workplace to the doctor's office, echo in the White House, and ring proudly from positions within my Administration.
http://www.vote-smart.org/speech_detail.php?speech_id=M000026318&keyword=affirmative+action&phrase=&contain=


Meet the Russert:

MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn to affirmative action. In 1992 you went to your alma mater, Yale, and gave a now highly noted speech about the—affirmative action.

SEN. KERRY: Right.

MR. RUSSERT: This is what you said, that “...today the civil rights arena is controlled by lawyers and the winners and losers determined by...rules most Americans neither understand nor are sympathetic with. ...This shift in the civil rights agenda has directed most of out attention and much of our hope into one inherently limited and divisive program: affirmative action...We must be willing to acknowledge publicly what we know to be true: that just as the benefits to America of affirmative action cannot be denied, neither can the costs...The truth is that affirmative action has kept America thinking in racial terms.”

This week in Boston, your hometown, a federal court said that four white firefighters must be given their jobs because they had been passed over by black applicants who had tested lower on the test. Do you agree with the court decision?

SEN. KERRY: Yes.

MR. RUSSERT: The court also said the city no longer has to hire one black for every white they hire. Do you agree with that?

SEN. KERRY: Yeah. Tim, let me explain exactly what I said. Affirmative action, if you recall, back in the 1990s—Bill Clinton said this, too—needed to be mended. I was one of the early people saying we have to mend it, don't end it. That's precisely what we did. We tried to end the quota concept and make sure we kept affirmative action. I have always supported affirmative action. I even had that very paragraph bracketed. On the front end of the paragraph and on the back end of the paragraph, I said, “I support affirmative action. We need to mend it, don't end it.” That's what we did, and I'm glad the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed that we need to continue.
http://www.vote-smart.org/speech_detail.php?speech_id=M000018741&keyword=affirmative+action&phrase=&contain=

[blm]

22. Thanks.

.

[sandnsea]

23. More info

Here's a page of other quotes and stories related to this speech one line taken totally out of context. He was talking about the fact that affirmative action has caused white people to think they are losing out on jobs and education and that that perception has to be addressed. Notice he says to address it, not ignore it.

http://www.politicsus.com/presidential%20press%20releases/Kerry/112503d.htm

“I support affirmative action. Affirmative action has opened doors for women, persons with disabilities and countless minorities. It has helped create a large and growing black middle class. It has helped minority businesses and opened up bastions of prejudice like the Alabama State Police, which had no black members at all in a state that is 30 percent black. It has caused employers to rethink the standards and tests they use to qualify people for employment. And it has given the benefit of the doubt to diversity over uniformity on campuses and in workplaces across America.” – John Kerry

[jpgray]

21. Ah David Brooks, epitome of responsible journalism (nt)