I'm not a teacher. I'm a mom. But I get it.

[CoffeeCat]

I'm watching the propaganda against teachers roll out like a massive PR campaign--and
it is quite disheartening. The failures in our education system have been squarely laid
at the feet of teachers and the unions.

Oprah Winfrey did an hour on education. "Meet the Press" just devoted their entire show
to education. Obama just spoke for a half hour on education on NBC's "Today Show." It's
a non-stop teacher and union-bashing media spree.

Those faulting the teachers believe they have the answers--privatization of our schools. There
is a lot of money to be made if corporations run the schools with a profit-centric model. Just
like our health-insurance system--the "middle man" stands to become rich when profits become
tantamount to human needs. In the case of our schools--it will be students who will suffer as
learning becomes secondary to balance-sheet health.

Our local paper, the Des Moines Register, had a front page article about Des Moines East,
a high school that has been identified as one of the 5,000 lowest performing in America. This
is a school in a low-income area--with many students living in poverty.

The crime rate is very high in this area. Every week, there are stories about horrible crime
happening. There are many hardworking people living in this area, but many in this area aren't
working the corporate, white-collar jobs that offer higher pay or flexibility, which parents need
sometimes to meet their child's needs. They're working hard for minimum wage or low pay. Chances are,
if there are two parents in the home--both are working and working many hours.

This is a school without a PTA. There is generally, little parental involvement. Compare this
with what you find in the Des Moines suburbs, and it's like a different world. There are active
PTAs in all of those schools, with many moms coming in during the day to tutor, help teachers
and assist children with reading and math.

Anyone looking at these two different worlds can see--that the variables affecting
student learning are due to the child's environment. Living in poverty, living in a stressed
out home, living with parents that may not care, living with parents who may not be educated
themselves, living with a school where volunteers are practically nonexistent and extra help
is not there, living with a school that doesn't even have a PTA--it can all add up to failure.

To illustrate with a real-life example, I point to the volunteer sign-in sheet at my child's
elementary school. There are usually twenty names on that sheet by noon. Twenty extra pairs
of hands--helping kindergartners read or assisting children who are struggling with math. And
East doesn't even have a PTA!

The story of East high clearly demonstrates why students and entire schools fail. It is not
the teachers. It is the confluence of environmental factors that make up these kids' lives.

Blaming teachers in general when students fail--is like blaming all doctors in general, when
patients die. Just like patients--students come to their teachers with "pre-existing conditions"
and the teacher must try to help--given the student's past, current life conditions and problems.

We can't place all of this squarely on the shoulders of the teachers. It doesn't make sense.

I see what a farce this PR and marketing effort is. I see that they're trying to bust the
entire institution--to make way for a profit-centered model. I do get it.

I'm so sorry that--once again--we will watch the corporations get their way with the media
disseminating their misleading, emotionally-charged propaganda.

Most of all--I'm sorry that the good teachers of this country are being scapegoated and that
in the end--we will fail all of our children--for the purpose of wealth creation that benefits an
elite minority.

[Sparkly]

1. Very well said!

:thumbsup:

[COLGATE4]

2. Just another front in the never ending Rethug war against

any services provided by the government which benefit the community at large. The only answer is to privatize them (on a for profit basis, of course). What could possibly go wrong with that?:sarcasm:

[seabeyond]

16. and how readily democrats jumped in on this. nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. K&R

[Dappleganger]

4. "There is a lot of money to be made"

Looks like our kids are the next oil rush!

[dotymed]

140. Yes, they are the "next oil rush." The Bush

(crime) family recognized this years ago, and of course, have paid to make this a reality.
Marvin's computer programs.
Barbara's ("my beautiful mind") financial "contributions" to Florida schools, on the contingency that the money was spent on Marvin's wonderful technology...
Jeb's charter school initiatives.
"W's" "no child left behind"...:puke:
Yep, they are still in the oil bidness, just expanding to the new "boom" area.
My daughter graduates this year as a teacher. that has been her passion forever. I love and support her decisions but I know the disappointment she will endure. I predict that she will she will be forced to adjust her passion to fit reality.
It is the children who are suffering along with our country. The current and emerging privatization of our education system follows in the tradition of the prison industrial complex, the privatization of our logistics for our "defense" department...etc..
The wealthy profit, the people suffer.
Why can't we all admit that the American version of capitalism is feudalism?
America has regressed since FDR died. We are a police state that caters to corporate money.
It is Fascism,
Is Fascism preferable to Socialism?

[EFerrari]

5. K&R

[Overseas]

6. K&R! //nt

[lostnfound]

7. K&Rnt

[w8liftinglady]

8. i agree with you 100%

i have seen the charter schools become the new "segregation"...at least in my neck of the woods...and have seen what happens in impoverished neighborhoods when they have great teachers.The teachers,of course,get no credit..and no financial/political backing..especially in a state like Texas.

[Tippy]

9. I'.m with you........ K&R

[riderinthestorm]

10. Can't add anything to this. K & R! nt

[HereSince1628]

11. But 'we've' GOT to blame somebody or 'we' couldn't sleep at night

and teachers are available to be blamed. There is one in every classroom.

I wish it were otherwise but if 'we' don't blame 'them' teachers we'll just end up blaming 'someone else,' because that's human nature.

[cyberswede]

12. K & R - spot on.

My brother (who works for a school system) told me this would happen years ago - I thought he was exaggerating. Silly me.

[Little Star]

13. I am not a teacher either. You are right..

They're trying to bust public education in order to get privatized education! The teachers and their unions can not fight this take-over by themselves. It will take ALL of us fighting against this take-over and we better hurry up about it!

The greedy bastids want to corporatize every thing!!!!!!

[demmiblue]

14. K&R

:kick:

[seabeyond]

15. i m a mom, not a teacher, and i get it, too. excellent post. but those that want to blame teacher

will ignore it. though obvious. though reality. though factual.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. Absolutely! For years I have been saying that parental involvement is...

the single most important thing in education.

I did not learn to read in school-- I learned to read because my father read to me every night before even kindergarten. I was fed well and didn't have hunger or nutritional deficiencies getting in the way of learning. I also had a safe trip to and from school, and a proper place to study at home. And my parents had the ability to change my school if they thought it wasn't the right one. And had no problem yelling at the school. School was for learning, not day care.

Nothing special about me, though. Every kid in my neighborhood, and similar neighborhoods across the country, could say the same.

There always were neighborhoods where the kids didn't have the advantages I had, but I think there are more now, and we are taking the easy road of blaming the schools instead of the situations the kids live in.

[seabeyond]

19. in my day you had the normal and smarter students in a class. the disruptive children in sp ed

sp ed was not about handicap then, it was about the children that did not take school seriously.

today the normal classes are babysitters for these classes and the students that want the conducive learning environment have to take the advanced courses.

i am saying, there are more of the children unwilling to be educated than the past.

[quakerboy]

112. I seriously doubt that

The more kids not wanting to be educated. I think its more that youth now have more tools to avoid being educated. Also, its paid more attention. Kids don't change that much. They are lazy, mailable, odd, eager, ingenious, naive, sagacious, foolish, stubborn little buggers, all through history.

There was a time when a kid could be sent home and parents would deal with the problem. Now, not as much.

[Nevernose]

133. We also ujsed to let kids who didnt want to be in school drop out

Also, we had more vocaional education. And we didn't have the same standards for every kid -- there were different tracks for different diplomas. (My district still has those tracks, but they're all college prep).

And why don't we still do something that we know works? Vocational programs cost twice as much to run, and politicians score points by yelling "we need to set the bar higher!" No one ever seems to ask the logical question, though: if kids can't make the current bar, why the hell are we raising it higher?

[seabeyond]

134. exactly... to all your post. 4X4 in our state now

they are concerned with drop out so now they say, instead of 2 yrs of math to graduate (like always in the past, for decades) you need four years of math.

are they not just saying, drop out now.... i dont get it.

[Tatiana]

18. Bless you. Yes, indeed, you do get it.

Bottom line, after working with students for so long, teachers do know what works:

1) Smaller class size
2) Strong parental involvement
3) Instruction differentiated to meet the different learning styles of our students (some are visual, some are auditory, some benefit more from project-based... we have to incorporate many different instructional methods to make sure all of our students are learning)
4) Preschool/Prekindergarten programs to assist at-risk students with obtaining the necessary school/kindergarten readiness skills to prepare them for success
5) A curriculum with an emphasis on critical thinking skills
6) Teaching core content through "special programs" (e.g. math through music, creative writing or poetry through art)
7) Offering foreign language or dual language programs

** In poor/urban areas, having safe passage to school as well as offering a strong social service program (food/clothing bank, job training program for adults, adult literacy/GED evening programs, etc.) also help contribute to increased parent involvement and community ownership of the neighborhood school.

These are just a few things that are proven to increase learning and student success. We know this. Any schools that exhibit high student achievement are likely doing many of these things. Why not invest resources in existing public schools to help them be successful instead of siphoning money away from the schools that need it most to corporate-run entities?

[tavalon]

45. None of that is rocket science, in fact it's just plain common sense

Something woefully lacking in the political climate these days.

[flyarm]

20. So well said !! Thank you..and Thank you to all the teachers who each day wake up and teach our

children! Many in impossible situations!

You are 100% correct..the Teachers are being scapegoated, and this must nor be allowed to continue..we the Parents need to rise up and stand with the teachers of this country!

There is a deliberate move on in this nation to steal ..yes steal money out of public edcuation.

Seems the most monied among us know they can no longer count on wall street to steal their money ..so now they will steal it from the poorest among us and the most vunerable..the poor schools in inner cities and leave our children with scraps for an education and worse

The Bush's privitized the prisons to steal what could be siponed off there..now the rest of the eite want to sipon off from the public schools!

None of this has a damn thing to do with education..it has everything to do with the richest to destroy our school districts in poor and inner cities..get valuable land from where the old schools once stood..and to destroy Teachers and teacher unions by putting cheaper less qualified teachers, making much less pay, into classrooms so the profit margin can benefit only the richest.

[Hannah Bell]

66. It's the latest development in the theft of the commons. In the same way that the aristocracy once

fenced off & claimed ownership of common lands & forced the peasantry to serf for them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Thank you

:hug:

[HughMoran]

22. It's not the good teachers that are being scapegoated.

[swilton]

28. How do you define a 'good' teacher?

[wtmusic]

43. "Non-abusive" and "not recently convicted of a felony" would be a start.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25430476

[HughMoran]

59. Not my area of expertise, but the one who fell asleep in class might not be the best

Or the one who was weird and sent me a note "alternative energy source - eat beans!" may not have been the best.

I also learned nothing from those and several other teachers, so learning might me a measure (yes, this is a tough one to gauge and 'paper' learning is not all that we want our kids to learn in school.)

I know I'm accountable in my job - if I don't produce good results, I'll be fired.

[liberation]

80. Enough with the whole BS that teachers do not have accountability.

Underperforming teachers do get fired.

"I know I'm accountable in my job - if I don't produce good results, I'll be fired."

Thanks captain Obvious. Geez, where have I had heard that talking point spout over and over from? Oh, yeah... from republicans.


Seriously, what's up with these "new" Dems talking, walking, and looking more and more like "old" republicans?

[w4rma]

104. HELL YES IT IS THE GOOD TEACHERS BEING SCAPEGOATED. (nt)

[Chulanowa]

119. ALL teachers are being scapegoated, for the failures of administrators and politicians

it works out well, since those administrators and politicians are the ones who get to call the shots.

[sabrina 1]

124. Yes it is. It really is the Public System that is under attack.

But the rightwing always hated the Public School system. Too 'commie' for them. Sad to say it is now under attack by a Democratic Administration.

[wtmusic]

23. Teachers are not to blame, but teachers' unions are indeed part of the problem.

* In NYC 10 teachers are fired annually out of a work force of 55,000.
* In Los Angeles, 11 teachers are fired annually out of a work force of 43,000.

Both deplorable statistics are the result of unions gaming the the system so bad teachers are impossible to get rid of (it costs up to half a $million and takes 18 months of legal wrangling).

If the unions didn't put job security above job quality it never would have gotten to this point. It's abusing taxpayers, it's abusing the system, and ultimately abusing our kids.

[Tatiana]

30. Again, if the teachers are so bad the administrators need to do their jobs.

They should be documenting the failure(s) to meet state and local expectations. If they have the proof, there is no arbitrator or judge that wouldn't dismiss a "bad" teacher.

You would do well to blame lazy administrators for not doing their job. If a teacher was bad or ineffective, that person should have been dismissed without fault by the evaluating administrator before the teacher could attain tenure (usually 2 or 3 years). What I find, in my experience, is that even when teachers themselves report ineffective teachers, action is not taken because the administrator is lazy and does not follow through with the required number of observations or the ineffective teacher is a friend of the administration.

[wtmusic]

39. Not true.

I have yet to see anyone be able to defend this teacher or LAUSD's inability to fire him. Can you?

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/03/local/me-teachers3

[girl gone mad]

67. From the article you linked to:

* Building a case for dismissal is so time-consuming, costly and draining for principals and administrators that many say they don't make the effort except in the most egregious cases. The vast majority of firings stem from blatant misconduct, including sexual abuse, other immoral or illegal behavior, insubordination or repeated violation of rules such as showing up on time.

Sounds like the fault rests with the administrators. If they can't do their job effectively, they need to take a pay cut and hire the appropriate staff to help.

[vssmith]

68. Some administrators are afraid to give honest evaluations

Others are too lazy to even put forth the effort

Please note: I am not condemning all administrators but I have known members of both the above groups.

[wtmusic]

79. Half a million dollars to fire a bad teacher is acceptable to you then.

And we should convince administrators to spend a year and a half of their time, and half their salaries to remove monsters like Carlos Polanco. What a pantload.

Apparently the article went over your head: a teacher who goaded a student to kill himself, who administrators attempted to fire, kept his position by virtue of the Unified Teachers of Los Angeles and their ridiculously protective bargaining agreement.

Here's a little perspective:

The annual dismissal rate for the private sector is somewhere around 6%, depending on whose numbers you believe.

The annual dismissal rate for teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District is .025%. Teachers are fired 240x less often than employees in the private sector.

That means one of two things: teachers are 240x better employees than engineers, architects, bank tellers, retail clerks, and the rest of us.

Or...

Powerful teachers unions have made it nearly impossible to get rid of even the worst of the worst (NYC teachers convicted of sexually abusing their own students take about one year to terminate).

Frankly unions are fucking themselves - they didn't want to police their own, so they're going down. Which I think is beyond sad - they're taking public education with them - but just another testament to the fact that greed can show up anywhere.

[southerncrone]

96. So true. Management not doing THEIR job leads to poor quality product.

Possibly the BIGGEST PROBLEM w/education today!!!
Lazy &/or inept administrators.
If you hire your sister-in-law, you've got to fire her if she's not doing her job. PERIOD

Nepotism, coupled w/The Peter Principle = demise of public education.

In some small towns, it's almost like the mafia....ya gotta be part of the "family".....literally.

[walldude]

83. Well then find a way to remove the need for a Union.

Following your logic, in order to make things better all protections for salaries and benefits should be removed and teachers should be thrown to the wolves. I believe they call that throwing the baby out with the bath water.

[wtmusic]

113. That logic isn't mine.

I'm not an enemy of unions (member Local 47, American Federation of Musicians). I'm an enemy of greed and monopoly, and unions are not immune.

Of course, teachers' unions are doing what their members expect them to - bargain with the most power, for the best deal. But when things start to really get stupid they shouldn't be surprised to find employers examining other options. In this case they quite accidentally opened the door to privatization, which constitutes the truly serious threat to American education in the long run.

And now we have the UFT and AFT myopically jumping onto the charter bandwagon, which is about the worst thing they could possibly do to advance their own interests. But these days it's all about grabbing a buck while you can.

What's necessary is to apply the Sherman Act to unions, breaking them in smaller pieces so there is competition on the labor side of the fence. Creating a healtny balance before they make the educational landscape look like Detroit.

[Diane R]

84. Amen, wtmusic.

[nenagh]

24. This mom agrees with you...

[bobbolink]

25. Its one more in a series ot pitting people against each other. Parents vs teachers means

THE CHILDREN LOSE.

[blondeatlast]

49. Indeed. nt

[Blue Meany]

26. In my experience, where there are bad teachers, it is usually

the fault of the administration. My daughter had great teachers in elementary school, but has had a high percentage of bad (unfair, discouraging, rigid, abusive, unaccomodating and unimaginative) ones in middle school. It has become clear over time that the good teachers are good despite the principal, but the bad ones are encouraged, facilitated, supported, and defended by the principal. The latter are doing what is rewarded--putting students on a test assembly line--while the former are trying to engage students in learning in ways that interest them and ften getting flack for it from the principal and often parents as well.

[seabeyond]

31. unfair? ah. look at middle school and what the children are doing, you might ask why

they have a no tolerance, strong line on behavior, mentality.

my kids whine about how unfair it is in middle school. they are hitting independence and puberty. they are wanting to be treated as adults, as they are clueless. this is the point they decide which path they will take. they are exploring and experimenting. i explain to my kids why the school is like this and they have to admit the reasoning behind these rules.

much of the "unfair" i found in middle school, was because a handful of kids wouldnt follow rule, were disruptive for all and hard disciplines had to be implemented.

it is no longer the time of coddling, but teaching the children they now have to start taking responsibility. no longer turning homework in whenever without penalty. no longer where excuses are allowed. they are being prepped to step into highschool where there is that freedom and independence and they are being taught in middle school

so no, they are not coddled the same as they are in elementary (as they should be) .

and it is this kind of posts, that remind me of johnny being disruptive and the parent chewing the teacher out because the teacher dared to bring it to the parents attention

how unfair is that.

[Blue Meany]

130. Not Fair

Nope, what I'm talking about is teachers giving an F on an assignment because there were no color pictures in it (when color pictures were not a requirement), giving different (and easier) assignments to favorite students, giving different grades for the same test answers, refusing to accept assignments after the due date when the child was absent for illness on that date (which is required by school rules), satirizing certain students and their work in front of the class, claiming not to have received assignments from certain students (and therefore flunking them) when the entire class witnessed them turning them in, and dumping the all contents of unlocked gym lockers into one big pile--in the process breaking glasses and a cell phone--to "teach the students a lesson." In each and every of these instances the principal backed up the teacher completely, even when the evidence of unfairness was right in front of him. OTOH, the principal's nephews were the biggest bullies in the school, known for pushing smaller kids down the stairs, and they were never once disciplined.

[seabeyond]

135. i hear my two brothers whine about this stuff. i have never seen a teacher be so "unfair" yet

i hear parents say this stuff and i KNOW they are creating an atmosphere at home for little johnny to fail

you know what.... the kid comes home whining... i got marked off for not having colored pictures. well, should have done color. but not on assignment mom. ya right... give me another story.

mom, really, teacher wouldnt accept my late homework. ok kid, tell me the real story.

you buy this huh?

hm

i did my homework, the teacher lost it. ya, right.

[Tatiana]

32. DING DING DING... we have a winner here! n/t

[seabeyond]

35. those mean teachers having expectations out of students as they get older. nt

[Tatiana]

41. I don't put much emphasis into the "mean" aspect of the poster's comments.

Teachers should have high expectations and students should respect their classroom teacher.

However, I do find that many times when there are teachers who are not as effective as they could be, the administrator never takes responsibility for improving the situation, which is part of their job. They are supposed to offer teachers resources and assistance towards improving job performance. How many do this?

[seabeyond]

42. i have yet to have a principal not responsive when i have asked to chat. and i have done it often.

every. principal. every one of the principals, have looked for the children's best interest.

just had a kid step out of middle school, have on in middle school now.... there are favorite teachers, not so favorite, easier ones and harder ones. but not one bad teacher in that school

[Tatiana]

51. Well I have to say, you are luckier than many of us in CPS.

Not to say that I haven't worked under great administrators -- I have. But as the years have gone by, they have gotten worse and worse as the experienced, "old school" administrators have retired.

[Pathwalker]

54. Clearly, you've never been to Gier Middle School in Lansing, Michigan.

TWO decades ago, I tried your approach, until my son suddenly started getting repeatedly suspended for strange things involving the school quarterback. Quarterback tried to punch him in the face, son ducked, and was suspended for breaking the quarterback's hand - son ducked the punch and the quarterback hit the wall. The day he was supposed to return, the Principal called, and told me son was suspended for going around school saying bad things about the school quarterback. I informed him it wasn't possible, since son had spent the last 3 days at our kitchen table doing homework.

He DISAGREED, saying that wasn't possible, demanding to know WHO suspended him. You did, I told him. Both my husband and I went to the school, and spent the next 2 hours arguing with the Principal, while his staff tried to convince him that the accusation against my son was wrong. After, 2 hours, I got pissed, and started yelling, so he called security. The security woman listened, and then explained EXACTLY what was happening - a POS student who hated my son was telling the quarterback a shitload of lies about my son, and told the principal in no uncertain terms that my son had never said anything, and that the POS student needed to be expelled. The Principal still refused to listen, but his staff told me to contact the local School Board. I did, and my son was placed in "temporary home schooling" until the matter was resolved.

A month later, the POS student was expelled, the Principal put on permanent leave(fired), the quarterback was forced to apologize to my son, and my son was sent back to school, and was never suspended again. so, you're right about some students being nasty, but not ALL principals are perfect.

[wtmusic]

38. I had a similar experience

My kids had a great elementary school experience, but it's illustrative.

The prinicpal was known as somewhat of an authoritarian. Although the parents loved her and her school was consistently recognized by the CA Board of Education for excellence, she was known to have issues with some of the teachers. So a few of the more vocal (and I must say, union-involved) teachers banded together and all of a sudden word came down from the district that the principal was being fired. Parents that had never been to a school board meeting showed up in support, but to no avail. The board declined to offer any reason apart from it being an "administrative matter".

The teachers apparently got their principal in, and in five years the school has lost its certification as "Recognized" by the state and turned into an effing pigsty.

Maybe the school lost its cert because the kids are just "thinking outside the box" now. And maybe trash litters the hall because they don't have enough money to hire a good janitor.

Ask any of the parents, though, and they'll tell you it's because of the new principal.

[seabeyond]

40. elementary school my son transfered to had one such principal. she was a hard ass

ranked top, cream of crop, year after year. i heard more bitching about her from most parents, some teachers and though she didnt like me much, i loved her. my youngest got the best. she was for the student.

[swilton]

27. Two Points

1. Vollunteer work/support for the PTA is very difficult when both parents work or the child lives in a single parent home and that parent has one (or more) jobs.

2. I find it very difficult to find that the 'education' of this country is the result of teachers when you have a large portion of the population believing in and defending as science (yes I'm saying this ) a literal interpretaiton of the Bible and challenging Darwin's theories of evolution as science. Likewise the ignorance of the country about the environment/the science of global warming/climate change speaks to a flaw not with teachers but something else more troubling.

[seabeyond]

36. 1. point taken. but how is that the schools problem? nt

[swilton]

50. What is your question -

I see that the schools are a reflection of larger problems within society that need to be addressed...solving perceived problems (i.e., lower test scores in the math and sciences as compared to other countries) are not going to be resolved by policies of privatization. The privatization and the ongoing debate about 'good' teachers vs. 'bad' teachers is one more divisive distraction.

For me the issue is a societal one best explained and described by Richard Hofstadter in ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM IN AMERICAN LIFE (1962). Hofstadter notes obviously from observations in the 50's that intelledtualism/academia has never been favored in this country - Note how academics/intellectuals are portrayed as nerds in many examples in the sit-coms; how a military career is a greater ticket to success for a political career rather than being portrayed as an intellectual/philosopher...Just look at how Al Gore was piloried for his intellectualism in the 2000 election....examples are too numerous.

[seabeyond]

55. yup. nt

[Alcibiades]

70. +1 well said

A book on the subject, if you have not read it already: Idiot America. Good fun, not as serious as Hofstadter, but more recent.

http://www.amazon.com/Idiot-America-Stupidity-Became-Virtue/dp/0767926145

[H2O Man]

29. Way recommended.

Outstanding.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

33. Huge (and personal) K&R

WOW - my folks graduated from East High School in 1939. O.K. if I forward your post to them?

[Starry Messenger]

34. Thank you!

I had a feeling most parents wouldn't fall for this BS. :hug:

[Pathwalker]

37. How do teachers feel about teaching in crumbling, antiquated schools?

Some of which are dangerous health hazards for anyone forced to be inside them for hours each day. Not all of America's schools were built this century, or even late last century. Some of these buildings MUST be making the teachers ill, too, not just the students. On top of all the money they have to spend just to keep their students supplied, there must be extra co-pays for all those extra visits to doctors.

I ask, because one of the local high schools in my area was built before the Great Depression, and the smell will make anyone sick. EVERYONE's face is scrunched up!

[proud2BlibKansan]

115. The school where I teach was built in 1912

[tavalon]

44. Well said

Teachers are being scapegoated.

[wtmusic]

46. In NYC, it takes a year to fire teachers ALREADY CONVICTED OF SEX CRIMES

against students. Hello? What's wrong with this picture? :grr:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25430476

[Karia]

47. Has anyone else here read Diane Ravitch's new book?

The book is Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education (New York: Basic Books, 2010). I do not in any way benefit from the sale of this book. I picked it up only because a friend recommended it highly, and now I can't put it down. I keep going back to reread sections.

Her basic message is that there is no quick fix, but hard data shows that the current trends (privatization, union-bashing, state-based standards, and overemphasis on poorly-conceived standardized tests) are very, very, very wrong. Especially helpful is the way she dissects the results of various studies to show what the results REALLY mean.

She was for all of this once, but instead of looking at fudged results to say "See how right I was!" she says, "The data is in and shows how wrong I was." Powerful reading.

[YvonneCa]

122. Yes. It is excellent. Her insights have...

...been valuable to my understanding of actions taken in my school district.

[blondeatlast]

48. Another mom for public schools, teachers, and unions here. Speak it, CC! nt

[shrike]

52. My story of a teacher in a poor district, predominantly minority student population

I was selling some instruments for my sister. Her daughter was getting out of band and orchestra (she played percussion) so she could run track and cross-country. Sis lives in a rural area; I live in a vibrant, urban one, and so we figured I'd have better luck selling them from my home. We were selling them cheap; they were used, after all. The drum set and xylophone went quickly. All that was left was a separate snare drum. I put that on Craig's list for $30. I got an email from a local schoolteacher who wanted to know if the drum was still available. She taught band, desperately needed a percussion instrument, but the district would give her no money (for a $30 drum) so she was going to try to pass the hat among the parents. I called DH, who was out of town, and Sis. They both said, "Just donate it to the school." So I did, and this woman -- I dropped the drum off at her house -- actually hugged me. She had, I believe, five or six instruments and 30 instruments in her class. I also brought along a set of bongos from our basement, which she said she could use.

She told me how discouraged she and her husband got at times (he was a choir teacher.) They both taught middle school, I believe. All I could tell her was, any student that she helps or influences means something. I felt foolish, really; who was I to give her a pep talk?

[wtmusic]

53. Funding is truly pathetic.

Similar story from a local high school that used to have an award-winning marching band.

Now they scrape to find broken, secondhand instruments. Their uniforms? A beret and t-shirt with the school colors - paid for by parents.

[madfloridian]

56. Someone rec this for me. I accidentally hit unrec button.

Great post.

[wtmusic]

57. Got it.

:thumbsup:

[Uncle Joe]

58. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, CoffeeCat.

[myrna minx]

60. K&R n/t

[DirkGently]

61. Well said.

[suffragette]

62. K&R

[MilesColtrane]

63. There is definitely a full court anti-union press going on right now.

Fox news ran this big "sting" operation feature Sunday, showing some beaten down GM assembly line workers passing a joint and a 40oz in a park on lunch break.

They pounded home that these were union workers, and worked in footage of Obama talking about the GM bailout.

The message?

"Your tax dollars are going to a bunch of over paid, union fuck ups."

[Hannah Bell]

64. kr

[nadinbrzezinski]

65. Yep, it will be privatized

the union will be busted... PERIOD.

Not stopping it now... the train left that fucking station a while ago.

[Fearless]

69. Proud K&R!

[4_TN_TITANS]

71. Being an elementary school music teacher

my wife has over a 1,000 kids pass through her class in a given week. I couldn't handle it. Spend a day with a teacher - it requires education, experience, and a love for the job. It's despicable that people who contribute so much the betterment of society get blamed for so much.

[Alcibiades]

72. A quote from another post I did five minutes ago

on the topic of teacher salaries: "the main thing is the students. You don't really have control over what sort of students you get. You might be at a school with well-behaved children who have supportive parents who back you up, make sure the kids do the assigned homework, and who see that getting a good education is their kids' ticket to a middle-class lifestyle. Or you might be in a school where the father and maybe even the mother is absent, where the kids watch 8+ hours of television daily, where there are no books in the home, where they have never been subject to discipline that is firm, fair and consistent, and where no one thinks that doing well in school is a ticket to any kind of future so they will drop out as soon as they are able, no matter what you do. And when these kids fail, we blame the teachers, but in many cases, it's really the family and, above all, the lack of social justice in our society."

Every year, classes get bigger and more is expected. Every student must be above average, no matter how mired in poverty their family is.

[fedupinBushcountry]

73. Thank you

I am sending this to my daughter (special ed) and son (history) who both love teaching and are in it not for the money that is for sure, but because they love teaching and seeing kids achieve. It hurts to see them have to be belittled when the truth is, that parents and the school administration needs to quit slacking off and putting the blame on teachers when they should take a good look in the mirror and see who really is to blame.

[YvonneCa]

75. ...

... :hi:

[truedelphi]

106. Doesn't it seem like back before there were all sorts of

"Motivational Conferences" for the Principals, Administrators and others at the top of the school hierarchy, that the kids learned more?

These days it seems like we have more and more Admins, and Assistant Admins, and it also seems like at any given moment half of them are not anywhere near their own school district, but off attending important seminars. At tax payer expense usually. But there isn't any money to keep the really important part of the system at the front of the classroom.

Teachers are being laid off right and left here in California.

[YvonneCa]

74. Thank you, from this...

...retired teacher. I can't bear to see this being done to my colleagues and friends.

[Reader Rabbit]

76. Thank you.

Your words mean a lot to this teacher. :hug:

[krabigirl]

77. Meh..i look at countries like France where there is nearly zero parental involvement, and they are

Far ahead of us in this realm.

[theaocp]

81. How do you gauge

"nearly zero parental involvement?" Thanks.

[Zoigal]

78. Well said. Agree with you a hundred per cent based on my experience.

Taught for forty years..poor schools, schools with predominately ESL kids,
well off schools, you name it. Grades K through HS math. To me, it is obvious
that many of the people who are critical of the current education situation,
have no idea of what teaching is all about.....z

[EFerrari]

82. The funny thing is, the cr@ppiest teacher I've ever had

was still 150% better than the cr@ppiest boss I've ever had in any other setting.

This is why we can't have nice things. lol

[theaocp]

85. Go ahead and privatize all of it

and see what kind of product you get. When the emphasis goes toward fucking MAKING MONEY, you will know what EPIC FAIL really feels like. You think the unions are corrupt? Wow. Have I got a surprise waiting for you. Privatized schooling will be so damn corrupt, it'll make Iraq look like a bully taking your lunch money. And it'll go on forever and ever. You jokers out there that hate us teachers so much? Home school your kids if you want. Just do not give more free money to corporations who are salivating over your kids ability to make them MONEY. It's not about the education! It's about the money, Lebowski!

[walldude]

86. You know what is driving me nuts...

the fact that they are in a full court press to make teachers miserable, then they come out and say "we need 10,000 new teachers". Well, who the fuck is going to want to teach if this is the way they are going to be treated.

[YvonneCa]

114. The 'boomer' teachers are being ...(insert verb) encouraged, pushed, forced...

...to retire to save money on salary, pension and benefits that states can no longer afford. They need to be replaced with a new, younger, cheaper (no benefits) teaching force.

[WillyT]

87. K & R !!!

:kick:

[aero56]

88. Our schools, our students

I am a building substitute teacher at a middle school. We are ending our first month of the new school year. Already, the teachers are overwhelmed. Thirty one and thirty two students in a classroom in general ed, and 18 students in a special education class for 6th graders. I observe on a daily basis the classroom behavior in many classrooms. There are but a few classrooms where the students are well behaved and seem to want to learn. I have witnessed a mob mentality in other classrooms, and an "I don't care about school" attitude in plenty of them. I have seen students who are so inattentive that I wonder if they are responding to some sort of internal stimuli that distracts them. I have seen outright defiance to the teachers instruction, and abusive smart talking back to the teacher when a student is corrected. The teachers are overwhelmed with paper work and IEP's assigned to special needs students, the number of which increases every year. I see students get up out of their seats with no regard to classroom rules. They chat, write notes, laugh and become angry when they are reminded of the rules. They have no respect for authority, nor for their classmates who might be interested in learning. Consequences? Well, there are verbal warnings, time outs, and a pupil dismissal to the vice principal. There is no more after school detention due to cutbacks. A student may spend a day in ISS, or in school suspension for one or two days. Beyond that, they may experience a day or two of in home suspension. That's it. In the long run, it means nothing. They can even be expelled for several weeks, only to return and do it all over again. Is this the fault of the teachers? Some think it is. Oh, they say the teacher has no control of the classroom. While it is true that some teachers are lenient, for the most part, the teachers have strict rules. The students don't care. They just don't care. Their parents don't care, either. And there in lies a very big part of the problem. Some parents do care and get involved. Many do not care and do not get involved. Or, they get involved only to blame the teacher and the school district. I get so tired of hearing the blame is on the teachers. I see teachers work their hearts out to help these students. They are good, qualified teachers. It's time to look beyond the teacher, and look more closely to the home environment.

[xchrom]

89. Recommend

[southerncrone]

90. Thank You for speaking out on our behalf, Coffee Cat!

Whenever we teachers argue these facts & positions, we're labeled as "whiners".

It's really common sense if one looks at it for more than 2 seconds. Trouble is....no one wants to LOOK at what's happening in education BECAUSE it is a complex arena w/o sound-bite quick solutions. We need to take the POLITICS out of education.

This didn't happen overnight & won't be fixed overnight.
The corporate assembly-line model does NOT fit education....we are not cranking out widgets, we are shaping & grooming HUMAN BEINGS, who are all diverse & unique "products".

Of course corporate America wants a bunch of droids to labor w/o question or uprising, i.e. uneducated drones. (sigh)

[me b zola]

91. Recommended!

This is how I feel about what is going on. The teachers are being scapegoated as the push to destroy what is left of our public education system marches on. And I very much agree that what we are seeing is a well orchestrated PR campaign. My heart breaks for teachers and for our country. This isn't about a few bad teachers or a few bad parents. The problems that our schools are experiencing is a combination of lack of funding, inequitable funding, and social inequality & poverty. How can parents be supportive of their children's education when they are in utter despair trying to keep a roof over their heads? How can teachers teach children whose basic needs aren't being met?

JUST SAY NO TO SCAPEGOATING. SAY YES TO PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUR TEACHERS!

[abelenkpe]

92. This is all about busting up unions

And privatizing public schools.

There's even a movie coming out soon which features Michelle Rhee called Waiting for Superman.

Here's a review:

Waiting for “Superman”, a new documentary about education reform directed by the Academy Award winning director of An Inconvenient Truth, Davis Guggenheim.

After the movie Bonnie Reiss (CA Secretary of Education) spoke about her frustrations dealing with the unions and their stronghold on Sacramento politicians. Featured in the movie is Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of the D.C. Public Schools, same deal; very slow change because of unions. Seniority, tenure, rubber rooms, and it is all about adults fighting to save their egos and jobs at the expense of the kids. This is especially hard to understand coming from a country where education is available to all, at the same quality, across the country. Where standardized tests and tracking have been in place for decades. That system is not perfect but at least there is proof it can be done better.

The movie opens today at the Arclight and the Landmark, and will play in additional theaters across Los Angeles and the country next Friday. It is a little sloppy in places but the message is very powerful, try and go see it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something needs to be done to counter this movement to privatize public education.

[Melissa G]

93. excellent post!

[onlyadream]

94. So true.

And now I heard they want to base the teachers' salaries on the student performance. So now you'll have teachers in poor areas getting paid even less. A great solution (not).

[Bozita]

95. K&R

[WatchWhatISay]

97. I get it too, BUT

that is because of what I have read here at DU. Most people will never hear this side of the story.

[radhika]

98. In this reptilian wet dream, the privatized schools.....

will hire the most desparate part of the newly-unemployed teachers at HALF the hourly rate they would have if unionized. Survival...by reptile rules.

[theaocp]

99. Yup

...and guess how much effort they're going to put into their job with such incentive?

[ibegurpard]

100. I agree with you but

I don't think it's necessarily about profits to be made from education
I think it's about controlling the curriculum and producing workers who won't question authority and don't have critical thinking skills.

[Politicub]

101. It feels futile to try and stop the for-profit public education juggernaut

Especially since it seems like a majority at the highest levels of government -- including our President -- advocate a model where profit plays a starring role.

The war on public institutions started by the Reagan administration has accelerated, and the decision by the Supreme court to allow limitless spending by corporations for political campaigns is the brick on the gas pedal.

And no one with influence is doing anything to slow down the destruction.

[DissedByBush]

102. I don't blame all teachers, just the bad ones

With that I don't blame unions all the time, just when the protect the bad teachers and prevent progress.

Remember Stand and Deliver? One of the big problems Jaime Escalante had was that he needed to break union rules at the time in order to run his successful math program.

The basic problem is that we forget our education system isn't for the teachers, unions, administrators or politicians.

It's for the kids.

Any time any of the four above get in the way of the education of the kids they need to be dealt with.

Jaime Escalante shouldn't have had to fight with unions in order to educate those kids. It was just wrong.

[ibegurpard]

103. ah yes, you watched a movie and everything became clear to you

[DissedByBush]

107. This is stuff that came out when Mr. Escalante died

Part of what he did was fight against union restrictions so that he could teach the kids.

He also had to fight against administrations. Everybody in the system was looking out for themselves while Mr. Escalante wanted to look out for the kids.

[seabeyond]

109. i have yet to meet a teacher whose interest wasnt my kids. and i interact witht he teachers

got a call today from youngest math teacher to set up a meeting to chat about son. she thinks he can do better. and i will be there

i cannot think of a single teacher i had growing up that was a bad teacher

there are teachers i may not have like. there are a couple teachers boys have had conflicting personalities with.... but so what. life.

not one bad teacher

there work is there. learn it or dont. dont, you flunk

[gkhouston]

105. K&R. Some of my friends are teachers and the amount of crap they put up with is stunning.

Two of them are novice teachers, and one retired early because of how the environment has changed over the years. I sometimes hear her mentoring the younger teachers about documenting every little thing and it's pathetic. It sounds like if the kids don't turn in their homework, it's somehow the teacher's fault for not motivating them properly.

:wtf:

When and how do these teenagers learn to be responsible for anything? I've got a kid in elementary school and if she forgets to do her homework, it's her fault, not someone else's.

[Pholus]

108. I'm repeating, but thank you!

[bertman]

110. Thank you, CoffeeCat. REC. nt

[G_j]

111. you are so right

:applause:

[dkf]

116. Well the teachers are blaming parents. That means you.

[seabeyond]

128. no, the teachers are not blaming my kids. my kids do their job. nt

[gristy]

117. I have a profound respect and sense of thankfulness for my pre-college teachers

I remember so many of them so vividly. Sharper images than most everything that I might remember from those days. But in addition to my regard for those teachers, I must also mention the school district's administration and the town's taxpayers, who supported the schools with their property tax votes. I feel quite fortunate. I wish everyone had a similar opportunity. Their loss is everyone's loss.

A while back my best friend since college said he supported the privatization of schools. He said he thought schools needed to be held "accountable". He had a public school education similar to mine.

If the destruction of this country's public education system continues on its present path and he continues to hold these views, it may well be the end of our friendship.

[johnaries]

118. Oh, bullshit. No one is laying the blame at the feet of teachers.

What we are saying is that teachers cannot be left out of the process. There are a lot of problems in the current system, and ONE of those problems are bad teachers. If you want to address all of the problems, you cannot leave out the fact that bad teachers are one of the many, many problems.

We must address ALL problems. That includes BAD TEACHERS. But that is only a piece of the puzzle - but the BAD TEACHERS want to disrupt any improvement because they are afraid they might be exposed for not doing their job. this is a very heinous action, and they should be vilified for disrupting any attempts at actual progress just to avoid exposure for their own faults.

[Loge23]

131. And how many is that?

I have a Masters (MBA) and after reading this I mentally went through all of the teachers in my educational life. Bad (quite subjective, I must say) or ineffective teachers were about 5% of the total. I challenge anyone to do the same and see what you come up with.
The OP is dead-on with one major point: this is all about privatization. How else can anyone explain this virtual tsunami of criticism towards the teachers and their union? IMO, this is brought and paid for by nefarious interests who smell the money.
It worked for most labor in this country and look at those outstanding results! It worked for hospitals, who now assign nurses twice the patient load the nurses deem safe (yes, another meddlesome union - those nurses).
Sorry, but just about EVERYONE is laying the blame on teachers. This is just another con game designed to rile up the general population against yet another bogeyman. We certainly can't include parents in all of this - parents who may have been able to make a decent living in a union job that allowed them to actually spend some time with their kids. Also, parents who have themselves given up long ago: drop-outs, with low wage jobs who are most susceptible to pitchforks and torch rallies like this one. Public education, once a paragon of the great country that the U.S.A. used to be, is now increasingly the only resource for those whom are unable to pay for private schooling. And we all know how unfair it is that those who can have to pay for those who cannot.
No sarcasm icon needed there - you get my drift.

[seabeyond]

138. i went thru last night. i had a couple i didnt like, but i cant say any "bad".

my oldest had one that laid back style in 2nd grade was very bad, but other kids excelled. a couple other teachers with personality issues. and one son with ONE teacher, he didnt like, may have been bad, or might have just been that.

that is it

i really dont get all this bad.

this is all different states, different income levels, different times.

[Tumbulu]

120. well written and I agree with you completely

in fact I drive my daughter 40 miles to go to a public school where the parents are involved. My "local" public school is 25 miles away and I was the only parent who helped the teachers; the other parents were indifferent or hostile towards them. I could not take it and my daughter was terrified by the constant violence on the playground.

[meowomon]

121. Parental involvement is the key.

It's simple.

[lib_wit_it]

123. K&R. I was a teacher, but couldn't take the pressure of being expected to teach 7th grade math to

(non-identified) emotionally disturbed and/or (un-IDed) learning disabled teens who were barely able to perform 2nd grade math. The school already had the allowable percentage of ED and LD kids, so there couldn't possibly be more.

In one of my classes the majority of kids were talking off-topic, screaming, crying, hitting, cursing, out of their seats, without a pencil (despite being repeatedly given one) or a notebook or their assigned book or their completed homework.

I was working 9-10 hours at school and 2-4 more at home each school day and 4-8 hours at home on the weekend trying to work the expected miracles.

I'd love to know how privatizing the school will improve the odds of non-union, lower-salaried teachers to accomplish that task.

[CoffeeCat]

132. And what happens to those ED and LD kids?

I can't imagine that any organization controlled by corporations--would have
any interest in "broken children." I think these children and their futures
would be pretty bleak if corporations were empowered to make decisions about
their well being.

The perverse relationship between corporations and government creates a slippery
slope when it comes to children. Currently, parents make final decisions about
their children. What happens when a powerful corporation wants your child
on pharmaceuticals and you refuse?

There are many students, as you describe--who are suffering. They have emotional
problems that are due to being neglected and abused at home. What happens to those
kids when they don't produce for the corporations?

So many troubling questions.

[lib_wit_it]

141. In my experience, the Charter School model is a good predictor--those kids will be kicked out of

school. With the charters, at least they got kicked back to the regular public school (Not that we were equipt to handle them either, but we had no choice), but with full privatization, there will be nowhere to kick them back to.

Another possibility is that they send the kids with behavioral issues to privatized juvie lock-ups. (Guess who would hold stock in those.) Perhaps they'll just pass the LD students along through their system, failing to create or follow through on IEPs. Wouldn't want to have any of the profit eaten up with all those special needs.

The rules will be different for the corporate schools, so they'll be able to get away with this sort of thing.

Certainly money ill-spent won't solve public schools' problems, but our schools need smaller class sizes, more special ed support, more counselors, for a start, and those things do require increased funding.

[Winston Wolf]

125. What I Want To Know Is…

How the talking point of “business always does things better than the government could” got started.

I’d love to know why - after all of these years that CLEARLY demonstrate that business does not always do things better - many still promote that talking point.

That talking point likes to take many forms, like…

- Talk about the "success" of Trickle Down Economics

- Talk about the "success" of privatized health care compared to the "failure" of nationalized health care, something that is used by nearly every other industrialized nation on the face of the Earth

- Talk about the "supposed superiority" of privatizing Social Security

- Talk about the "supposed superiority" of privatizing education

- Talk about the "supposed superiority" of privatizing the military

- Talk about the "success" of socializing the nation’s wealth to support financial Goliaths, who in theory, are supposed to return the favor to the "little guy", but in practice, use those taxpayer funds to maintain wealth and power they somehow managed to unjustly re-acquire

I’d love to know why there are currently still people in power, supposedly smart people in power, who still promote this talking point - even promoting the privatization of something as BASIC and ESSENTIAL as education.

Because it seems to me like the rich/elite/the powers that be, are setting up a future generation, taught by corporations, and in effect, governed by corporations. Essentially, a very malleable populace, who wouldn't be taught basic critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking skills, that one essential component for any republic to be able to remain a free and democratic republic.

A skill set to be bred out. In effect, to replace a populace of free thinkers, with a people incapable of differentiating between a policy that is genuinely good, and a policy that is genuinely detrimental.

Right now, I know of many who lack those, basic, necessary, critical thinking skills.

These are the people are manipulated by the likes of Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and the rest of the “little Hitlers” that are running around America, sowing seeds of fear and doubt into Americans concerning their own government, just because it is being run by a Democrat. A "socialist-Nazi-illegitimate President who has a deep seated hatred for white people," as "they" like to call him.

These aforementioned Americans, are either too busy, too uninformed, too under-educated, too poor, too disillusioned, too racist, too polarized, too (insert excuse used to remain willfully uniformed/un-engaged about political/social issues here), to even tell the difference between right and wrong. Between a policy that will be genuinely be in their best interests, and a policy that will end up fucking them in their collective asses.

Maybe I'm just a crazy paranoid.

Or maybe I'm just scared shit-less by Tea-Bagging Brown Shirts who move in violent droves, directed by right wing psychopaths, in a time and setting so disturbingly similar to the run up for World War II.

But I'd still love to know.

(edited for clarification/organization of thoughts/concerns)

[Dinger]

126. Thank You

K & R

[tclambert]

127. Privatization works because private schools get to select the students most likely to succeed.

They don't waste time and money on the "losers." Public schools then have to try to educate the students with the least advantages, and the least hope to benefit from school.

I kept waiting for Oprah to mention the Kalamazoo Promise. That program, of guaranteed college scholarships, works like magic. And it works by directly changing the expectations of the students.

[LWolf]

129. Thank you. nt

[Panaconda]

136. K&R n/t

[disillusioned73]

137. I thank you for this, and I will forward this to my wife..

who works in one of these inner city/poverty afflicted schools that you descride so well..... it's a damn shame what is going on. What's even more disheartening is that the majority of teachers(I believe) are unaware of what is happening.

My mother in law that spent her whole life in education, retired as principle of an inner city elementary school mentioned recently how she was excited to see that propaganda movie thats coming out soon - she is a complete OprahBot (unfortunately). I said to her that I didn't believe education or healthcare for that matter should be a for profit industry - I am unsure if it sunk in....

I sometimes feel that the corporate media is unbeatable, most people just don't have the time or the patience to wade through all of the BS/distractions

[dionysus]

139. it sucks bad parenting gets a pass. there's only so much a teacher can do. if the kid doesn't want

or can't learn, there's not much a teacher can do...