Corporate KINGS & Welfare QUEENS
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| Fri, 09-19-2008 - 6:13am |
They have a lot more in common than politicians imagine, those corporate kings & welfare queens:
1) They believe they can make foolish decisions, and the government will bail them out;
2) They believe they can focus on short term gratification, and the government will take care of the future;
3) They don't understand that those who consume without adding value will eventually kill the goose that laid the golden egg.
It has been fashionable to make fun of the middle class. . .those amusing "little people" who get up every day and go to work, real work that requires them to be present and productive. . .those quaint "little people" who believe in God and country. . .those old fashioned little people who actually believe in living within one's means and paying as you go and saving for the future.
It has been considered oh-so-clever to look down on the children of the middle class who don't attend an Ivy League school - but who value an education nevertheless: enough to work their way through to a degree even though it may take them more than four years and their classmates may not be trust fund babies.
The intelligentsia has gleefully looked down its nose at people who do an honest day's work (oh, say work in an oil field or on a fishing boat). . .rather than lounge in an ivory tower, engage in white collar fraud, or feed at the public trough.
The media has delighted in making fun of women who don't wear designer clothes or $400 hairstyles. . .after all, how quaint not to be a purveyor of all that Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Town & Country have to offer.
Most of all, the politicians have been disdainful of the everyday people who have asked - who is going to pay for the cradle to grave society and the golden parachutes you have promised to buy the votes that keep you in power???
Of all the candidates, Gov Sarah Palin is the one who understands those old fashioned values that made the US great - the values that will save us now. . .if corrupt politicians will stop pandering to their favorite vote selling constituency and do the right thing!
What is the right thing: revise the tax code to reward productivity; stop penalizing the elderly who work after retirement; drastically revise the education system - demanding accountability from public schools and the teachers who staff them - it is ridiculous that any child can attend school for twelve years and lack basic academic knowledge or a skill that enables them to support themselves/ridiculous that total incompetents have been guaranteed employment; stop the pandering with promises of a free lunch; require those holding mortgages to renegotiate with homeowners in default wherever possible and to eat the losses they fostered if not- people who are struggling to pay for their own homes should not be forced to pay more to bail out the irresponsible; force failing industries to pay a public value price for the low interest loans they desire: elect Boards who engage in REAL oversight, prosecute those corporate kings who have breached their fiduciary duties - seize their ill-gotten gains and send them to jail (the corporate king who defrauded millions from shareholders is as much of a thief as the drug addict who robbed a 7-11); drill here and drill now and do whatever is necessary to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries who hate us.

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I agree with your logic and think the idea of measuring student progress while in a particular teacher's class is excellent.
I agree - up to a point - there are many factors out of our control. Here are some examples of real students in my school.
Migrant children who you have for part of every year - they spend the rest of the year in another state - so who is responsible for their test scores?
Students who bounce back and forth all over the county - start in my school, get evicted, move to the middle school across the county, get evicted again, end the year with me - who is responsible for their scores?
Students whose parents are oblivious - last year I had a student who skipped more than 20 times - and was suspended a total of 10 days in addition - how would my teaching skills be measured since he missed over 30 days in total?
Within schools you have many distinct types of students - the overachievers that everyone wants to teach who will make progress with even the worst of teachers whose progress is practically guaranteed. Making progress of one year would be a walk in the park with this group.
Then there is the group that comprises most of my students - very academically unmotivated, lower socioeconomic group, dysfunctional families, possibly homeless, history of 'challenging' behavior, possibly in foster care, one or both parents in the penal system - sometimes for this group survival is the top priority and learning takes a back seat - for this group even with the best teacher a years growth may not be achievable every year. Would you penalize the teacher? I count myself a good teacher, and I have been fortunate that my students have made gains each year, but every year it is a nail-biting experience. Too often this group is given up on and too often the money goes to the first group, certainly most teachers would prefer the first group. But how would you account for the teaching challenges of the second group? If teachers were penalized you would soon find fewer teachers willing to take that challenge.
Personally I love the second group - because when you see the light bulb go on you know you have really achieved something. When a student who has spent much of the year in in school suspension comes back and tells you you were the best teacher he ever had you know you have made a difference. When you see your 'thug wanna be' student in the grocery store and he offers to load the groceries in your car you know you have made a difference. But it is a long hard struggle at times especially if you are to make the same gains with these students as with the first group. There is just not the same support from home many times and it really makes a difference. At some point parents - all parents - have to be part of the solution.
Every profession has to deal with persons who are not "ideal" - doctors have patients who won't follow instructions, lawyers have clients without perfect cases, salesmen have prospects both good and bad, builders have customers who change their minds and are difficult to please, accountants have clients who don't bring in paperwork until April 14th, coaches have athletes who are more or less gifted or dedicated, restaurants have patrons who are picky eaters and poor tippers, etc.
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Yes but you see there is the problem - the schools that most need the funds are the schools in the poor districts. I teach in a poor county so we have less money available than the richer counties nearby. We are already trying to do all of the things you suggested, but with rising fuel costs - we are strapped. Class sizes have grown from 18 students 5 years ago to 33 students this year - we are one of the lowest paid counties in our state - so why would a new teacher even consider us??? From what I hear there are still some open positions because the new teachers went elsewhere. So how do we even things up?
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Your examples don't really fit - A lawyer can appeal or request an extension, salesman can offer to lower the price, a CPA can get an extension. Coaches can cut players who don't practice or play well - teachers cannot. Restaurants can select better produce - teachers must teach those who show up. Yes every profession has its challenges, I don't dispute that. But there are some problems with education that are outside the teachers control and yet at the end of the day it feels like we are the only ones held responsible. At some point there has to be an level playing field, right now there is not.
I don't know what state you live in, but in my metropolitan area we spend as much per public student per year as the tuition in most private schools.
We are not in a metro area - just a poor rural county. I don't think our county has the same political problems with teachers unions as yours appears to have. We did not even get a raise this year and no one talked about striking. As for vouchers that wouldn't work in our county either. With a large percentage of poor transportation would be a problem, the few private schools we have do not provide transportation so only students with transportation could go. Many of our students are on free breakfast and free lunch - again a service the few private schools would not be able to meet. So in reality the only students who could benefit are the students who are already succeeding. The voucher system would just leave the poor students in school with less money - then where would they be?
I don't have the answer - but I also don't think that whatever the answer may be it won't be a one size fits all answer. What works in a metro area probably will not work in a rural area.
You are right about the difference in rural and metropolitan areas, each have a different set of problems.
Every time education is discussed on this Board, many people participate in the thread - there is obvious concern and interest in improving our education system - but we aren't hearing very much about it in the campaigns.
Do you really think public schools are so bad?
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