Democrats and Schools

[groovedaddy]

The Democratic Party has battled for universal health care this year, and over the decades it has admirably led the fight against poverty — except in the one way that would have the greatest impact.

Good schools constitute a far more potent weapon against poverty than welfare, food stamps or housing subsidies. Yet, cowed by teachers’ unions, Democrats have too often resisted reform and stood by as generations of disadvantaged children have been cemented into an underclass by third-rate schools.

President Obama and his education secretary, Arne Duncan, are trying to change that — and one test for the Democrats will be whether they embrace administration reforms that teachers’ unions are already sniping at.

It’s difficult to improve failing schools when you can’t create alternatives such as charter schools and can’t remove inept or abusive teachers. In New York City, for example, unions ordinarily prevent teachers from being dismissed for incompetence — so the schools must pay failed teachers their full salaries to sit year after year doing nothing in centers called “rubber rooms.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/opinion/15kristof.html?th&emc=th

[EC]

1. Good schools will also

increase the number of Democrats. Only stupid become repuge.

[Smarmie Doofus]

2. We will be more than happy to get rid of the rubber rooms.

The city... i.e. the republican, pro-privatization, anti-union gov't of billionaire Michael Bloomberg.... insists on keeping them.


http://www.rubberroommovie.com/

Kristoff is gullible as hell.

Edit to add: Also, his employer, NYT, has been relentlessly anti-teachers' union since the *1960's*. In other words ... since there WAS a teachers' union in NYC.

Look it up.

[tonysam]

4. NYC schools are ground zero

for what is happening all over the country to teachers. If your district isn't resorting to widespread abuse of teachers in order to save money, it will be soon. At the same time the unions sit idly by, allowing this to happen and are often in cahoots with the administrators who engage in it.

No wonder public schools are going down a rathole.

[Dinger]

3. "cowed by Teacher's Unions"

nice. Nice smear article on teachers and their unions.

-1 from me

[PVnRT]

5. I guess posting RW filth is OK

as long as it has praise of Obama and Duncan in it.

Amazing what DU is quickly becoming.

[Dinger]

6. Goddamn PVnRT, You Speak For Me

RW filth indeed. You said it in a nutshell.

[donco6]

9. Oh yeah.

Any education thread quickly devolves into "Well, here's what *I* heard!" followed by some anecdote about School X in South Bumfuck that did something someone didn't like.

It's horrible here.

[LWolf]

7. Duncan and Obama's reforms aren't worth embracing.

They are corporate union-busting and privatization reforms.

If Democrats "embrace" reforms like that, they can kiss any support from me goodbye.

[Dinger]

8. Me Neither

Sheesh.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Well first you have to assume that our children are being served by third-rate schools

Lost me right from the start. LOL