Do You Get It? (Rant Warning):

[Dinger]

If Obama And Duncan destroy public schools and unions, groups that supported him in the primaries and general election, he and others who go along with this BULLSHIT will lose the vote of millions of teachers, and possibly other union workers as well. I worked goddamn hard to get Barack Obama elected. I donated, yes I did, and I volunteered several times to get out the vote, including taking my ONE allowed personal day on election day, to get out the vote, and this is the shit sandwich I'm supposed to eat??
How long are WE (teachers, unions) supposed to wait for an education policy that actually includes the voice of those that teach in a classroom?? There are three major contributing factors to a child's learning success: Home, Community, and School. If your focus is on ONE of those three components (teachers=school), then you leave out the other two. Is that really a great idea? People that base their ENTIRE opinion of the public school system on their own personal experience are NOT helping the situation. Do you know that voucher and charter schools are not held to the same standards as public schools (in most states? You can talk accountability all day, but if the standards are not the same, it doesn't mean a damn thing. I told that to Russ Feingold, Herb Kohl, and Steve Kagen last week. They did not disagree with me. I am working hard on getting a town hall meeting in my community, and I do think it will happen. Other nearby teachers' unions will be invited. They will be made to understand that out votes will be EARNED, not given as a result of empty promises.

Here is my warning: IF YOU GO DOWN THIS PRIVATIZATION, CHARTERIZATION, MILITARIZATION, UNION BUSTING right wing public education-destroying agenda, YOU LOSE MY VOTE!



I'm not hiding behind any walls either. I don't have anyone on ignore either. Come 'n get me. I'm ready.

[katandmoon]

1. K&R!

[tekisui]

2. You have to stand on your principles.

We are not indebted to our elected representatives. They must earn our support and our vote. I don't blame you for your position.

[wtbymark]

3. I agree, teachers are getting peed on lately

and if unions go by by - everbody will be working for minimum wage, until the corporations do away with that.
another race to the bottom

[Nikki Stone1]

49. It's been going on for years, but now it has been accelerated.

Hedgefunds want those taxpayer dollars.

[zeemike]

96. You got that right.

It has been the motivation sense Regan to privatize every function of government including education.
Or should I say especially education, because the more kids are home schooled or sent to fundie schools the more brain dead we become as a whole.
They have been intentionally destroying public schools for years.

[Rage Inc.]

84. Not all teachers are great.

I've met several who suck! Just sayin'

[marew]

125. I agree. Like in every profession, there are a few bad ones but

in the Florida county I live in there appears to be an all out war against teachers. I am a retired teacher myself, having received excellent evaluations during my career. Get rid of the bad teachers, of course. But don't turn the lives of all teachers upside down. Right now, among other things,they are planning to change the formula for a teacher's retirement pension here in Fl so teachers will receive much less in retirement. Teacher salaries are already paid much less here than in other places. I spoke with a high school teacher last week. He teaches in a school with 119 teacher and says 4 of them should not be teaching. So why not go after the 4 and not demoralize all of them? Many good teachers will leave and students will suffer if this goes through.

[SocialistLez]

140. Exactly

Tactics like firing all teachers just because a few are bad remind me of when my high school would cancel events for my student class just because ONE or TWO students decided to make a bad decision.

I think instead of putting all this blame on teachers, we need to look at the parents.
Too many parents see kids as a babysitter and expect the teachers to teach their child EVERYTHING.

I remember going home after pre-school and my dad going over my homework with me, reading to me, me reading to him (I learned to read before Kindergarden and in 8th grade I was reading on a sophomore college level), etc.

We need to get away from all these standardized tests and measure students in other areas.
A teacher's skill at teaching and her expertise shouldn't be determined by some standardized test. I knew plenty of students that didn't give a da** on those tests. They would just go to sleep or bubble in answers without a care in the world.

I had great teachers throughout my K-12 life and I don't want them losing out just because some kid decided not to give a damn.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

[RedCloud]

161. teachers very often have to make students learn IN SPITE OF THEMSELVES!

They have little will power. There is too much tech toying around.

[Name removed]

146. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mithreal]

162. This one is a broken record, lost cause

[dembotoz]

4. k and r

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Well . . .

:yourock: :applause: :yourock:

:yourock: :applause: :yourock:


:yourock: :applause: :yourock:

[Nikki Stone1]

52. Agreed!

:yourock:

[eleny]

6. k&r

i'm disgusted with giving republican ideas so much credence.

they get in office and cut a wide swath in our lives. we get our people into office and the other side's philosophy still has a huge seat at the table.

[progressoid]

7. Try to look on the bright side,

You'll probably get a nice bottle of sewer water to wash down that shit sandwich before too long.


As someone who also volunteered and donated, I'm getting a pretty bad taste in my mouth too. k/r

[saracat]

8. K + R . You rock! I notice the only response to this is "crickets"

Can it be that finally some realize this is indefensible?

[Chulanowa]

9. I'm a hardcore Obama supporter

I've been slapping around the whiny bevy of haters since he got nominated.

But yeah, what's going on with education is fucking indefensible and disgusting

[Nikki Stone1]

55. It's been planned for quite some time.

Part of the neoliberal ideology.

[Nikki Stone1]

53. There's a response

IM Me

[madfloridian]

10. And you are in the position now of getting their attention...

with your recent award. Kudos to you and keep fighting.

[Dinger]

21. Thank You madfloridian

And if things go just right, I will have a national voice. I have climbed the first rung, two more to go. I will not miss an opportunity.

[donco6]

11. He Dinger, did you see who won RTTT funds?

The only two states that have teacher evaluations tied to student test scores on statewide tests.

Hmmm . . . what's that tell ya?

We already have a bill in Colorado proposing the same thing. Couldn't get it submitted fast enough.

[YvonneCa]

40. Same in California. n/t

[Nikki Stone1]

44. That's a huge message.

..

[proud2BlibKansan]

110. Also few union teachers in those states

Randi made this point on Bill Maher the other night ~ The states with the lowest percentage of union teachers also fire the fewest.

[Enthusiast]

118. Did de unionization of our nation's industry

prevent the manufacturing jobs from leaving the country? I think not.

[SocialistLez]

141. On local radio

they said the biggest thing is getting teacher unions to sign on.

Well that should tell you something.

Instead of looking deeper into the issue, this left the impression on most people in this red state that it's the teachers' fault that the states aren't getting these federal funds.

[RaleighNCDUer]

166. That RTTT funding confuses me a bit -

those states who are doing the BEST, meaning they are LEAST in need of additional funding, are the ones getting the extra funds?

Do I have that right?

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Yes I do

the Second Age of Morgan is upon us.

And I do not expect many to understand THAT reference.

[laughingliberal]

27. Okay, I had to look it up. Very appropriate. nt

[Hannah Bell]

95. but you supported the bankster bailout very vehemently, so i recall.

cognitive dissonance?

[RaleighNCDUer]

168. Preventing the complete collapse of the economy was a necessary thing.

Where the bailout failed was in not attaching strings to them which would have made re-organization imperative, creating a new structure where no bank would be too big to fail - thus preventing it from EVER having to be repeated.

As it was, we saved the economy but didn't change it at all, ensuring that it will happen again.

[Jakes Progress]

13. K&R DLC turns a deaf ear to Dinger at their peril.

He is only voicing the mood and frustration of millions of others.

[tbyg52]

14. Thank you.

:patriot:

[tonysam]

15. A big, big rec for this one. n/t

[H2O Man]

16. Recommended.

I get it.

[inna]

17. KR+26

[Lyric]

18. But...but...the Republicans will win!!!!11

And if THEY win, they'll go ahead with their privatizing, charterizing, militarizing, union busting, right-wing, public-education-destroying agenda!

Oh wait...

[laughingliberal]

28. +1 nt

[obxhead]

78. +2

[Tailormyst]

19. I stand with the teachers and the unions

People need to come before politicians.

[cornermouse]

20. Me too.

k & r.

[waiting for hope]

22. K&R

If I may, a repost of something I wrote at another place ..

Of course they won't admit what they are doing, as designed by NCLB, causing the public school system to fail in order to insert disaster capitalism by using Charter Schools as the replacement, thus being able to union bust and impose class separation. If they truly wanted to find an answer and solutions, they would look to how the family model has changed, how communities play a part in helping children learn and supporting those issues instead of attacking teachers.

Union bustng is right, and that is exactly what they are doing.

BTW - :yourock:

[Dinger]

23. They Should Look At The Role Of Poverty And Unemployment Too

That fits into my "community" component of education. The other two are school and home.

P.S. Thank you.:)

[Nikki Stone1]

48. If they were serious about fixing the schools, they would. What they really want is a takeover

for their hedgefund buddies and teachers their chosen villains: the people who have the LEAST power over the system,

[marew]

127. Exactly! n/t

[SocialistLez]

142. +1

One of my teachers remarked "They want us to do all this work and teaching while being completely ignorant of the fact that most of our kids come from poor families and don't have a stable home life."

I went to a minority-majority high school.
The majority of the minority kids could care less about what grades they made, how well they did on standardized tests, etc.
I could SOMEWHAT understand this. If your family is on food stamps and you barely have decent clothes on your back, you're not going to be worried about calculus, trigonometry, Shakespeare, college applications, etc.

There were a few standout minority kids such as myself but most days I felt like I was the token black girl whose job was to show black kids in our school can succeed.

The inequality in education these days boils down to class and as most of us know, your class is determined by your socioeconomic status. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Starry Messenger]

24. Absolutely.

"Accountability" is a complete weasel word. Why aren't we holding the Bush cabal "accountable"? Why not the military commanders for this years long disaster in Iraq & Afghanistan? Who got held accountable for Katrina? Who got held accountable for de-funding the schools in the first place? Suddenly education is the "big crisis" and draconian measures are the only solution? Bull-fucking-shit!

[maryf]

172. +1

great mini rant!

[MisterP]

25. alas, those are all neoliberal goals, and Obama has been a consistent neoliberal on the lines of

Hipólito Mejía

and don't count on more than 10 million voters sitting out '10 and '12: with a teabag GOP, Emanuel will snarl, "Do you want to be responsible for THEM winning?!" and browbeat everyone, and many will vote center-right neolib over far-right and go home tail between the legs; Emanel & friends see voters not as a constituency but as a mass that needs to be tased and whipped into the chutes, with the ultimate goal of delivering us up for $3/hour work and $100,000 ever-compounding debt; to them, obedience and bootlicking are virtues

to fanatic loyalists, disagreeing with the Leader or Party is a heinous crime, like peeing on Anne Frank's ashes, because he's so wise and smart and is the author and sponsor of all that is good and happy in the world, and because it had FDR and JFK and LBJ and Tip O'Neil (conveniently neglecting that the party has been working to undo everything good passed by those Presidents

[Dinger]

31. Whoa, Great Rant!

:hi:

[Nikki Stone1]

46. Wow. That's a rant and a half.

,

[omega minimo]

26. Arne Duncan is a fast talkin snake oil salesman

Talk so fast stringing nonsense sentences together like you're really saying something so no one has time to question or wonder what you meant cuz you just keep talkin and you're in charge of the Dept of Education so you must know what you're talkin about.........


Right?

[Catshrink]

29. Excellent rant, my friend!

:yourock:

[laughingliberal]

30. K & R nt

[tnlefty]

32. "millions of teachers" and may I add parents who support

them and don't want the privitazation of schools and who want better for our kids? I'm not happy that TN is part of the Race to the Bottom, er, Top.

It's always been my view that our society as a whole benefits from a good FAPE. NCLB has been a disaster in my home, my teacher friends have been more than stressed, and this appears to me that it's gonna be all of that on steroids. I'm just glad that my younger 2 don't have that many years left in high school to deal with this crap.

Thank you for what you're doing, and I'm curious about your award. I did see a teacher from NJ on c-span last week who was mentioning this.

[cornermouse]

36. The NCLB end of year exam is stressing my grandchild out as well.

This isn't the way school is supposed to be for the early elementary grades. The early elementary years should be used to teach children the basics, build for the future by teaching them the joy of learning so that they want to continue past high school, and just be children.

[tnlefty]

38. Yep, but I was freaked out when I received a notice

from school in my youngest's first grade year about the testing schedule...he's 15 now. My boys had a joy of learning and they were excited about going to school and I'm really glad that my younger two don't have many years left in public school.

[cornermouse]

92. My grandchild's considerably younger.

She's definitely feeling the stress and need to succeed. I'm starting to get worried that this could discourage her from going on to college.

[Nikki Stone1]

47. They have turned this into constant stress for students and teachers.

I wonder if that is to become the new normal in corporate education?

[cornermouse]

91. Probably.

Third grade is far too young to be put under the pressure she's feeling.

[Reader Rabbit]

101. Well, I have noticed that my teaching experience is increasingly...

...similar to a Dilbert cartoon. It seems that not a day goes by where I don't find something in Scott Adams' strip that completely parallels crap that's been happening in the school system since the advent of NCLB.

[Solly Mack]

33. k/r

[Odin2005]

34. K&R

[Nikki Stone1]

35. .

.

[pleah]

37. K AND R!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[ProSense]

39. "If Obama And Duncan destroy public schools and unions, groups

that supported him in the primaries and general election, he and others who go along with this BULLSHIT will lose the vote of millions of teachers, and possibly other union workers as well."

Do you believe he and the others who support his programs are so clueless that they don't know this?

Also, what happens if he doesn't "destroy" public schools and unions, groups that supported him? What if his plan works?

[Dinger]

43. If You think His Plan Will Work,

I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you, cheap!

Seriously, if you think this plan will work, make it CLEAR to me how that will happen. I just don't see how. I don't want to wait and hope for the best. Suckers do that.

[ProSense]

45. No thanks, but

it appears that you have already made up your mind that it will not work. So now what?

[Dinger]

54. Now What?

ProSense, I've been busy today, trust me. One thing I've done is work on organizing a town hall meeting with my congressman. Topics will be education reform and solutions that actual teachers think will work, along with research to prove it. Nearby districts will be invited. I've done this before, with success. I hope I can do it again. I am cautiously optimistic, and I am NOT a sucker, AND I've done more than that today. I would love to work WITH Obama on this, and so would other teachers, but he apparently doesn't want that. I heard on Olbermann tonight that Obama said he wants to continue to work with republicans and listen to their issues, even if they don't vote for those issues. In other words, he'll do what they want (to a degree) even if it costs him politically. Oh how I wish Obama would say that about Democrats.

[ProSense]

58. Like I said,

you have already made up your mind.

I would love to work WITH Obama on this, and so would other teachers, but he apparently doesn't want that...In other words, he'll do what they want (to a degree) even if it costs him politically. Oh how I wish Obama would say that about Democrats.

[Dinger]

60. Yes I Have, But I Will Acknowledge The Fact That

I have been wrong before. I sincerely hope I was not wrong to vote for Obama. I feel like I've been fooled, like a sucker. That's a sickening feeling, one I can't seem to rid myself of. Maybe, just maybe things will change. Not looking good right now though.

[liberation]

150. The thing is that the burden of proof is not on you

Mr. Obama and his fan club should provide a single damned example in which union busting has had a good outcome for the middle and lower classes.

I am not talking about many examples or justifications. Just ONE, a SINGLE damned point example.

Trust, just like respect, is earned not granted. A lesson which seems to be lost among the conservative crowd, and I don't think is a coincidence it seems to also be lost in the average Obama diehard supporter at this point.

[Name removed]

74. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[liberation]

148. Your projection is glorious... and sad at the same time

When have you ever remotely consider realigning any of your views into any position which is not 100% in line with this Obama administration?

It takes a certain level of brass balls to act like a de facto DLC public relations agent in this site, and chastise others for having their "minds made up."


Good grief.

[Nikki Stone1]

51. You're very nice to ask

:hug:

[YvonneCa]

50. My hope is that he is SUCCESSFUL in...

...making public schools better for children...and for the future of our country.

I think the wrong people have Obama's ear. Klein, Bloomberg, Gates, Rhee...all the reform establishment...should be heard. But so should teachers. Teachers do not have Obama's ear. That doesn't make Obama (or the others) 'clueless'...but they don't have the full picture. To be successful, the President needs complete information. Someone has convinced him otherwise. I disagree.

I think Obama has honorable intent. His goals are critical...and time is 'of the essence.' But, if he shuts out teachers, our schools will suffer. It's what I (and many others) see. I DO hope we are wrong.

:hi:

[Dinger]

56. Hmmmm. Good Post

It calms me a bit, and I need that.

[YvonneCa]

63. Thanks, Dinger. I guess I'm just a relentless...

hopemonger. :7 I don't think it is too late. I want Obama to be the President that does this RIGHT. Then I'll feel really good about my 24 year contribution.:)

[ProSense]

62. Yes, good post

To be successful, the President needs complete information. Someone has convinced him otherwise.

This is where I see the discrepancy. It's a difference of opinion, and Obama could be wrong, but we'll see.

[YvonneCa]

67. Thanks, Prosense. But he HAS...

...to get it right. Too much is at stake for him not to succeed.

[waiting for hope]

73. I really don't think Obama's intentions were

more than to do exactly what is going on, and Arne Duncan was his choice for that:

Who Will Obama Pick as Secretary of Education?

~Snip~

JOEL KLEIN

Current position: New York City schools chancellor

Why he could be tapped: In New York, the former Clinton appointee has distinguished himself as a keen reformer under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. An attorney by training, Klein has also shown himself adept at working with unlikely partners — union leaders as well as the Rev. Al Sharpton — and is a major proponent of charter schools, a keystone in Obama's education agenda.

Why the job will go to someone else: With Bloomberg recently getting the OK to seek a third term as mayor, Klein may prefer to stay put and finish the job of reforming New York's 1,500 schools.


~Snip~

ARNE DUNCAN

Current position: CEO of Chicago Public Schools

Why he could be tapped: Like Klein in New York, Duncan has made a name for himself as a reformer in a big city, accomplishments candidate Obama highlighted several times on the campaign trail. He's also a close friend and basketball buddy of the President-elect. And unlike Darling-Hammond, Duncan could represent a more neutral selection.

Why the job will go to someone else: A Duncan nod could risk upsetting Chicago mayor Richard Daley, a vocal advocate of the Chicago schools' chief.

JAMES HUNT, JR.

Current position: Former governor of North Carolina

Why he could be tapped: As governor, Hunt focused attention on one of Obama's key schools proposals: expanding early childhood education, especially to low-income and minority children. He also worked hard to improve teacher quality, testing innovations in this area of perpetual struggle for American schools. On the federal level, he recently served on Spellings' Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

Why the job will go to someone else: Hunt has not been especially outspoken on how to expand charter schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools, which appears to be a priority for the Obama team.

~Snip~

Where They Stand On: Education?

Obama
•Wants to increase funding for charter schools, though highlights the need for accountability
•Would fund and reform it, reducing focus on tests and punishment of under-performing schools
•Provides assistance for under-performing teachers but would replace them if progress isn't made

Obama from the start has been a backer for Charter Schools - don't kid yourself, Arne is doing what he is being told to do.

[YvonneCa]

75. I agree Duncan is following...

...Obama's directions. But both...no disrespect intended...are neophytes when it comes to education. They lack perspective. They need to be taught. ;)

I think there are a few teachers around here...someplace... :7

[ProSense]

83. No, they were not

This is what Obama ran on:

• Reform No Child Left Behind: Obama and Biden will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama and Biden believe teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. They will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama and Biden will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.
  
  
• Support High-Quality Schools and Close Low-Performing Charter Schools: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will double funding for the Federal Charter School Program to support the creation of more successful charter schools. The Obama-Biden administration will provide this expanded charter school funding only to states that improve accountability for charter schools, allow for interventions in struggling charter schools and have a clear process for closing down chronically underperforming charter schools. Obama and Biden will also prioritize supporting states that help the most successful charter schools to expand to serve more students.

link

Obama tackles merit pay after getting NEA endorsement

By Jackie Kucinich - 07/05/08

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Saturday thanked the National Education Association for its endorsement but also made it clear that he continues to support merit pay for teachers.

His position is a controversial one with the 3.2 million member group and it has earned him criticism when he addressed the NEA in 2007.

“Now I know this wasn’t necessarily the most popular part of my speech last year but I said it then and I’m saying it again now because it’s what I believe and I will always be an honest partner to you in the White House,” said the Illinois senator, who spoke to the group via satellite from Montana.

Obama proposes to raise teacher pay through merit based rewards for work above and beyond their positions. The issue has long been a widely opposed proposal among the NEA due to its potential for abuse through favoritism and “subjective” evaluations.
The senator pledged to fix the unpopular “No Child Left Behind Act,” saying, that while the law had been passed in 2002 with good intentions, it had ultimately failed to produce the desired results.

“Let me be clear NEA, opposing No Child Left Behind alone is not an education policy it’s just the starting point. We’ve got more work to do,” Obama said and then listed the votes in presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) record that he deemed wrong on education.

more

None of this precludes pressuring him to change his position, but his position is not new.

[YvonneCa]

86. No, his position is not new, but...

...it started out as a framework, with few details. On the merit pay issue, it's the details that are the problem. How do you define and measure an 'effective teacher'? Most teachers...knowing the scope and full responsibility of the job in the real world, have trouble with reducing what they do to a student test score.

This is a message that I think the administration is starting to hear.

[Fire1]

134. Exactly, YvonneCa!! I recall thousands of us e-mailing and

blogging on "Change.gov," BEGGING him to end NCLB, pointing out to him the divisiveness of merit pay, etc., etc. apparently, to no avail.

[Hannah Bell]

99. he doesn't have honorable intent. which is demonstrated by shutting out the input of teachers

which even a child would include as a matter of fairness alone.

[Hannah Bell]

97. "what if his plan works?" -- oh, it will "work" all right. but not to improve education, the lives

of children, or the condition of the majority.

don't you ever get tired of pushing nonsense?

[liberation]

152. I do hope they at least get paid

shilling constantly, for free, during these economic times does not make that much "sense" and he is a pro so...

I love how the same crowd who loves to call us lefties as disconnected from reality and being impractical, use "coulda/shoulda/woulda" as statements of fact to justify their points of view. "What if" is a dangerous path and a recognition that they are reaching at the bottom of the barrel trying to find excuses for stuff that is self evident in its failure. It means they can't use reality and facts to back up their assertions.

What if... what If my grandma had balls? We would have called her grandpa. Alas she was always my lovely nonna til the day she passed away. I am not interested in "what if" I rather focus on "what is" instead. Alas, I assume "reality" is a much tougher mistress to deal and work with...

[proud2BlibKansan]

114. This plan is already a proven failure

They tried it in NY. It didn't work. And instead of admitting the test scores hadn't risen to the heavens like they predicted, they just changed the criteria so it looks like the kids in the charters are doing better. Diane Ravitch calls this the great Test Score Ponzi scheme. And the destruction of the NYC public schools continues.

They tried it in Chicago. It didn't work there either. Test scores did NOT go up under Arne. A bunch of wealthy white people gentrified neighborhoods, displacing the poor. They called in favors in Arne's office to get their kids in the schools they wanted, pushing low income minority kids onto buses to be exported into far away schools. And worst of all, Arne turned high schools serving poor minority kids into military academies, ensuring a fresh crop of sacrificial lambs err I mean military recruits. And the only gain is upper income MBAs no longer have a long commute from the suburbs to work in the city.

This plan does NOT work for our kids. Destroying their neighborhoods and taking their schools away is not an effective plan.

[RaleighNCDUer]

169. His plan IS to destroy the public schools and unions.

That is the cornerstone to Duncan's 'reforms'. Privatizing the schools.

And the privatized schools will be NO better than what they are replacing. It is not even a matter of good private/charter schools replacing bad public schools - it will simply replace one overstressed system with another overstressed system, and the replacement will not have the safeguards provided by the unions.

It is a race to the bottom.

[maryf]

174. RTTB is about it, nt.

[maryf]

173. If his plan works

he'll have what he wants, a bunch of drones and cannon fodder...and a well-educated ruling class...

[demmiblue]

41. I get it, and I stand behind you!

:toast:

[lonestarnot]

42. K & R!

[Born_A_Truman]

57. What suggestions do you have to address "home"?

My husband is also a teacher. I'd like your opinions on what can be done about the first contributing factor and what role government has in the home.

[Dinger]

68. Parental Involvement Is Crucial

One way we do that at my school is to hold regular "family nights." A light supper is provided, with a program or activity to follow. We have themes such as science night, reading night, anti-bullying, and other themes, which occasionally include special guests. I am in charge of the April Family night this year, and I am very happy and thrilled that I have been able to secure a guest, a retired NFL player who I know, to come and talk to the kids to our entire PreK-12 school about overcoming obstacles and positive attitudes. Here is an excellent article that sums up what exactly he has had to overcome:

http://www3.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=91261

It's an excellent read, a little long, but believe me, well worth it.

I was able to get the funding for this due to an award I won recently. I am grateful that my superintendent let the grant money be used as I requested.
In summary, this is but one thing our district does to encourage family involvement. Better than 80% of our students are on free and reduced lunch, and we have won awards for our performance on standardized tests, which are but one measure of student learning. This speaker is someone I have wanted to come here for a long time. He will be wonderful. He has already donated much to my summer school class the last 7 years. To say I am looking forward to this is an understatement. I will post pics and comments here.

[Dinger]

147. *A Request, Please Read This Post* (#68)

We're a small rural school district, and these family nights are a wonderful way to make that all-important connection between the home, school, and community. I have worked particularly hard on this one, and I am very happy that it will happen. I'm curious what you think, all of you.

[SocialistLez]

143. I wouldn't want "government" intervention

It would be nice if community groups came together and tried to encourage more parental involvement.


At the same time, if you're a single mom having to work two jobs, it's very hard to be involved in your child's schooling.
http://socialistworker.org/2010/01/13/the-parental-engagement-trap


My dad was very involved in my education during K-12. He would bring donuts to my class about once a month, he came to parent teacher conferences often, he knew all my teachers and all my teachers knew him, etc.

You barely see that in schools today. In high school, I wouldn't expect it but K-8th I think it's pretty crucial.

I think this broadband goal the administration has is admirable. At the same time, we have to make sure low socioeconomic students have access to an updated computer. What good is having access to broadband if you don't even have a working computer?

It's more a cultural and societal change that has to occur rather than schools mandating parental participation.
Unfortunately, some parents won't EVER care and it ends up hurting everyone in the end.

I have a lot of ideas but I can't make changes all by myself. I'd love to do things to help students in my area but I know I can't do it alone. I'm just a 19 year old college kid trying to make it.

[GreenArrow]

59. "Race to the Top," baby!

You gotta love it. Unlike the most recent education policy idiocy -- "No Child Left Behind" (which of course, had no such result) -- we now get a "Race to the Top," thus guaranteeing that some children will be left behind.

[dave29]

61. one thing that helps is not having kids or owning property

keeps the rage down some. But something else will always get ya.

[mike_c]

64. we were told yesterday that Duncan fully supports Charles Reid's...

..."deliverology" push in the California State University. This is one of the worst disasters I've ever seen coming down the pipe. It's not only an application of corporate business practices in education management-- something that has failed miserably now for some time whenever it is attempted-- but it's an implementation of reforms that didn't work when Michael Barber invented them in the UK. Not only are we being urged toward inappropriate reforms, we're being forced into reforms that demonstrably damage the institutions in which they are implemented.

[GreenArrow]

66. "reforms that demonstrably do not work"

They work for somebody, namely, money pigs and mammonites.

[mike_c]

69. oddly enough, not even for them....

They "work" by changing the definition of success to include failure of the institutions they're meant to reform. That sounds incredible, but it's true.

[GreenArrow]

72. So why do they persist, do you think?

I didn't mean the reforms work from an educational standpoint, but clearly they must be to someone's benefit.

[pundaint]

88. They "work" because societal improvement is not their agenda, they are Ferengi, who are doing us

while we focus on the Borg.

[unkachuck]

65. K&R....n/t

[me b zola]

70. K&R

[Lydia Leftcoast]

71. I'm with you, Dinger

Parents have a HUGE influence on a child's success in school, as does the community.

It is no coincidence that college towns almost always have excellent public schools. The professors provide a stimulating home environment for their children, and they ride herd on the school board to make sure that their children (and other children) have every educational advantage.

[hayu_lol]

77. Go Dinger...

part of Obama's problem in this area is that he never went to a regular public school. Both his Indonesian experience and his tenure at Punahoe(very private elite school)never let him see what public education really was.

The nation notices that his daughters are not in public school.

[Dinger]

79. Hey You,

Hello!:pals: :loveya:

[Fire1]

130. BINGO!! THIS IS IT!! It is 'critical' that parents AND the

community INSTILL THE VALUE of education. Period.

[grahamhgreen]

76. Well done, thank you. Agree 100%.

[Dinger]

80. Godammit, It Figures I Had Several Typos In Here

I was a little heated when I typed this, at least that's my excuse. Shit.

[mlevans]

81. No argument.

This is beyond merely annoying, and I speak as a former teacher, the son and grandson of teachers, and husband of a school counselor. We gave our all to get the man into the White House, and ought to reasonably expect some serious backing in return. The sort of things going on lately strike me as a case of biting the hand that feeds you. Believe me, you are not alone.

[BrklynLiberal]

82. K&R for a teacher!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Usrename]

85. k&r

:patriot:

[20score]

87. Needed to be said. So, good on you. Rec #95

[Greyhound]

89. Sorry about this, there's a bit of room in front of the left-rear wheel.

:kick: & R

[Dinger]

90. Good, I'll Squeeze In Between Dennis and Wes Clark,

which is FINE with me.

[unapatriciated]

187. lol, thanks I need that.

and K&R. I had the pleasure of knowing many great teachers when my four children attended public school (all are grown now). I only met two who I thought would be better suited to a different line of work (I think that is a damed good record).

[Greyhound]

192. You know that is really good to hear. I'm old and all but four of my teachers

through high school were really awful, so maybe things did improve between then and now.

I had a couple of friends that taught elementary school in SoCal and they were both very good and dedicated to their students but were constantly frustrated by idiotic administration. One of them was awarded some teacher of the year type award the same year he quit in frustration.

[unapatriciated]

193. I remember the good, bad, and the ugly from my school days.

Fortunately the good outnumbered the bad and the ugly.
I had a great H.S. history teacher who was always ranting against the administration.
His class was a favorite of mine.

[sam sarrha]

93. he didnt fuck up the entire world's economy.. Bu$h43 did, unemployment cuts taxes and reduces states...

revenues.. they should reduce the states GOP Representatives by the same percentage as teachers...

[Hannah Bell]

94. Here's the problem; once teachers become unmoored from the institutions of

the profession & exist as at-will individual employees, what coordinates their individual wills into a united force to be reckoned with & their individual voices into a single voice that is heard?

Especially when many will be only too eager or stupid or naive to play the game of competing for the favor of the masters?

this is the real agenda -- dissolving social & particularly institutional solidarity, & taking over the bodies through which it's expressed.

despite what hollywood tells us, individuals qua individuals are weak reeds against the organized power of capital. it's not *your vote* they care about (particularly as they select the candidates in advance...)

people need to get serious in a hurry; they need to organize themselves at the grassroots & pressure their unions & professional organizations, who mostly appear to be selling them out.

[maryf]

177. Absolutely

And if the unions and po's won't take the pressure, the grassroots efforts need to become predominate; we need a teacher's organization that isn't a top-down business model; we need a worker based union...and teachers need to start thinking of themselves as workers...kind of hard as we are the authority figure in the classroom. A bit of a personal paradox for some...

The teachers' unions need to remember that the teachers' job is to educate children; the union's job is to protect our working conditions/compensations so that we can do our jobs to the best of our ability.

[zeemike]

98. Obama has inherited a collapsing building.

That has been undermined for years...It will take Superman to save us.

[Hannah Bell]

100. ...

[ShortnFiery]

102. K & R

I want to be part of any TEAM that you're on Dinger. You're the genuine article. :patriot:

[Reader Rabbit]

103. Thanks for this, Dinger. It's great to wake up to!

I'm feeling guilty, though. All I did on my spring break was work on my house and garden and go to the coast for a few days. Man, I'm a slacker!

[mmonk]

104. I hope to have a story up today about education.

I agree with you. The Health Care legislative victory does not take away the fact many of us have been abandoned in a big bait and switch style of politics.

[LWolf]

105. I'm with you, Dinger.

But then, you knew that. ;)

If Democratic reps and voters are as willing to turn on public education and on labor as the current administration, they're going to find campaign season and election day lonelier.

[eilen]

106. I second your sentiment!

It is sad what is happening to our education system. Things have been going wrong for many years with the bizarre curriculums our schools purchase and then our teachers are constantly having to retrain to teach information in new and obscure manner as well as the difficulty with the children's behaviors. Even in our well-funded district the leadership can be whacked. We have had superintendents misappropriate millions of dollars, pay for capital improvements completed with no oversight in shoddy, unacceptable construction providing for no drainage. Some of our principals have made decisions that leave parents scratching their heads. I feel that blaming the teacher is like blaming the nurse for the wrong medical plan. The teachers have had little autonomy in the classroom, little room for advocacy and have to deal with hostile or absent parents/guardians. The children come with little ability to function in a civil manner, (ie-- sit down at their desk, in their chair, raise hand for teacher's attention) There are bad teachers out there, some are just burnt out-- most decent professionals don't care to work with them. However I do need to point out that in some schools there are teachers or principals who do cover for the bad ones, the ones who are truly not qualified -- don't have the appropriate education and certification standards. But that does not mean that issues like that cannot be repaired. You don't burn down the house because the roof leaks.

People who truly want their children educated after the destruction of public education is complete better dust off their Harvard Classics. For communities without decent free public libraries, I fear the rise of the stupid.

[teacher gal]

107. K&R n/t

[newtothegame]

108. I'd be really surprised if union workers ever abandoned Obama. He's inspiring and made history. nt

ed for sp

[Dinger]

123. Well, It Looks Like You'll Be Surprised Then (nt)

[liberation]

154. You'd be surprised how quickly "inspiration" and "history" get turned to the birds the minute...

... one has to pay bills.

[barbiegeek]

109. Tell me what specifically he's doing that you don't like & why

I have 2 kids one the spectrum and one that is gifted.

I am personally sick of teachers, principles, and advisors that tell me one thing and then can't even follow my son's IEP. Their answer is put him on more medicine, instead of giving him his 3 sensory breaks in his IEP.

I'm sick of the fact my daughter in 4th grade is in the 93% of 8th graders for language, but isn't allowed in accelerated program. I now have to drive an hour and half to get accelerated classes during the summer at $400 a pop so she doesn't lose her skills.

I'm sick, for my son, who I pay an education specialist and testing to have his IQ and capabilities measured, that SHOW him at 5th grade level and they put him in a 3rd grade level. Their response--He likes higher grades--so FUCKING WHAT--challenge him. I'd rather he got 70% at 5th grade level then 100% at 3rd grade.

I'm sick of being told we'll move him up a level and then NOT do it.

We have ITBS & MAP tests in Iowa to map our children's knowledge and EVEN when you kid scores 4 grade levels higher in science class your told she's stupid. She reads 700 minutes a week.

I'm sick that I send my kids to school and then have to do 2-3 hours of course work a night, because they are at the wrong grade levels.

I'm sick of having 4 special ed teachers with a total of 8 students to teach and NOT FUCKING ONE READS HIS MEDICAL REPORTS, HIS IEP, OR OPENS A FUCKING BOOK ABOUT AUTISM DURING THEIR 8 WEEK VACATION IN THE SUMMER tell me that "I didn't know that about your son". REALLY, READ HIS FILE, I BRING YOU EVERYTHING.

I'm sick that every Doctor, Psychiatrist, psychologist, education specialist, Ot, PT, and speech provide my school documentation and NO ONE READS IT.

I'M SICK OF WATCHING FUND RAISERS & SCHOOL $$ SPENT FOR FOOTBALL AND EVERY OTHER SPORT TO SPEND $300 ON A UNIFORM FOR A KID WHO WILL SIT ON A BENCH AND NEVER PLAY AND THERE IS NOT ANY FUCKING $$ FOR AN AIDE FOR MY KID. IF MY SON GET A QUALITY EDUCATION, HE WILL GAIN EMPLOYMENT AND NOT END UP ON WELFARE, BUT THAT'S NOT AS IMPORTANT AS SOME KID WHO NEEDS A FUCKING FOOTBALL PADS WHO SITS ON THE BENCH. IT'S SO MUCH BETTER TO DO NOTHING AND LET HIM GO UNCHALLENGED SO HE CAN END UP HOMELESS, ON WELFARE, OR WORSE VICTIMIZED & BRUTALIZED OR PROSTITUTED ON THE FUCKING STREETS AFTER I'M DEAD & MY LIFE INSURANCE RUNS OUT.

I'm really sick of hearing my special ed teachers tell me how hard they work. I work 10 hours a day with only 2 weeks vacation and 2 weekends a month to pay medical bills and when work offers educational opportunities or training I take it, or I do it on my own. And yes, I too have a bachelors degree.

And I'm really sick of watching special ed teachers treat Aides like shit then to watch the district cut their medical insurance. It's the aides that are helping change the menstrual pads of wheelchair bound kids and they can't get coverage of a hepatitis tests. It's not the special ed teacher changing diapers of wheelchair kids.

I don't know the answer, but I do know there is lazy teachers and some GREAT ones. I miss the great ones. So you all tell me how I work with a team of specialists for my son, teach him & my daughter for 2-3 hours a night of extra course work that I'M NOT DOING MY JOB.

[Nikki Stone1]

113. If your son is autistic, perhaps they don't want to move him up 2 grades for social reasons

Autistics need work in social skills and recognizing social cues, and it may be the thinking that this is probably better to do with kids their own age. Much of the educational literature focuses on the social development of the child.

In terms of your daughter, how are her math skills? There may be a composite score for the accelerated program that relies on a variety of skills.

[proud2BlibKansan]

115. It's about money

The programs this parent has the right to request are just too expensive.

[Nikki Stone1]

116. So it's the district that's putting the kabosh on it?

You know the programs then.

[proud2BlibKansan]

124. The district and the state

and the feds too for not funding these programs.

[Nikki Stone1]

180. Then that's certainly not the teachers' fault.

Money decisions are NOT in the hands of the classroom teacher.

[barbiegeek]

122. Asking to have his IEP filled with sensory breaks & work books they

already have is not a money issue. And they already have an accelerated program, with plenty of students.

[proud2BlibKansan]

128. Sure it is

It involves employee time. And that is money.

I am NOT disagreeing with you. You are right to ask for sensory breaks. But anything a student does individually, especially when that student requires supervision, is an added expense. So is the accelerated program. It's not easy to just add a student.

Again, I am not defending this stance. Just explaining it. It's wrong, but funding regulates what schools do, especially in these tough economic times.

[barbiegeek]

132. Thank you for taking the time to explain.

Seriously, how do we fix this?

[proud2BlibKansan]

133. You need to continue to insist on what is best for YOUR kids

At the state and federal level, we need to demand EQUITABLE funding.

[Nikki Stone1]

181. The funding will only get worse with charters, as will the legal hold parents have

First: charters need to make a profit for hedge funds, and to do this requires taking money OUT of the system, in teachers' salaries and student programs.

Second: Charters in California are exempt from many state laws; parents who have children with special needs do not have the same standing with charters as they do with the public schools. They can sue the public schools. They may not be able to sue the charters. You can see where this might lead.

[proud2BlibKansan]

190. I worked for a few weeks one summer in a charter school

It was about 10 years ago.

While I was there, the company that ran the charter pulled out and a new company came in. Company #1 sent movers to the school to get the things out that Co #1 had paid for. I was in my classroom teaching, my students were working and the movers came in and ~ I swear I am NOT making this up ~ they took the pencils from the kids' hands.

They also started to pack up every book, every piece of paper, everything in the room. Some of it was MINE. They even asked to take down the bulletin board.

This is what happens when for profit companies decide to profit off of our kids.

[barbiegeek]

120. My son has had 9 years of social training therapy & my daughter

scores in the 50% percentile for 8th grade math. We just got done having her take a state test for the gifted. My son is in 7th grade and is in Jr. High and is not socially hanging out with elementary students. In elementary, he was taking 4th -5th work in 6th grade and now in 7th grade they've drop him 1 to 2 grade levels & I have testing documentation to prove them wrong from outside sources.

They will not let my daughter in ANY accelerated programs, I have to go outside the school for it. So she's bored and talks a lot in class now. For her division work she does the long method & the partial quotient method when she only needs to do only one, because she's just sitting there.

Oh, and my son has a savant skill for American history. He can recite every President, VP, political party, treaty, or major event that occurred, in order, out of order, by year, or by Presidential number. Yet, he's not in regular history class.

I live in an upper middle class neighborhood where other parents buy their kids a freaking BMW at 16 (we of course can't afford that, we have medical bills and pay a fortune in rent to live in a nice district) so it's not a money issue for the school, there is no over crowding (20 students/teacher), or a testing kids issue (we've had ITBS for years, starting in 2nd grade). There's not alcoholic crack addict mothers and absent fathers here.

I hate it here. We have very angry teachers and administrators here and I don't know why, but I'm sick of the attitude and being lied too. I've offered to to volunteer in the special ed room (switch jobs) or come for lunch and do sensory breaks with my son. They turned me down, they said NO don't come.

[Nikki Stone1]

182. Who made the decision to drop his level? The school psychologist?

And is this the same person that makes the gifted decisions?

If the teachers and administrators are angry I can see two sources:

1. Pressures from the district or from a particular principal. Principals make a huge difference, and morale goes from the top down.

2. Pressure from the wealthy parents in the neighborhood on teachers and administrators. Upper middle class parents feel superior to the teachers and administrators because they make better money or have more prestigious positions. The often badger the hell out of the school on behalf of their children, making it difficult for teachers and administrators to do their jobs.

I knew a woman who was an attorney and her boys were going to school in a very competitive public school in an upper middle class area. Her oldest son was bright, no question, but he was bored and had very bad work habits. He made bad grades most of the time.

Instead of coming down hard on her son and disciplining him (which would have helped, he needed it), she blamed the school for being boring. She tried to get him into a private school, but couldn't. So she badgered the public school for the 4 years her son was there, arguing with teachers about assignments and criticizing how they taught. She was a lawyer, remember, so the possibility of a lawsuit was always hanging in the air.

Her son squeaked by and eventually graduated, although that was a close call and involved summer school classes. He was a bright kid but totally unengaged. He didn't realize that sometimes you have to work hard, even when you're bored. He got into college, mostly because his mother brought him for an interview to a university department chair, whom she impressed. He was accepted but failed out in the first year. This was entirely predictable based on his record.

Anyhow, you get the picture: upper middle class schools deal with angry parents all the time. They may have you confused with them. What you need is an ally. Is there any parent who knows a better person to talk to?

[barbiegeek]

126. The psychriatists tell me that the education/learning is more important

than the social cues awareness. So do we have a possible rift in the educational community and psychiatric community in approaches? I use my medical recommendations from my son's team to advise me. Why would you hold back a child's academic abilities for whether or not they can read facial expressions in a CONTAINED special ed classroom?

[proud2BlibKansan]

135. Of course it's more important TO THEM

It's all about test scores nowadays. Your son won't raise his test scores if he is in sensory training.

[barbiegeek]

137. OH, I get it!! He's been dropped grade levels for a higher

test scores. 3rd grade level 100% test, 5th grade 70%. Well, great. Now, what the frick do I do? The problem is his sensory breaks (not training) are to help him focus to do better academically. They are shooting their foot off there.

THANK YOU!

[Nikki Stone1]

185. Getting them to admit it would be a start.

What a mess. I'm so sorry. NCLB makes it so that if any portion of your student body is not seen as passing--and this includes Special Ed--then the WHOLE school is put in the failing bin and is vulnerable to restructuring, which eventually means privatization.

[Usrename]

196. This is just horrible.

I can't imagine what you must be feeling about this.

[Nikki Stone1]

184. OMG. Is that it?

That's just horrendous.

Because of NCLB and all the damned scoring, they have to put him where he'll have the highest scores and pass the standardized tests.

The schools need to start learning how to lie about levels but give challenging material. I suppose that's out of the question.

[proud2BlibKansan]

191. Test scores are the #1 priority

[Nikki Stone1]

183. Who is the school psychologist?

That may be the problem. A friend of mine taught Special Ed at a Title One school, and the school psychologist was dumb as a box of rocks. He didn't understand basic statistics, so he couldn't read or understand studies, and he gave damaging advice to at least one student who was abused at home. (This is from my friend, a math teacher, who was having problems with a student, only to find he was being abused by a step dad.) This school psychologist was a complete waste, but because he had the advanced degree, he felt he had the last word and never listened to anyone.

[nyc 4 Biden]

111. thank you dinger!

obama needs to fire arne and move away from privatization asap!

[Boxcar Johnson]

112. K&R

[Enthusiast]

117. Barack is trying to be Reagan-like.

Sorry, but that's the way I see it. The GOP won't love him anyway. I guess he doesn't understand this.

[Mithreal]

151. +1

[liberation]

155. I don't think he is trying to be like Reagan, as much as he is trying not to get a hole in his head

I can't say I blame him.

He looks like a smart dude, and probably knows that the righties will never ever accept nor like him. He just doesn't want to get shot. Period.


I don't think we, as a society, have ever really have tackled and dealt publicly with the level of violence and destruction the right in this country can bring the minute they don't get their way.

[Enthusiast]

167. I hate to agree, but........

you could well be correct. Powerful forces control this country behind the scene. No reason to continue pretending otherwise.

[Jackpine Radical]

159. The GOP won't love him, but the corporations will.

That's the GOP leaning against the next lamppost up the street, the one with the burned out light. The Dems are right here, leaning against this one with the new halogen light.

[joeybee12]

119. And in other Obama capitulation news...offshore drilling is back! n/t

[NCarolinawoman]

129. ...and environmentalists will go the same way as the pissed off teachers,

as Dinger so aptly described.

[Turk 182]

121. K&R

It takes three legs to support a working and vibrant democracy- 1,free public education; 2, Strong employee representation(unions);and 3, a strong middle class.
Free public education is the stepping stone to upward mobility for immigrants and those trapped in poverty- education leads to better jobs and a more sophisticated understanding of the world. Unions lead to better paying jobs and working conditions, which creates a strong middle class with the time to read and better comprehend the political climate and the money to support candidates who support education and working people. Its an upward spiral. But, remove just one of these legs and the upward spiral becomes a downward one. Remove two, and you see the rapid decline of real democracy.
In the last two decades we have seen the concerted attacks on two of these legs- Public Education and Unions. We are on a double-time march backward into the 19th Century which will become more and more apparent as we become less and less competitive in the World Marketplace and become just another has-been power. The time to stop the slide is now, but I fear we won't or can't do it in time.:cry:

[gtar100]

131. K&R

[Fire1]

136. Forgot to K&R! n/t

[fatbuckel]

138. In my line of work,if I don`t do a good job,I get fired....

you want job security? Do a good job.

[Fire1]

139. If you could read you'd realize this is much more than "job

security."

[SocialistLez]

144. Please define "good job"

I don't consider a "good job" teaching to the tests which is basically what a lot of teachers have to do in order to keep their job.

Teaching to the tests doesn't really teach the students anything. It ensures they perform well on a test but if they can't apply what they're learning to the real world, what good is it?

I suggest you read: The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch. She WAS a strong supporter of NCLB.

[Dinger]

145. What Is Your Line Of Work?

I'm curious. And I do a good job, an award-winning job as a matter of fact.

[liberation]

156. libertarians don't do well with specifics and reality

I expect nothing but hand waving in response to your query. :-)

[Mithreal]

157. You solved a complex issue with a rightwing talking point. One of those New Dems?

[maryf]

178. and how many variables do you have to deal with on a given day...

teachers have to not only present a curriculum in a way that can be learned by a huge variety of brains, but we have to do this while carrying every bit of luggage each kid brings with them into our class; and we usually can't even know what the luggage is.

[Hannah Bell]

179. tired talking point, spin-man. when you fire an entire school, it's not about who does a good job.

people aren't buying your bullshit anymore.

[branders seine]

149. you're just now figuring out how much this administration hates unions?

[Dinger]

153. Oh No, It's Been Obvious For A While (nt)

[dflprincess]

160. And if they hate unions

they hate all of us.

Let's understand one thing, not all of us belong to unions but, we are still labor. Many of us may wear Dockers to work and spend our days in cubes but we have the unions to thank for our vacation, sick days, benefits (what's left) and labor laws.

An attack on any union is an attack on all of us.

[Jackpine Radical]

158. Good for you, Dinger.

I'm pretty nervous about a few other initiatives they seem to be playing with too, like Social Security.

Privatization seems to be in the air.

[ChiciB1]

163. Big KICK!! Obama Just Keeps Upsetting Me!! I Just Don't Get It Anymore!

People have said since he "got there" he realized what a problem it has been to govern, but him saying JUST YESTERDAY that he's STILL will reaching for bi-partisanship worries me so much!

I DO understand that getting along and one party rule don't mix, but Obama seems so much to the RIGHT these days!

It's getting harder and harder to hold back before going BALLISTIC!

[amborin]

164. KNR

[maxpower]

165. Teachers need to call a national strike

Strike for a few days, shake things up. The education system in this country has been eroding for some time now, and the children will pay for it. 20,000 teachers losing their jobs in Illinois alone. I am an unemployed teacher and agree wholeheartedly with you.


Peace,
Max

[northernlights]

170. um, Corporate Profits have just won against planet earth....

what makes you think you're so special? :sarcasm:

[Chemical Bill]

171. K&R. n/t

[Grinchie]

175. What do you mean "If you go down this ... (Path), You lose my Vote.

Take off the Rose collored glasses and look at what has occurred already. This administration is bought and paid for by the Corporations and the Military which feeds them piles of money which is then destroyed right in front of our eyes.

Obama has already lost millions of votes simply because he is nothing more than a public face for the second Corporate friendly Clinton administration.

He punked us all with the Campaign based on Hollywood hype, well crafted message to the wearly populace, and then after winning, embraced the same Clinton policies that the American people bitch slapped in the election campaign.

Now we see the Federal Reserve and the Treasury running amok, printing money like it's going out of style, yet green energy remains silent and hidden on the sidelines.

Our food supply is totally full of rancid crap, and the Teabaggers and the majority of people that don't know any better are malnourished, weak, tired, and foggy minded and easily manipulated.. Including most DLC Democrats along with their cheerleaders for the do nothing for the people centrist moles in the administration.

I don't believe this administration has finished crafting the 20 foot long shit sandwich that they intend to feed us all. They are just trying to come up with a marketing slogan to get the most people to buy it and eat it.

[truedelphi]

176. My heart is broken by the BETRAYAL of this

Administration.

And the forces behind the curtain have it all figured out - the Tea Bagger movement now is here to stay, so that we will all have to either:

1) stick to our principles and vote out the rat bastards. Yes vote out politicians of either party who collude with Big Money Interests. (That is, any and all politicians who bring us more wars, expensive mandated health insurance rather than true health care, destroy the public school system, continue to GATT-ize, NAFTA-ize, and Amero-ize our country, stripping us of our jobs, and all the environmental, worker and safety and health provisions, and doing this ILLEGALLY.)

2) or else many of us will perhaps think: "I'd like to do as explained in Point One above, but then the militias will get us." (Which might actually be a valid point - as what nation's shadow government is behind these militias?)


So while I would like to believe that the tens of millions of voters who have finally figured out that both political parties are a lie, as both are beholden to the SAME RAT BASTARDS who handle the major corporations, we tens of millions are marginalized, until some other reincarnation.

[h9socialist]

186. Your frustrations are understood . . .

. . . I am the son of a teacher, and a son in law of a teacher. I understand. Speak truth to power. But don't get near the Republicans . . . they are monsters. Perhaps you should consider the Labor Party, USA or the Socialist Party.

[MoonRiver]

188. As an educator I totally agree.

Another issue that is haunting me is whether he may be complicit in trying to lift the international moratorium on commercial whaling. That is something I will not tolerate. PERIOD. Even Raygun and Dimson supported the moratorium, FOR GOD'S SAKE.

[mstinamotorcity]

189. I ain't mad at you Dinger

This is some fragglenackle bull shit. For years every time it came to cutting the budget no matter if its the feds,states,or city government,they go after public education first.This will always set up our children in public schools to fail.It also in my opinion will guarantee a low wage work force.The first thing they let happen is classrooms increased in size then they start cutting funding.Now you have teachers trying to teach forty kids with enough supplies and books for twenty. And I know and communicate with teachers all the time. I also know that as education advanced,the tools are children needed were not in place. I know there are some teachers who don't deserve the title teacher,but the vast majority are teachers teaching without the proper tools to educate.
I have also seen teachers go into their own pockets and buy supplies for their classroom.I have seen teachers pay for meals for students,buy coats,uniforms,pay for field trips,and even comb hair of little girls who had no one to do it. Matter of fact I have seen this behavior in a lot of public school employees. But the beautiful things about public school goes unnoticed. Like a child who comes from a family with six brothers and sisters and barely enough to eat, shine like a beacon and carry a 4.0 despite their circumstances because a teacher along with support staff tells them that they can do it and one day this hard work will be all worth it. Public School helps give hope to the helpless through education.Thats all I'm saying.:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hi:

[Mojeoux]

194. (Singing) "I'm Stickin' to the Union.."

Ever since Reagan busted the Air Traffic Control Union, all unions have been taking more and more shit.

Check out this week's Bill Maher on HBO. The woman who runs the the Teacher's Union was on and she explained the differences in union and non-union states.

Plus it's a great show.

[Dinger]

195. I Saw That

Mr. Dinger did too. Yes, it was a good show.