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Schools and Money

Posted by $ winterwind 9 years, 7 months ago to The Gulch: General
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I just read - probably on the msn feed - that teachers in Seattle are going to be on strike on the first day of school; perhaps some others as well. For more money, of course.
and I had a blinding flash of the obvious
If what you have is a giant pile of poop, collected for years and years, and you send the same people out to spend money on "the problem", you'll just end up with a bigger pile of poop.
I wish they'd use it for something useful.

The "BPoP" Effect is also true in many other places...my mind was just on education then.
I hope the teachers pack a good and nutritious lunch, with no chocolate or cookies or other "bad" food. It gets hungry on the picket line!


All Comments

  • Posted by $ Radio_Randy 9 years, 7 months ago
    I'm going to look up the union contract for the WEA. If it's anything like our contract...there is NO strike clause. Although firing is not the immediate answer...disciplinary action should be taken, followed by dismissal if it happens again.
    Washington state's teachers are no more special than any other employee who gets their wages via the taxpayers.
    Times like this...I wish we had Scott Walker for governor.
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I just pity the kids whose parents neglect their education,
    leaving it up to the schools and expecting more than day care
    with homework. . I expect that many, many parents just want
    to come home after work and have a beer and argue. -- j
    .
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years, 7 months ago
    winter, we have piles of poop everywhere the govt attempts
    to do things which the private sector should be doing.
    and it is flung far and wide whenever an election occurs,
    obscuring everyone's vision -- but, alas, the tomatoes
    never seem to get the better of it. -- j
    .
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  • Posted by $ jlc 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    That would have the 'disadvantage' of increasing the educational distance between kids. One of the 'advantages' of the traditional school system is that it normalizes the amount of education available and does not let the smarter kids excel by too much.

    Jan
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  • Posted by $ Suzanne43 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Thank goodness, there will always be some good teachers who spend an awful lot of time in their classrooms. A very long time ago, there were about three main professional fields that women went into...nursing, secretarial, and teaching. Therefore, the schools did get the cream of the crop. Not so much anymore. Talented women have so many other opportunities available to them.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    It is true.Niothing iffy about it Mussolini was the originator of that particular definition as well as the term fascist which means total control of everything by any and all means. As the former leader of the socialist movement created a different style from that used in Russia and changed Italian socialism into a new form called Fascist. Soviet style took ownership of everything. The national socialist style allowed ownership but under tight control. So you answered your own question. The degree of control as a stated goal fir both is 'absolute.' One reason why we have a heavily controlled economy. You know it as Statists, Corporatists, and Union leaders. Not a tricycle but a bicycle with a kick stand counting the unions.

    George Carlin called it smiley faced fascism. Softer touch but still total control.

    Each socialist nation including the USA has always developed their own version. Nothing new about that. Each version has always been at odds ergo the great socialist wars of the 20th century. They evolve, develop, redefine and move on liberally or conservatively arriving at the same common goal. Complete control with a one party system.

    Why do Republicans cave to Democrats so much? They are the right and left wing of the Government Party Coalition. One two faced party. Each nothing but a controlled political union. No more Marxist Economics. or Fascist Economics it's now State Economics. Not to worry the other name is a 'hampered capitalism.'

    Control includes schools...

    Not to worry abut learning the differences. There are none substantive or meaningful from Europe in the first half of the last century except ours have a smiley face and their had death camps.
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  • Posted by $ Suzanne43 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Good for you. It's not easy being tough and having standards. Room 22 was known for high standards and hard work. I accepted nothing less.
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  • Posted by $ Suzanne43 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Or send your children to private schools. As a former public school teacher. I wouldn't want my kids in a public school these days. The text books have been so "dumbed-down" that it is appalling. Many of the parents want nothing but As or Bs on their kids' report cards even when the kids don't deserve those grades. And as for discipline forget it....You might hurt the children's feelings. Unfortunately, some of my fellow teachers add to the schools' problems by being mind-dumbed robots for the unions.
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  • Posted by $ jdg 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    If that were true, why have communist and fascist states, including Mussolini's own, always outlawed all unions (except possibly a sham union run by themselves) as soon as they firmly held power?
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The socialist system is based on three different groups in control. Government, Big Corporations mostly financial institutions, Union Leaders. Union members are specifically excluded. What worked for Mussolini in the thirties works for in the USA today.
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  • Posted by $ WilliamShipley 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    There is some interesting work in developing 'best' computerized lesson plans where a lesson plan can be refined and perfected rather than being whatever the teacher managed to pull together that day.
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  • Posted by Stormi 9 years, 7 months ago
    I have an issue with a system which hires people with an average IQ of about 110, gives them a salary they could not duplicate elsewhere, all based on 9 months work. Then they are represented by a union, which a few years ago admitted in publice their ultimate goal number one was "POWER". Educating children fell well down the list, not even second.
    Then these new teachers, fresh out of education college, begin to save the world with what can only be called indoctrination in socialism via pseudo environmental teachings. A local state university was of the habit of taking majors in other fields in danger of funking out, and putting them in the college of education where they were assured they could graduate.
    It used to be a cry for money for smaller class size, until an inner city black woman principal made do on what their district had, set some rules for student behavior, and came away with some of the best test scores in the city.
    Way too much of taxpayer dollars are going to implement programs which teach our little darlings how great it is to be socialists. The young teaches would be hard pressed to define socialism or note how it never works.
    Finally, the kids are doped up with Ritalin or some psychotropic at school request, given labels like ADD or ADHD, or dyslexic, given a large dose of values clarification (to clear away any remaining values from home), and taught a collectivists mantra, "There is no I in team".- for this we need higher taxes!
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  • Posted by $ minniepuck 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Thank you. I was going to say something very similar. Having many friends in education (some private and some public), I've yet to meet one without an advanced degree. And, being in Texas, none of them have chosen to be part of a union.
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  • Posted by Lysander 9 years, 7 months ago
    I am a public school teacher. The system sucks, except for 1113, my room. I tell my students right up front, this ain't your usual class. I teach, using my own texts. We read Rand in my Civics class (Anthem) and in Economics (Atlas Shrugged). We begin with Truth (A=A) and look at the Declaration, Preamble and Gettysburg Address (which are memorized and recited in front of class) then we look at the steps that began America (Socrates thru Romans thru Locke and Hobbes into the Cato Letters, Jefferson-Hamilton "debates" to the fall of the Republic! It is not easy being free in a commie/fascist institution, but I have one more year, #32, and have built quite a cult!
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  • Posted by $ Abaco 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I could go beyond that. In our case I could afford to have an advocate work with us. The district cooked a case against her and had her three children taken from her and put in foster care. This is a criminal operation. That's when we left our district. If they took my kids I'd go into the special ed office with a baseball bat and clean house.

    Public schools run a business model that's really centered on the type of parent you describe - a parent (rarely two parents), who don't really care and need a babysitter. So what if Timmy ends up on disability and living in a home on the government dole for the rest of his life? Nobody cares about that. Public schools are the easy choice in that case.
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  • Posted by rbuckwalter 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The goal of the labor union is to perpetuate its existence and grow thereby increasing the wealth, influence and power of their leadership. That is also the goal of any for profit business and unfortunately appears to be the goal of our government. I agree with you except that you correctly describe some of their tactics, not their purpose. Unions and government have both lost their moral compass so what we have is an immoral fox in charge of a lunatic hen house. A strange analogy for an atheist but there you have it.
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  • Posted by XenokRoy 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Abaco,

    My wife, for the last 3 years, has been working in the local school district with special needs children. She becomes very annimated when the subject comes up because:

    1) We assist kids who have only one problem, parents that do not care to be part of the education process at all. They simply want baby sitters and do things to keep there income down so that buses will pick up the kids from their homes... could give more but will stop there, basically they make sure they financially qualify even if means a lousy life for their kids.

    2) They often deny kids with parents who care about their kids that could use extra help (like your case) because parents who care are simply not destitute enough to get the benefit.

    Does this match your own observations?
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  • Posted by $ jdg 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The purpose of labor unions is to extort money for their favorite political party from its opponents. So long as they get that, the employees can go straight to hell. If anybody objects, the union has thugs to handle them.
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  • Posted by $ blarman 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Agreed. Reagan was a great example when he busted the Air Traffic Controllers chops over this.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years, 7 months ago in reply to this comment.
    To make public service work you have to make it like the military. No strikes allowed. Can't imagine why it should be set up any other way.
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