"Before the 1989 mistake, U.S. students ranked number-one in international mathematics tests. Since then, U.S. students have dropped to fifteenth, far behind the consistently high performance of Singapore and Japan and behind most industrialized countries."How could this have happened you ask? Well Im glad you did (dusting off my Clinton bashing gloves)...Could it be Nintendo's fault or maybe the grossly high caloric intake of the McDonalds generation? It might be that, or it could be that...
"...in October 1999 Bill Clinton's Department of Education officially endorsed ten new math courses, based on the 1989 "standards," for grades K-12, calling them"exemplary" or "promising." Local school districts were urged to adopt one of them, and were baited with federal money inducements. One of these department-approved "exemplary" courses, "MathLand," directed the children to meet in small groups and invent their own ways to add, subtract, multiply and divide. It's too bad the kids weren't told that wiser adults have already discovered how to do all those basic computations rapidly and accurately."My solution would be to follow the advice of Dick the Butcher (bringing Alice the meat, Im like Fred Flintstone drivin around with both feet) when he said that the "first thing we do, is kill all the teachers." Which reminds me of the riddle, if a butcher is 5'10" what does he weigh? But more importantly how can you have any pudding if you dont eat your meat?
schafly
12 comments:
phyllis schafly must be, what? 250 years old by now. wonder if she still writes her own stuff ...
Anita! I think that she probably DOES!!!
I think that I will step up and yield a few things, having had the experience of working in many schools and serving on some "strategic" planning committees.I'm pro-union and have argued with the Rhino, bt I agree something has to be done.
I think that teachers will face the dilemma that social workers faced ten years ago when just anyone (crazy or otherwise)put out a shingle to do therapy and it brought the profession down. They overhauled their field and "professionalized" themselves with higher standards FOR THEIR OWN. They saw the backlash and responded.Now there is a difference between a "CSW" and a "therapist". Just one example.
I think teachers will have to figure out a way to reckon with themselves.
I see great educated teachers that are devoted get paid little and have more and more on their shoulders. (like getting eleventh graders that cant write papers) I also see bad teachers that hide behind tenure that schools just cannot budge. There's little to hold them accountable and they know it. Some of them dont belong in a classroom. And one thing about liberals that bugs me is that they dont see the disparity very often-how income is the deciding factor. Kids in Alabama deserve to learn just as much as kids in California. Right now, the key to good schools is often income. Look at Long Island! "Three Village" knows its value depends on good teachers.
Where we agree (I think) is that what Bush at least TRIED to do was hold teachers more personally responsible for their degree of dedication. This piece of the equation is lacking, and while I respect teachers a lot, I think the bad ones bring down the rest.
There has to be a way to address the poor salaries, but also demand more from them. One reason good teachers get fed up is because they get students that have sailed through. Imagine trying to teach algebra to kids that cannot muliply? Talk about a time eater. You'd quit and go corporate too!
Teachers have to see that they all suffer when they apologize for the ones that suck and enable them. In some states, teachers are renewed EVERY year, aint no tenure. yes it makes it tough if you're a big mouth but maybe it keeps them on their toes?
Good questions, Donkey. Very important discussion.
Lily, how can you say that teachers have "poor salaries"???
Is there a shortage of teachers? NO in fact there is a glut! and the reason for that is because teachers are OVER paid.
The unions are the key here. Bad teacher, good teacher, it doesn't matter as long as you have tenure, and how long does it take to get tenure? it depends on the school but i know for a fact that in some areas it only takes 3 years.
The typical liberal response is to throw more money at the problem, but that's not the way to go about it. it doesn't work, it has NEVER worked.
There is no simple answer to this problem, but i will say that eliminating the unions would be a very good first step.
Schlafly is very old, but she's still right on point!
Donsky, i do not "think" teachers are overpaid, i KNOW they are overpaid.
This is not a anti-teacher thing. without giving away too much of my personal life, i will say that i am a big fan of teachers, i know MANY public school teachers, and i know how much they get paid, what their benefits are, what their retirement/pension packages are, etc. Most of them are on long island, but i am also friends with a teacher from NYC, Atlanta, and one in Maryland,
I base my statement on the fact that there is a glut of teachers. If they were underpaid, there would be a shortage, like for example we had a shortage of nurses in this country for a while until hospitals started paying nurses more. Simple supply and demand will tell you whether or not someone is over or underpaid.
Before someone comes back with some school district in the south bronx, or bumfuck west virginia, i know there are exceptions, but in general teachers are over paid or at least fairly paid.
If the argument is that the economic background of the students has something to do with their performance, i am in total agreement, but to say we don't pay the teachers enough, or that the schools don't have enough resources is bullshit. Private schools consistently outperform public schools with less resources.
Once again i say get rid of the unions, or at the very least create some real competition. I have been a fan of the voucher system idea since i first heard the concept. Something like that should be implemented.
Donsky, it is as simple as supply and demand. The market will always tell you the truth. If they were underpaid they wouldn't do it, it's as simple as that.
Comparing unskilled, uneducated workers to teachers is apples and oranges. Teachers start out with a bachelors degree, but are required to continue their education in order to keep their jobs and increase their salaries. The benefits, and time off alone are enough to make the job worth it.
The bottom line is competition. If you do better, you make more money. The best teachers would be rich, and the worst would be gone, and the main beneficiaries would be the students and American society in general.
i'm going to look up the word "obfuscated" and get back to you on that one, but i am in complete agreement on the rest of what you said.
I think it has something to do with the spinal cord or brainstem.
teachers salaries (as well as the availability of books, computers, supplies, extra-curricular activities) tend to vary in accordance to the tax base of individual towns and municipalities.
wealthy and upper middle-class communities pay their teachers relatively well, while poor communities cannot. that's why a kid going to public school in scarsdale in new york or rumson in new jersey will get a far better education than a kid in yonkers in new york or camden in new jersey.
you guys may be too young to remember (or just weren't paying attention), but one of the primary things that got jim florio kicked out of the governor's office in new jersey was because he wanted a more equitable distribution of education dollars among the communities of new jersey.
plus, i'm not entirely sure that it's 'unions' per se that are the villan here. but tenure certainly is.
Rhino maybe you are thinking that because you are on Long Island. When I lived there, my teacher friends applied among hundreds of applicants. Most of them make 60-70k a year now and I'm not sure what your standard is for salaries but this is not high these days-if this is what you will make after twenty years in a field with degrees and constant continuing ed.I dont know many on the Island that make that.
The starting salary in Pennsylvania however is in the 30's and they even have to extend emergency certification to people that are not even certified teachers to fill those jobs!
Recently when I was in Florida at a district, their salary scales ranged from 32,000-45,000. Im not a teacher, but I have worked in schools for many years and I really think its regional.
My friend was hired by one district because she wanted to teach but she took a 30,000 pay cut! AND the kicker is she NEVER stepped foot in a classroom. No degree in education and no student teaching. Nothing. You just need a bachelor's in many states.
And she's teaching math. She says herself she doesnt know how to teach math. In time she'll be good Im sure, but...
Lily, i'm not lying, i know more than 20 teachers on long island, and i know them very well. Each school district is different, the ones who teach in smithtown for the last 10 years are making upwards of 85k and top out on their current contracts at around 100k. the ones who work in brentwood are making around 70, and also top out around 100k.
Yes it's regional, and as i said there are exceptions and there are places where their is a need for teachers etc. However overall, in this country we have a GLUT and the teachers colleges are full!
Is 60-70k a high salary? not to me it's not, but then again i work more than 7 hours a day and more than 180 days a year.
Again, we don't have a shortage of teachers in this country so that should tell you all you need to know.
Two Words....Summers off!
In alot of these cases there is too much matriculation. Do you really need someone with a masters teaching finger painting?
hey, don't be bashing finger painting. that's where many of our greatest artists got their start.
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