On Jun 16, 4:50 am, Robert <[email protected]> wrote: > Chazwin, are you entirely unable to converse without resort to > occipital lobe eruptions?
You are confusing your own experience of me with a generalised statement. I m.ay react bluntly at times , but only in response to reactionary ideological nonsense. As a teacher I might have a better handle on this situation. I can assure you that I have never met a teacher who did not agree that moves to re-acquire control of the classroom was not a good idea. You assertion that it is all the fault of the unions is quite frankly idiotic. > > In the US, teacher unions do indeed request discipline in schools, but > this is far down on their list of priorities. Are you a teacher? Or are you just dreaming this up? > The union leadership is so entrenched that even the rank and file > teachers can do little to dislodge them. Ideological nonsense. The union leadership is democratically elected, thus rank and file have th vote to 'dislodge them'. > The leaders are lavishly funded and politically connected, and are > able to ignore the sincere teachers in the classroom. > The union leadership are entirely resistant to any attempts to hold > teachers accountable. > They have protested the idea of merit pay, which is bizarre, but they > do. > They reject attempts to test teachers for continuing competence. There is a deep contradiction here. You are suggesting that they are in the hands of the government, and yet you say they manage to resist any change that the government is suggesting. > And when parents actually attempt to give input to the schools, the > schools reject these attempts. You are making this up as you go along. > Numerous news documentaries on TV have addressed these issues, but to > no avail. Ah, now I understand. Your evidence is the gutter press. A gutter press that has been scapegoating teachers for generations. > The politicians constantly promise improvements, but the only increase > is in taxes, not in quality of education. IN the UK schools suffer from annual realignments of the curriculum and edicts on a daily basis. Teachers know how to teach and they ought to be allowed to get on with it. > > My interest in education began some years ago when, as a new student, > I applied for teaching curricula in my university. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "applied for teaching curricula" > Because of my age, (I was 40 then) I was interviewed, and was told > what to expect. > Things would not be as I remembered them. > In my years, if a student so much as said "damn" in class, he was > suspended. > Today, much harsher words, directed at high school teachers by young > students, > are considered free speech. This is a very limited experience. > I finally selected a curriculum in financial accounting instead. > > The state of government-run schools in the US is well known to be > awful. Presented as such by the press. But who or what is to blame? > Many thousands of dollars per year (per student) are spent in failing > school systems. > Nearly every state in the Union publicizes its annual efforts to > improve matters, > but next year, there is always a need for even more programs at even > greater cost. > Our test scores slip almost every year by international standards. The problems and solutions are complex. Everyone thinks that because they have been to school that they have a fair idea of how to teach and that there are ready solutions. Its easy to snipe form the side- lines and attack your ideological bug-bears, blaming them for the ills of education. > > As a result, whenever a "charter" school opens, with limited seats > available, there are tens of applicants for each available seat, and > these are often in impoverished districts where students are trapped > in schools often described as hell holes. > Charter schools are similar to other government run schools, but with > the major difference being that they are locally controlled and free > from contracts with teacher unions. > Which is why every charter offered is opposed by the teacher unions. I'm not surprised. What happens when a teacher gets stabbed in a charter school or accused of violence or touching a child? WIthout union support teachers can easily loose they jobs on accusation without legal help from the union. > > Teachers compete for teaching slots in these schools, even though the > pay is LESS. > Yes, there are many good, dedicated teachers who resent their own > union. > > Chaz, what is with you? > Must you attribute absolutely everything I say to ignorance, hate or > some other vile motive? I just don't think you know what is really happening out there. > If your interest is to simply be a provocateur, then so be it. > If your sense of superioroty depends on insulting those who disagree > with you, then I feel for you. > But what I suspect is that you are actually a pleasant person face to > face, but that you are so utterly insulated from opposing points of > view that you have no skill at civil discourse with those with whom > you disagree. You are now doing what you are accusing me of. > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------------------ > > On Jun 15, 8:03 pm, chazwin <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > On Jun 15, 2:36 pm, Robert <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > On Jun 14, 5:44 am, chazwin <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > DO you agree with closing more schools? > > > > The choice is not between closing schools or not. > > > It is eminently possible to improve the schools AND save money. > > > The prescription: > > > > 1) enforce basic student discipline, which has eroded to atrocious > > > depths. > > > 2) establish, monitor, and enforce basic teaching standards. Many > > > teachers are abysmally incompetent. > > > 3) require at least a minimal degree of parental involvement where > > > feasible. Many parents are apathetic. > > > They should be required to pay extra for school services unless they > > > demonstrate some basic effort to help their children. > > > > There are other needed steps, but these are a good start. > > > The obstacle is the teacher unions, which wield enormous political > > > power. > > > As usual you are speaking from ideological ignorance. The points you > > raise above are all supported by unions idiot! > > > > Their only answer to every issue in the schools is to raise taxes and > > > increase spending, despite the fact that many years of this policy > > > have continued to produce illiterate, innumerate students. > > > The unions vociferously resist any attempt at holding teachers > > > accountable. > > > Plus, when taxes ARE raised, the bulk of the money goes into the > > > pockets of school administrators and union officials, with a bone > > > tossed to the teachers, and almost none of it to improving education > > > for the students. > > > More ignorance. > > > > > Do you want hoards of the poorest children from the most deprived > > > > neighbourhoods knocking on your door during daylight hours when you > > > > are at work? > > > > Melodrama. > > > > > Would you rather the roads fixed themselves; > > > > Now there's an idea! Nano tech! > > > > > that we go back to privatised fire-service? > > > > You have a talent for hyperbole. > > > > > > ----------------------------------------- > > > > > On May 18, 12:57 pm, nominal9 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > Video--- Example of How Politicians Should Act > > > > > > > > Governor of New Jersey was accused by a reporter of being > > > > > > > confrontational. > > > > > > > Governor replies as follows: > > > > > > > >http://hotair.com/archives/2010/05/13/video-chris-christie-destroys-r...Hide > > > > > > > quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Epistemology" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/epistemology?hl=en.
