The fall our our "Great Society."
This is it folks, teachers in DC will no longer have tenure and can be fired for incompetence, poor performance and other unprofessional behavior. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has fought and won a battle with the teacher's union and now everything has been turned upside down.
What were the outrages that union leader Randi Weingarten battled against? Well, for starters, besides firing non-performing teachers who fail to do their jobs, teachers who do an above average job and produce students with above average test scores can receive bonuses/pay increases of 20-30k.
It sounds like the teachers are getting a really raw deal on this one. I have to wonder at the sheer incompetence of the parents and teachers in the DC area:
"where only 8% of eighth graders were performing at grade level in math when she took over, even though D.C. was spending $14,300 per student, or $6,300 more than the national average. Even Ms. Weingarten couldn't defend those results."
Only one out of twelve 8th graders are literate!!?? That's the basic test of literacy; reading at an 8th grade level. Finally, teachers are being held responsible for their shit poor performance. Next we need to find a way to get parents involved with their kids' educations. There's only a billion studies out there that show when parents motivate their kids, they do much better in school.
Quick poll: How many of you on this forum had parents that did/did not take an interest in your school work?
Also: Does anyone think the teachers got a raw deal here? Or is it just the union head?
This is just totally unfair to fire people doing crappy jobs and give raises and promotions to people who are doing excellent jobs. Check these videos out and just look at all the professional behavior we can expect from school teacher.
http://www.penn-olson.com/2009/08/31/student-vs-teacher-8-incredible-vi…
Teachers unions are a bane to this country. Unfortunately, they are a very important component of the democratic party. Education is perhaps the only domestic issue in which I am in agreement with Obama. These guys need to get their shit together if they want to keep their jobs.
DC is a shit hole. Tons of crime, one of the highest HIV infection rates, poor schools, on and on.
Teachers Unions are worthless pieces of crap. Whenever I hear union I hear lazy and incompetent. Lets face it, if these people were professionals who valued their skills and abilities they wouldn't want a union bargaining for them. They would negotiate their own raises or go somewhere else.
This is a step in the right direction.
Yes, my parents partook an active role in my education. Not enough though. I mean, they did everything they could, but I was stubborn and cocky (unfortunately) and refused to 'comply' by doing BS homework assignments. I'm sure most people on this site probably had parents that were actively involved in their education, and I'd go out on a limb and say the kids at the targets (ie not me) probably had parents that were the most encouraging and that really emphasized the need to work hard and do well in school.
Great Society=Socialist Liberal Idiot Fantasy.
Good riddance.
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haha same story here... except my bro didn't go to an ivy... my rents were so exhausted from dealing with me i don't think they pushed him as hard... and i was so stubborn i refused to even think about private school... it prob would have been a good move in hindsight... ah whatever... life moves on
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I had a similar experience, though my sister graduated years before me and went to UPenn. Though her attendance there caused me to aspire to become a self-proclaimed "Wharton-ite" and go on to banking, unfortunately my effort failed to substantially increase until this year (senior). My parents were proactive with my education though, I just failed to care about doing homework assignments. Oh well, hopefully banks won't turn me away for only having a Villanova degree. ;)
Side note: The high school I just graduated from is one of the highest ranked public schools in Connecticut, mainly because of our standardized test scores. Over my 4 years there, there has been a visible shift in the administration's policies--more focus on increasing their rankings through policies that essentially force seniors to max out on AP classes and those that do MUST take the AP exam, rather than focusing on preparation for them (high schools are ranked by the number of AP exams taken, not the actual results). Little emphasis is now placed on encouraging learning for "learning's sakes". To me it feels soulless, but hey, at least we've got the rankings.
Family income below $20k a year, shitty public school equivalent all my life, and a target private college on a full tuition scholarship.
Both my parents drilled home the importance of education and good grades every single day of my life. My dad would get furious if I ever dropped below an A in math, and my mom was the same with every other subject. That attitude overcame shitty teachers at my school and absolutely no facilities/training for anything worthwhile.
Despite the fact that my parents believed in "spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child" (to a certain degree - wasn't abused or anything), I find myself far better able to handle adverse situations and uncertainty about the future than a lot of my colleagues. More than that, the amount they pushed me when I was younger has transformed into mental and emotional tenacity, work ethic, and ambition - if they had not been as involved, I would probably not have the job I do. And I am forever grateful to them for that.
In keeping with my experience, teachers (and professors, for that matter!) should be held accountable for their work. Implement Wall St. style compensation/firing across the board!
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My parents never gave a shit about my education and never pushed me in any way, quite the opposite possibly.
I went to a shitty high school, graduated a valedictorian, first of my class at my undergrad, top target. I just liked school.
Both my parents went to grad school and they love me very much. I don't know why they never pushed me. Same with my siblings.
I think the part about teachers who have students producing good tests scores can raise a huge ethical dilemna. if you have a crap income and your bonus rests on a group of children who play mario kart rather than study US history and improper fractions. your going to tell them answers on tests to get your bonus pool moving up. I've been in school who have tried that plan and its a drain on tax money.
Thank god.
Though these days, I'm honestly kind of surprised this managed to pass...
Let me throw one little comment in here. I totally agree that we need to kick teachers ass into high gear. Another huge problem is the piss poor parenting we have in this country. I am sorry, but teachers can only be blamed for half the mess. Having parents who indulge their little wild animals in their disrespect for teachers and our educational system is a huge problem also. We have too many miniature criminals in school disrupting and causing havoc.
Teachers unions are terrible. Fact. I like the idea behind this legislation.
On the poll:
My parents took an interest in my school work, but it was primarily negative. When my marks were bad, everything would be taken from me. When my marks were good, everything would be taken from me.
I used to be a straight A student in the gifted program. However, because I was not at UTS (pre-university prep school), I would never get into Harvard, and because I would never go to Harvard I would never get into Harvard Law, and because I would never get into Harvard Law I would be a failure and never amount to anything. Thanks dad. Nothing like telling an 11 year old boy that his life is over before it starts to light a motivational fire.
Good parenting can make up for a sub-par learning environment, but a great school and an upper middle class lifestyle can't make up for spiteful parents.
Lesson: Jewish guilt and Catholic shame are powerful forces. Having a Jewish father and a Catholic mother is a DEADLY combination.
after the k through 12 schooling disaster that was my brother, i think my parents learned their lesson. they definitely took an interest in my studies - although i would say it was tiered:
my parents educational philosophy boils down to this: "if you have children, make sure you pay attention to their future. you cant expect them to set goals for themselves. even as a teenager what do they know? if you leave them alone, all theyll do is drift. as a parent its your responsibility to set their course and make sure they follow. and if youve done your job right, by the time they figure things out, theyll have the tools to do whatever they want to do. and they wont feel like theyre somehow behind everyone else."
i cant argue with that. my siblings and i, and my brother by contrast, (who had to take the long route before he realized his potential and became an engineer) are proof to me theyre right.
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