Don’t turn teachers into scapegoats

[proud2BlibKansan]

When San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro talked about his success at the Democratic National Convention, he credited his grandmother and his mother. When first lady Michelle Obama looked back at her and President Barack Obama’s success, she credited their respective parents and grandparents.

For success, we credit our families. For failure, we blame the schools. Politicians habitually point to teachers as scapegoats for America’s failure to compete.

A society always reproduces itself through education in the form of socialization. Such education starts at our homes, and then gradually moves into schools or church or other social environments.

The first step to a proper education is to make sure children have internalized values and discipline at home so that they go to school with respect for teachers and knowledge.

Second, education in modern society has been perceived as essential to social mobility and to narrowing inequality.

Because children today are future citizens, they reflect and represent society’s trends. A society that places great emphasis on education should view it as a collective effort made by families, schools, churches and all related agents.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/28/3838620/yanwen-xia-dont-turn-teachers.html#storylink=cpy

[Tigress DEM]

1. DEMs aren't criticizing teachers.

Just because we acknowledge our families for a solid upbringing doesn't mean we don't appreciate teachers.

Parents get a lot of blame as well.

You have some good points, but it's argumentative when it doesn't need to be.

You're preaching to the choir, lay off the brimstone.

[iemitsu]

2. run of the mill democrats may be supportive of schools and teachers,

so are the parents of my students and many members of the community but democratic party politicians (at the federal level) are not.
i spent 8 years watching as my profession was being destroyed by bush and NCLB.
i said to myself, "dems aren't criticizing teachers" and heaved a huge sigh of relief when obama was elected.
and what did obama and the dems do? they one upped NCLB and turned it into "race to the top", a program that promotes privatization, charter schools, and standardized tests even more than bush had.
i am not arguing that obama is as bad as any republican on most issues but i am no longer fooled into believing either party or any elected official represents working americans.

and if that's the truth then none of them deserve our support.

[Tigress DEM]

5. Remember we only had a "filibuster proof, super majority" for 24 working days.

So ANYTHING that happened HAD to be Bi-Partisan to GET passed. What I see when I review "Race to the Top" is at least part of the criteria is to provide teachers support as well. AND whereas NCLB was a non-funded mandate, at least Race 2 the Top had a budget. STILL not what is truly needed and YES we need to make sure the TARGET on TEACHERS is removed. They are NOT the problem.

http://factleft.com/2012/01/31/the-myth-of-democratic-super-majority/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_Top

Criteria for Funding

State applications for funding were scored on selection criteria worth a total of 500 points. In order of weight, the criteria were[1]:

Great Teachers and Leaders (138 total points)
Improving teacher and principal effectiveness based on performance (58 points)
Ensuring equitable distribution of effective teachers and principals (25 points)
Providing high-quality pathways for aspiring teachers and principals (21 points)
Providing effective support to teachers and principals (20 points)
Improving the effectiveness of teacher and principal preparation programs (14 points)
State Success Factors (125 total points)
Articulating State's education reform agenda and LEAs' participation in it (65 points)
Building strong statewide capacity to implement, scale up, and sustain proposed plans (30 points)
Demonstrating significant progress in raising achievement and closing gaps (30 points)
Standards and Assessments (70 total points)
Developing and adopting common standards (from the Common Core State Standards Initiative) (40 points)
Supporting the transition to enhanced standards and high-quality assessments (20 points)
Developing and implementing common, high-quality assessments (10 points)
General Selection Criteria (55 total points)
Ensuring successful conditions for high-performing charters and other innovative schools (40 points)
Making education funding a priority (10 points)
Demonstrating other significant reform conditions (5 points)
Turning Around the Lowest-Achieving Schools (50 total points)
Turning around the lowest-achieving schools (40 points)
Intervening in the lowest-achieving schools and LEAs (10 points)
Data Systems to Support Instruction (47 total points)
Fully implementing a statewide longitudinal data system (24 points)
Using data to improve instruction (18 points)
Accessing and using State data (5 points)

[iemitsu]

7. yes, get money for your schools if you agree to charters and dumping unions.

none of this is designed to help teachers it is designed to privatize public schools and further divide our citizens.

[HiPointDem]

8. +1. and the money doesn't go to the classroom, as i understand it, it goes into development

of the data collection system they want and similar things.

[iemitsu]

9. it is about data collection.

look at the list of statistics that race to the top wants out of schools.
the administration of all these expectations and teaching in a manner that allows this collection structures the whole school day.
there is very little time for authentic teaching.
income inequality has been and remains the best indicator of school success.
now there's an issue that needs some attention in this country.
is income inequality a teachers fault?
we don't get more than our fair share of it and we didn't write the policies that promote it.

[HiPointDem]

3. In fact, some dems are. And I don't think the poster is YANWEN XIA, a hospital worker.

[LWolf]

4. Rahm Emmanuel.

Arne Duncan.

Michelle Rhee.

[Tigress DEM]

6. No answer about Rahm. I think of him and I say to myself, "What kind of crack is he smoking?"

I don't understand about Arne Duncan.... Has he done a 180 since Feb 2012 or is there something I'm missing?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2012/0215/The-next-Race-to-the-Top-Arne-Duncan-outlines-vision-for-teacher-reform
By Amanda Paulson, Staff writer / February 15, 2012
<snip>
On Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke to teachers at a town-hall meeting to launch a $5 billion proposal that would try to improve the teaching profession at every level, from the recruitment and training process to the career ladder and pay and tenure systems.

“Our goal is to support teachers in rebuilding their profession – and to elevate the teacher voice in shaping federal, state, and local education policy,” Secretary Duncan told the teachers, according to prepared remarks. “Our larger goal is to make teaching not only America’s most important profession – [but also] America’s most respected profession.”


Ahhhhh, ok, so it's more about Duncan and Rhee creating a system where some teachers and children LOSE because the reform is more important than the education itself or the teachers.

I get it.


http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/how-michelle-rhee-is-taking-over-the-democratic-party/262082/

<snip>
head of the American Federation for Teachers, Randi Weingarten, to get her take, she insists that it's the unions who are leading efforts to reform education.

"Does public education need to change? Yes," she said. "Do we not change fast enough? Yes. But Democrats are united about the aspiration of ensuring that every single child gets a decent education and that the investment is there to do that."

As evidence that the unions are part of the new solution, Weingarten noted that was invited to speak at a panel at the convention hosted by Democrats for Education Reform. And as evidence that their influence in the party hasn't waned, she pointed out that she was on the Democratic platform committee.

Rhee, however, remains a lightning rod, and Weingarten is eager to depict her as the one who's out of the Democratic mainstream, calling her an "outlier" who "seems to work a lot more with right-wing Republicans than with Democrats." Nor have the unions reconciled themselves with Race to the Top, which Weingarten said "creates winners and losers at a time when we need to be about all kids, not some kids."

[Mattias]

10. Teachers modern day heroes

Today labour education do not start with a quick fix six month labour school. In todays economy the labour economy start at six years of age. Not said that we should regard any child as a potential output unit to add to the GDP but there are no longer any "quick fix" to unemployment. In the days of the new deal unemployed people could be activated by short term federal activity. Today it takes high school to even be considered for employment. A college degree to be considered for a higher skill employment.

The high unemployment rate of today will never be fixed by any tax deduction by the simple reason that firms do not look for cheap a workforce it looks for a skilled workforce. We should not direct our children towards searching any skill. If they want to work in plumbing, healthcare, higher education, construction or anything else. But the educational system must give a first class education that makes them first class employees in whatever field they so choose.

Lowering taxes will acomplish nothing for employment but will hurt an already bleeding educational system hard. A job creator is not a billionaire, it is a person with an idea and a will. No tax will stop that. But what will hinder that is the lack reasources to educate the next Einstein, Soros, Gates, Jobs or any other. Not providing education is a way to stop the job creator, taxes will not stop her/him.

Today education is even more important, if your child get a sublevel education, will your child excel in college? Is it worth a few thosands in lower taxation to have your child in a classroom with 40 pupils per teacher? Or is it worth paying a bit more for a classroom with 15 pupils per classroom? In what classroom do you think your child will get the best nine year basic education? Which in turn will be the basis for all future education. Europe has great examples of the long term effect of this. In Germany school became free and open to all in 1890. In Britain it is still segregated if still free, thoose who can pay send there children to grammar schools thoose who cannot afford send there children to a lot less funded comprehensive school. Great Britain has gone from the richest country in the world to below the median in the EU. Germany has gone from a poor agrarian country to the strongest economy in europe. Britain is passed by about 0,5 countries per annum in GDP and has been for a long time. In 2024 Spain with its problems is projected to pass Britain.

Is it worth a few thosands today to forsake your childs future?