NCLB for Texans!

Have they learned NOTHING?!!!!

The writer forgot:

5. In cases where schools or districts are found to lag football achievements of their peers across the state of Texas, funding for those athletic programs will be provided for them by legislative appropriation, so as to not place low revenue districts at a disadvantage, and so as to not dictate results by non-funded mandate.

5a. Grants funded, also, for Texas state higher education to provide for greater participation in Physical Education programs, both at the Under and Post Graduate levels. The end result should be that the majority of High School Coaches possess PhD credentials. Masters Degrees will suffice for smaller {six-sided} schools.

 

I saw NOTHING in that original post about 'unfunded mandate'. That being the primary complaint by teachers' unions and other varied lefties and money/vote manipulators.

IOW: We need MORE money to teach kids what we should be teaching them already.

Does that make it clearer?

 

HD, I don't normally participate in your and fogs debates, simply because I get lost when trying to read them, but are you referring to anyone in particular with the "anti-tax blowhards blaming the state of American education of underpaid schooltearchers?" I don't know too many anti-tax folks that blame the underpaid teachers. In fact, the majority that I know are all for increasing the local taxes for higher salaries for the teachers. maybe I'm just missing something here.

 

Funny Don and it's actually a pretty good analogy.

I'm with dtwondough, though, in that I dont agree this is happening:

 

First, HatterDon, you are so right. Half the time I think I know what pettyfog is trying to say, but I find it virtually impossible to negotiate between his mixture of irony and sarcasm and his earnest expression of deeply felt principle. The other half, I have no idea.

Anyway, I teach high school English. I have a Ph.D., an MFA, and an MA, and I bristle any time NCLB is intoned. The absurdity of suggesting every student should attain a common measure when students so clearly don’t have common advantages should be manifest to all who give education serious (not political) thought. Teachers do have an impact. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t teach. But schools and teachers cannot wade alone against the stream of social and economic inequalities that have such an impact on student capacity to learn.

I have to say, clevelandmo, that from my end it does feel an awful lot like schools are being blamed for a range of social ills they are neither equipped nor funded to fix. A lot of people in education think that there is an effort to privatize education. (BTW, clevelandmo, I spent 7 great years in Cleveland.)

This is my first post, prompted by, of all things, a political thread. Education matters.

As a brief profile, I came to be a Fulham fan when we got FSC two years ago. As I was looking for a team to pull for, I saw an interview with Cookie Coleman and was impressed by him (rightly or wrongly). I knew of McGod and so selected Fulham. The more I learn, the happier I become (relegation possibility notwithstanding). Recently I made the pilgramage to the Cottage (though I was unable to see a match). I had a beer at the Golden Lion and some fish and chips from the shop down the street. As it turns out, Fulham is reasonably close (read west side) to where my father grew up, so that gives me another connection. My son, a crazy and unsatisfied Arsenal fan, is merciless against Fulham, but he can never feel the satisfaction of an away win at Reading.

 

What a closing line!

Rewrite that on the 'intro' forum, terrier!

As to Don's rejoinders that I introduced something that wasnt in the original, re-read my post. Exactly what I said... They forgot to include that component.

Blaming teachers? Blaming the SYSTEM. The SYSTEM which has morphed into the concept that schools largely exist to provide teachers' jobs. And funding for their political organization.

I could have added 'Parents' into that. Who believe that the schools are babysitter organizations that will somehow provide the guidance they cant be bothered with. Unless it involves some kind of discipline.

And all that can be applied back into Don's OP... Texas HS football. The same applies to a lot of other communities as well.

 

Yikes!

Something that started out funny tuned into a mess.

The football thing is funny BTW. Pretty clever.

I teach, and I can tell you that if you think that the system is broken - you may be right, but it is broken because the people that dictate what is going to be done in the classroom have no idea what they are doing. They are out of touch and dont understand the realities of a system where an education is provided for all. They are more interested in getting votes and that requires an attitude of Reform! "Everything is shite and I am going to fix it!" That is how you get votes. They dont really care about education - their kids are not in public education. The only time you even hear about education is at election time!

Dont you dare put blame on the teachers who are on the front lines for the system not a meeting standard imposed by people that are clueless...

Are there less effective teachers - There are a few bad apples - YES! - but name me a governmental - NO - name me a Private enterprise of any significant size that doesnt have slackers...

I can tell you from experience that the teaching staff at any school care about kids and work hard to provide the best education possible for the students that stare them in the face day after day.

NCLB is an idea that made voters feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it is BS and it needs to be looked at very closely. There is this other thing that sounds good and looks good on paper - and made people feel good inside, but didnt work out that well... You know - the one where things like Unions and individual rights were not valued. What was that? Oh yeah - Communism.

But I am getting away from the point...

Bottom line: We are not all the same and we will not all reach the same level at the same time. I am sorry to break it to you, but that is the fundamental reason that NCLB is BS>

Think of it in terms of trench warfare. Company A have to attack up a hill, in the face of heavy artillery, through multiple layers of barbed wire with no cover.

Company B get to attack down hill, with cover and air support and no barbed wire.

When Company A does not make as much progress as Company B what should we do? NCLB does not handle this question well - and that is the problem.

As teachers, I can tell you without question that we want the best for the students - we want them to do well - we do everything in our power to try to help push them along and help them acquire the skills they need to be a positive part of society.

If you dont believe me then I invite you to sacrifice a few days of reading about education on the internet and spend a few days volunteering in a classroom.

 

Thanks, jensers. You made the point I was trying to make.

And Don, you are incredibly obtuse. You posted an article making fun of NCLB, I added a rock to your pile and I get poo flung at me.
{Lemme add that questions and comments directed at local teachers' orgs often meet exactly the same response you direct at me.}

the POINT was that there never should have had to be a "No Child Left Behind". Do I have to explain why I say that?

My SECOND point is that the tests should reflect what the kids are learning. If they ARENT learning the basics, then just whose fault is it? What if there's a nest of incompetent teachers?

My THIRD point is that local communities USED to be quite capable of running their schools, UNTIL political influences started to use 'scapegoating' as an excuse for their campaign contributors.

I'm gonna finish in asking JUST WHAT the NEA is doing to correct the problems other than asking for more money and a monopoly in school choice?