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Debating Failing Schools
Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 3/30/2010 | Michael Van Beek

Posted on 04/09/2010 8:10:18 AM PDT by MichCapCon

Are teachers unions to blame for failing schools?

This was the question debated last week on NPR's Intelligence Squared. At the beginning of the debate, less than half the audience believed teachers unions should be faulted for poor-performing schools, but by the close of the program, an astonishing 68 percent believed school employee unions contributed to the problem.

(Excerpt) Read more at michigancapitolconfidential.com ...


TOPICS: Education; Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: arth; education; learning; salary; schools; teaching; unions
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1 posted on 04/09/2010 8:10:18 AM PDT by MichCapCon
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To: MichCapCon

Obviously the teachers should insist that they only teach children whose parents graduated from college. Surprising how this would make them better teachers.


2 posted on 04/09/2010 8:16:09 AM PDT by ex-snook ("Above all things, truth beareth away the victory.")
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To: MichCapCon

As a teacher I can tell you the unions make my job harder because I have to carry the weight of fat old lazy bastards.

I get often get stuck with more difficult projects with my job depending on its success. This is for half the pay and twice the work time.

The fat union thugs, they do little. They have their own little private schools seperate from the rest of campus where they do whatever they want and students learn nothing.


3 posted on 04/09/2010 8:16:51 AM PDT by Porterville ( I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubble gum)
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To: MichCapCon

The fault is the whole system:
- centralized planning of standards
- funnelling those standards down to ALL schools and teachers
- teachers unions which allow sub-performing teachers to remain on the payroll
- a public run institution which will never attract the best talent
- expectations based on a bar set at the average rather than a bar set for each student’s personal performance
- schools where the bottom tier students struggle and the top tier students get bored due to how the classes are taught.


4 posted on 04/09/2010 8:24:53 AM PDT by Eagle of Liberty (I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve - STUPAK)
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To: MichCapCon

ping for later


5 posted on 04/09/2010 8:31:06 AM PDT by wintertime
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To: 2Jedismom; 6amgelsmama; AAABEST; aberaussie; Aggie Mama; agrace; AliVeritas; AlmaKing; AngieGal; ...

ANOTHER REASON TO HOMESCHOOL

This ping list is for the “other” articles of interest to homeschoolers about education and public school. This can occasionally be a fairly high volume list. Articles pinged to the Another Reason to Homeschool List will be given the keyword of ARTH. (If I remember. If I forget, please feel free to add it yourself) The main Homeschool Ping List handles the homeschool-specific articles. Metmom holds both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping list. Please freepmail Metmom to let her know if you would like to be added to or removed from either list, or both.
6 posted on 04/09/2010 8:34:40 AM PDT by JenB
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To: MichCapCon

Teacher’s unions are only part of the problem. The horrid Bush/Kennedy NCLB is a HUGE part of the problem today. With NCLB, local school districts lost control of their schools to the federal government, to the delight of the teacher’s unions,


7 posted on 04/09/2010 8:37:16 AM PDT by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: JenB

Another blogger using FR to get hits on his site...


8 posted on 04/09/2010 8:37:55 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Do you really want a representative who is more afraid of Nancy Pelosi than of you?)
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA

Yes but I found this one vaguely interesting. Thanks for noting it for others on this thread though.


9 posted on 04/09/2010 8:39:02 AM PDT by JenB
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To: JenB
Thanks JenB - in related news, the FL politicians passed the teacher pay for performance bill (SB6/HB7189) early this morning....now Crist must decide to sign or veto

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/09/1570452/clash-in-class-teachers-fret-over.html

10 posted on 04/09/2010 8:40:53 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA; JenB

I usu don’t give them hits....ocassionally there is something worthy, but more often I find they are parroting stuff from the MSM or other bloggers.


11 posted on 04/09/2010 8:42:38 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: stainlessbanner

That’s an interesting one! Locally it’s not popular with teachers but I’m not thrilled with it either - there’s a little provision that lets them raise taxes, grr.


12 posted on 04/09/2010 8:42:57 AM PDT by JenB
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To: JenB
I'm not closely familiar with it, but I do believe there are factors that teachers cannot control that happen outside of the classroom. The factors (nutrition, family life, drug abuse, etc) have a direct impact on student performance, but teachers have little control over these.

Incentive pay is a good idea, but public school classrooms might not be the best place for it.....I don't know what the answer is.

Interesting though...the GOP shuttled the bill through to Crist here.

13 posted on 04/09/2010 8:48:25 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: stainlessbanner; JenB

I don’t click on their sites either - it just bugs me that they come here and post their opinion pieces using Jim’s bandwidth for their own gain


14 posted on 04/09/2010 8:55:46 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Do you really want a representative who is more afraid of Nancy Pelosi than of you?)
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA; JenB
I just noticed we're all class of '01.
My general rule is I don't trust anyone with a born-on date after 2004 on FR. There are some fantastic posters that have joined in recent years, but there are a lot of blog pimps and one-hit wonders in the last 4-5 years.
15 posted on 04/09/2010 8:59:39 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA

“I’m not closely familiar with it, but I do believe there are factors that teachers cannot control that happen outside of the classroom. The factors (nutrition, family life, drug abuse, etc) have a direct impact on student performance, but teachers have little control over these.

Incentive pay is a good idea, but public school classrooms might not be the best place for it”

That would be true- and one of the worst parts of being a conservative in education is that your fellow conservatives think it can be reduced to the level of paying production wages on a factory assembly line. We are not cranking out widgets at $1.50 per unit, at so many per hour. A lot of what teachers do is not completely quantifiable.


16 posted on 04/09/2010 9:00:44 AM PDT by GenXteacher (He that hath no stomach for this fight, let him depart!)
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To: stainlessbanner

Heh, not the worst rule... but you can check their posting history pretty easily and figure out.

Still, even a blog pimp can make a good point now and then. One of these days blogs will be more reputable than mainstream media and I figure we’ll give them rope to hang themselves til then.


17 posted on 04/09/2010 9:01:58 AM PDT by JenB
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To: stainlessbanner

I always look at join date too -


18 posted on 04/09/2010 9:02:09 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Do you really want a representative who is more afraid of Nancy Pelosi than of you?)
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To: GenXteacher; stainlessbanner
I think you meant this comment to go to stainlessbanner.
19 posted on 04/09/2010 9:06:30 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Do you really want a representative who is more afraid of Nancy Pelosi than of you?)
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA

I think I did too- very sorry!


20 posted on 04/09/2010 9:09:45 AM PDT by GenXteacher (He that hath no stomach for this fight, let him depart!)
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