Liberals Seize Educational Reform

Accuracy in Academia ^ | November 17, 2010 | Malcolm A. Kline

[Academiadotorg]

The educational reforms some conservatives have championed for decades may actually have a chance at a second life now that a few liberals have embraced them.

For example, the current darling of conservative reformers, outgoing Washington, D. C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, was a Democratic appointee in a Democratic administration in one of the most Democratic (in party registrations) cities in America. In Washington, pre-Rhee, “Over 95 percent of teachers in D. C. P. S. rated satisfactory while 10 percent of students were reading at grade level,” Jason Kamras of Teaching Human Capital said at the Atlantic Forum on K-12 Education.

Karmas also taught math at the Sousa School in Southwest Washington. “The original ratings [of teachers] put more emphasis on quiet classrooms than successful ones where children learned,” Kamras claimed. As well, Rhee had to contend with “a culture in education of not being evaluated.”

She dealt with this, in part, by offering a $20,000 pay-for-performance bonus. “They’ll go out by the end of the year,” Kamras said.

The Atlantic Forum was held on November 10, 2010 at the Washington headquarters of the Gallup Organization, which co-sponsored the conference. Shane Lopez, a social scientist in residence at Gallup, noted that “Teachers lead the nation in five or six professions in terms of well-being.” Yet and still, he found that 50 percent of students report being “engaged” in their studies compared to 40 percent of teachers who report “engagement” with their work.

[Seruzawa]

This is going the wrong way. You don’t give a bonus to teachers for doing the job they were hired to do. You fire the ones who don’t. Just like any other profession. Meet the requirements or take a hike.

[Democrat_media]

The government schools must be abolished. This is just trying to make something which doesn't work ,socialism ,work.

To save the United States we must:

1. The U.S. must deport all illegals and build a fence.

2. The U.S. must repeal all laws, Amendments, regulations ,all government agencies, to 1890 when America actually had a limited government.The TSA, EPA, FDA ,HHS, HUD,FEC,dept of energy, dept of education, government schools,pro-union laws, 16th amendment (the income tax),FCC,etc., are socialist abominations that are against freedom and cripple the U.S. economy. Democrat Congresses have passed almost all these big government laws.

[umgud]

We have two problems;

One is the public union socialist school system.

The other is far too many students who don’t want to be educated and have parent(s) who obviously don’t care either.

[pnh102]

DC does not deserve good schools. They voted 93% for 0bama, who promised to take away the school choice program, and then they voted against the very mayor who was trying to fix the public school system.

[Linda Frances]

These teachers are a protected bred; treated like an endangered species who are not really endangered. When are we going to see a presidential candidate voice these concerns to all Americans. They CANNOT just say we have bad teachers; they need stats behind them and tell how the liberals protect them over our children's education. What is more important, teachers (bad ones) keeping their jobs or our children really learning. We tip toe around them because the liberals have made them so powerful. As you all know, the government schools are a monopoly, just like everything else we get from the government, they don't have to live up to the same standards as business. As you said, if they don't do their jobs, they should be fired, but that does not happen in the government. (My husband just retired from the DOD and had people who should be fired, but instead they were transferred around so some other poor person had to deal with them. He had one guy 5 different people tried to fire & he went running to HR crying foul.
I'd love to see a commercial giving these stats. That is why I like Sarah. She tells it like it is. I hope if she does not run for president she is RNC chair.

[wintertime]

I agree with all the points that you made.

By 1890 one to two generations of voters had been made comfortable with socialism by attending their collectivist government schools. Gee! If the government can use the threat of police to give the voters socialist schooling, why not a thousand other socialist goods and services.

The only way to fix our nation's schools would be to have schools that are not godless, not collectivist, not socialist funded, not compulsory, not government run and managed by people's collectives ( oops! school boards).

Well...The above would be called PRIVATE.

Our government schools have **always** been corrupt because of the collectivist and socialist foundation upon which they are built.

I will add that our earliest collectivist government schools did offer up a lukewarm and generic Protestantism. However...We know what Christ does with the lukewarm. He spits them out of His mouth.

[SaraJohnson]

I got some education reform. Eliminate the Department of Education as it is a State and local function. That will “fix” many evils as it is the play groud of the elitists who hate us.