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Posted on 10/14/2011 5:40:57 AM PDT by Tribune7
A sparse crowd of about 200 heard a panel of Democrat state legislators from Delaware County, Oct. 13, at the Upper Darby Center For Performing Arts describe how public schools in Pennsylvania are doomed unless they get back in charge.
The event was sponsored by PA PASS, a public education advocacy group.
The initials stand for Parent Advocates for Public Education To Achieve Student Success.
On the panel were Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17), Rep. Greg Vitali (D-166), Rep. Margo L. Davidson (D-164), Rep. Maria P. Donatucci (D-185), and Rep. Ronald G. Waters (D-191) along with Michael Stoll, who is communications coordinator for State Rep. Bill Adolph (R-165) and Jeffrey S. Miller who is the Republican budget analyst for the Appropriations Committee for the State House, which Adolph chairs.
Leach started things off by saying that there was a "severe and existential threat to public education".
(snip)
Vitali echoed the despair.
"I truly believe it is a dire situation," he said. He said the budget cuts were driven by "ideology not necessity.
"(Gov. Tom) Corbett put the interest of oil drillers over children," he said referring to the reluctance of the governor to levy additional taxes on drilling in Marcellus Shale.
He also pined for the days of Gov. Rendell.
"Rendell was an aggressive fighter for public education," he said.
He compared public schools to public libraries and said the 9.1 unemployment rate comes from layoffs in the public sector. Whatever it was he was smoking it would probably have been polite if he offered to share it.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.billlawrenceonline.com ...
ping
Why?
CHICAGO
Biology class activiies at CPS
http://www.wgntv.com/videogallery/65398957/News/Classroom-fight-caught-on-tape
Parents are suppose to be in charge, not the teachers union.
The teacher unions' job is to create as many social failures as possible, because social failure increases the democrat base.
It's not about the kids any more. It about power, wages, and totally awesome retirement packages. If the teachers continue to create failures, the democrats will continue to toss them the cash. The two scratch each others back.
There's a special place in hell waiting for these people.
The real reason for the "stimulus" was political payoff to public employee unions and others.
The first thing that any state should do once it comes under Republican control is emulate Wisconsin and gut the public-employee unions' powers, especially including the elimination of paycheck deduction of union dues.
The sad thing is those parents actually think they are.
It's only when their kids get stuck with a bad teacher or their circumstances change so they have trouble with their property tax is when reality starts to dawn on them.
Dittos.
These scumbag morons told everyone that if we just approved casino gambling in Pennsylvania that all our school-funding issues would go away.
They told us that property taxes would go down.
They lied.....like they always do.
Last November we put Republicans fully in charge of the state government. We want property tax reform, teacher accountibilty, a tough stand against the PSEA and other education reforms. So far we have nothing. What can they be afraid of??
The schools punish the children when the parents disobey.
If the school wants something, and the citizenry says "no", the schools eliminate gym, art, or shorten the kids lunch break, and blame it on their parents. It's the kids who end up suffering.
They're not only used as dollar signs, they're also used as political tools. It's not about the kids anymore. The kids are now being used as weapons.
How appropriate that this be held at the Performing Arts Center.
One can only hope. I wish they wouldn't get out hopes up like this and then we find out the schools are still public.
Post 15, out = our. Sorry.
It is time for the complete edifice of “public schools” be torn down.
Return local control, get the feds out, and let the parents of school aged children see to the education of their children.
There are SO MANY resources out there, the school system has become as archaic as the medieval scribe. The internet is getting going, and there are TONS of homeschool providers that the brick and mortar, and the pensions of teachers aren’t needed anymore.
Freedom is HOMESCHOOL!!!
May be of interest, ping!
American schools Doomed?
Does that come as a surprise?
American schools have been doomed ever since the teachers’ union have decided to put their greedy interests before the education of our kids.
Fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. ranked 25th among peers from 34 countries on a math test and scored in the middle in science and reading, while China’s Shanghai topped the charts.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said recently, “The results show that U.S. students must improve to compete in a global economy.”
He said, “The brutal fact here is there are many countries that are far ahead of us and improving more rapidly than we are,” Duncan said. “This should be a massive wake-up call to the entire country.”
No kidding! Duncan heads a department installed by President Jimmy Carter. A good first step to making American kids competitive again would be to erase the Department of Education.
An excellent second step would be to install a national voucher system that would allow parents to send their children to the school of their choice.
Haverford School Director Larry Feinberg, who was one of the event’s organizers, is obviously unhappy with the thought of school choice and vouchers.
Geez, the idea of giving parents an opportunity of sending kids to a school that provides a decent education can really rub some people wrong.
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