Posted on 10/21/2004 6:17:28 PM PDT by mlmr
I have had to place some of my children in the local government schools. I am keeping the school on a fairly short leash and spend more than the usual amount of time talking to school employees.
Every school employee except for the busdriver has, each time we have spoken togher, has put in a POINTED slam of the No Child Left Behind program. All of them. All the time. One employee told me that I had to provide a reason and a note when the child is missing for a day...becasue No Child Left Behind requires it. Althoug friends in other districts deny thier schools requiring any such thing. And I certainly know that this is a FEDERAL mandate since the speakers all refer to this issue.
Is this a NEA or state union push. It is very effective for on a one to one basis with all parents during the teacher meetings this year, which are mostly held before the elections, parents are being told that the present administration is screwing up their child.
Any other government school parents experiencing this???
It's clearly a lie. Tell them so. If they insist that's what they're being told, tell them they are being lied to and used for political purposes. Ask them how they feel about that.
BRAVO SIERRA...............excusal notes have always been required when a child misses a day of school. And a doctor's not for a prolonged absence.
Let me tell you about my daughter. She earned three degrees in 5 years, played basketball for Ohio State, and was a 4 year Big 10 Scholar Athlete. She is now happily married to the man of her dreams. She has morals, values, and is a staunch Republican. AND SHE IS A TEACHER.
Sadly, she is most probably getting out of the profession soon. She teaches HS Math in an urban school, and has gone through alot in the last 2 years. The worst was getting punched in the face by a female student last year.
As we were talking on the phone tonight, her call waiting beeped in with a message from the NEA about voting for Kerry. She was furious. She is held hostage by her union, having to pay the 900 annual dues, whether she chooses to join or not. And some of her hard earned money is going into the Kerry campaign.
I don't mean to ramble, but I guess I just want to make the point that it's time for any parent who has a child in the public school system to speak out. There are some really good, hard working, Conservative teachers out there. Maybe not for long though, if things go on as they are.
A timely example of why schools need to be held to high *verifiable* standards:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1252375/posts
Because nuts like this run our school systems now.
I was sorry to read about your daughter thinking of leaving the teaching profession. Ohio citizens need to get active in making Ohio a "right to work" state like Florida. Teachers in Florida do not have to join the local unions/NEA or pay dues unless they wish to. Many teachers feel the need to join unions for liability insurance offered by NEA. Fortunately in Florida, Governor Bush was instrumental in getting through free liability insurance for all Florida educators. I left membership in NEA 25 years ago! Your daughter having to pay $900 to the NEA organization which passes $ to the Democratic Party is a shame! I have heard that in some states where teachers are forced to join NEA, that many are fighting in courts to allow choice in membership. I hope things work out for your daughter.
Thanks for your post. I'll pass along this info to my daughter.
Sounds like Florida has it together, where teachers are concerned.....thanks to Gov. Bush.
It's sink or swim time.
If they don't learn English let them repeat and repeat till they do. It's the only way. My relatives didn't speak a lick of English when they arrived in the 20's and they PROSPERED. They went to a local highschool to learn it at their OWN expense.
Truly when the government pays for it whether it's state or local it doesn't really matter. If you want to nit pick, it appears the state wasn't doing a good job, hence the federal government stepped in. Nothing would have changed if they didn't.
This was always the thing that burned me when my kids were in public school. The system forced parents to lie. A parent's word should be enough to take their own kid out of school when they feel it's necessary. It should be nobody's business why. Sometimes things come up that are not "excused" absences that are more important than school. Taking your child to see the President would not be an excused absence but worth more educationally than a day at school.
My daughter-in-law is a teacher with a masters. She has not mentioned NCLB to me. She seems very happy with her job. She started as a kindergarden teacher, then moved up to first grade. After two years of that she asked to be moved back to K. It was because of discipline problems. She said that the K kids are easier to handle. By first grade they are already out of control. Parents don't discipline at all and defy the school to discipline.
I think this issue needs to be screamed about relentlessly and loudly.
Hideous.
Speaking of indoctrinate . I know this is a bit off topic but..I teach in North NJ ..The school now has an ISLAMIC society. 2 days ago the society put stacks of their new Islamic Magazine into all teachers mailboxes. Some articles were VERY ( but somewhat veiled ) anti semetic and anti Christian . There was also a poem that mentioned that being a terrorist here is OK .Our school wittnessed 9/11 outside our windows and we had students who lost parents that day .. Only myself and another teacher protested this disgrace. The distric ( because elections are coming up ) chose to ignore it rather than "bother" the small Moslem population.Isn't this a breech of seperation of church and state, handing out religious material in a public school ? We need some help here .Any suggestions ? Most teachers think this is a horrible situation but are afraid to say anything , fearing being branded a bigot..Apologies to all for getting off topic here but this is important and a disgrace.
and if someone had put christian magazines in the boxes the reaction would be what??
All hell would have broken loose. We're nOT ALLOWED to put up a Merry Christmas sign during the holidays because it OFFENDS non Christians ( Our school is %99 hispanic and roman catholic by the way ) A student painting of the Pieta had to be removed because it "promoted Christianity" but an Islamic Magizine can be put all over the school ..THATS OK ..
One teacher and myself have the gumption to try to do something about this . The Board of Ed is useless and wishes to not get involved ( election year ya see)I've written to a few local newspapers ..no reaction. Most teachers fear they will loose their jobs is they push this issue now that the Board is ignoring it . This is REAL bad and I'm at a loos as to where to turn for help.
I read about a case where the NY schools decided it was OK for Muslim students to throw down prayer rugs and pray 3 times a day but not allow Christians to pray during the lunch hour.
equality ain't what its cracked up to be
It's not only about equality.I do believe it's against the law to circulate religious material in a public school.Especially material that has articles that are negative towards other religions. The it's OK to be a terrorist poem is the real topper , especially that our school witnessed 9/11 right outside our windows.
I needed a reason and a note from my parents to miss school and I graduated high school in 1957.
The school has to have this for their record keeping. They have to be secure in the fact that the parent KNOWS the kid is absent, and not abducted or something in a custody case or whatever. They get paid based upon attendance, so knowing who is absent and why is critical. If a kid is sick, the type of sickness and it's impact on the rest of the school is also of interest.
Quite right. Like the "Five-year Plans," and other utopian boondoggles of the Communists. They are obsessed with abstractions, fads, and propaganda. Lenin never even set foot in a factory while lecturing "the workers" (he had never been one). Utopia is no place, where nothing is real, nothing gets done, no results are forthcoming, truth is nowhere to be found, and nobody benefits. Americans should study up on Collective Farms, because our schools look a lot like them.
Teachers are libs and hate Bush. Don't worry too much because the only parents who hang out at school being active in their children's educations are conservatives.
I know here in Kentucky someone with a major in chemistry (or other area) can get a provisional certificate and start teaching chemistry and getting their Masters of Teaching at the same time. I have heard teachers who went the traditional route complain about this and one blamed NCLB for requiring teachers to be certified in the area that they teach - thus the demand for people who have majored in that field.
I don't think this is such a bad thing. People who have majored in an area and put their knowledge of that subject to use might make excellent teachers.
I'm married to a teacher, and it happened to me. I went to my son's preschool class. One of the teachers said something snide about it.
My reply:
"You DO know that Ted Kennedy wrote the bill, right?"
Silence.
"What does that have to do with it?"
Me: "George Bush didn't write the bill, and the guy that did is the NEA's number one supporter in Congress. He's a Democrat, and he wrote the bill and then asked Bush to sign it, which he did."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, if Ted wrote it, then you have to assume that the NEA was probably in the room while it was being crafted. That means that your union dues went into making damn sure that the bill passed. In effect, you paid for that bill with your own money. Why blame Bush for signing a bill that Ted Kennedy asked him to sign?"
They just looked at each other. They couldn't believe it.
Then I said: "If this plan is so bad, what's the NEA's alternative, because if it is better, then what happened?"
Nothing. Silence. Embarrassment.
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