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Posted on 11/19/2007 4:40:44 AM PST by radar101
Hi, my name is Migdia Chinea and I'm a recovering LAUSD "substitute."
Oh, I'm also UCLA-educated with honors, refined, empathetic, college-level Spanish fluent and a Googleable professional screenwriter.
To make ends meet during hard economic times, I became a "substitute teacher" for the Los Angeles Unified School District, or LAUSD – or to put it more kindly, a "guest teacher." As a guest LAUSD teacher I thought I would be an asset, but the system has never appreciated nor taken advantage of my educational or professional hard-earned accomplishments.
There's no teaching going on at LAUSD – only confinement of the sort one may find in a penal colony, complete with walkie-talkie-carrying wardens and bullhorns.
Recently, I was privy to a narrative by a teacher in which he complained that after a one-day absence, his classroom was in shreds and wall posters were torn down. His VHS player and flash drive with all lesson plans were stolen as was his computer. Lab equipment was broken and tagged with gang symbols in permanent marker and completely nonfunctional. He was subsequently informed that his substitute teacher had walked out of the classroom numerous times throughout the day and had left the students to themselves. He wondered how the substitute could be so irresponsible and how he would break the news to his seventh-graders about their tagged notebooks with profane language and two-weeks worth of work in the garbage. Oh, woe!
I
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Not sure how much I blame the unions for this. Many public schools have unions and they are not war zones (or even close). Its the society in which the schools operate.
“Corrupt Democrats”? Why so redundant? Unions, too? Indeed.
none of this surprises me. And of course the usual cast of American bigots will chime in on the done-deal open borders policy tacitly supported by both U.S. Political parties. But the truth is that it’s an example of what happens under generations of LibDem leadership.......no discipline, total chaos and ultimately the creation of a sort of Lord of the Flys sub-culture that’s completely out of control. Same thing has happened in England which has devolved into a one party country due to the fact that everyone over there is on the dole one way or the other.
The Author
Migdia Chinea-Varela (a.k.a. Migdia Chinea) is a Cuban-American screenwriter and actress. She was a writer for the TV series The Incredible Hulk and Superboy, and has contributed episodes to other series. Since 1971 she has appeared in several TV and movie roles.
Migdia Chinea Varela-Chinea was the first Latina to join the Writers Guild of America West (WGAw), and founded its Latino Writers Committee. She has written and spoken publicly about discrimination in the U.S. entertainment industry, testifying before the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in October 1997.
Another California liberal forced to see the truth.
June 17, 2007 at 11:34 am Migdia Chinea Said:
Migdia Chinea
________________________________________________________
June 12, 2007
The Honorable Jack O’Connell
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Revised
1430 North Street, Suite 5602
Sacramento, CA 95814-5901 Telephone: (916) 319-0800
Dear Superintendent O’Connell:
I have enclosed some unanswered letters to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent David L. Brewer that illustrate my dilemma. I am a professional screenwriter with numerous produced onscreen credits and my name is Googleable. Out of financial necessity, and a need for comprehensive health insurance, I’ve been substitute teaching for LAUSD. The job itself is grueling because I’m being sent to ghetto school classrooms which are dilapidated and filthy and where many of the students are serious undiagnosed behavioral problems, therefore, rather than teaching, the students require containment and supervision.
Yesterday, while I went on a 5-minute errand, someone used a key to enter the classroom to which I was assigned and stole several valuable personal items, including a two-week-old SONY VAIO laptop worth close to $3,000.00 which I had bought to make my job easier, my prescription glasses, etc. The school never responded to several calls for security, which is the norm at LAUSD. I had to report the theft by calling 911. The school is refusing to consider any accountability for this theft — even though it was obviously an inside job.
I feel that Superintendent Brewer was incorrectly assigned to his position – the Los Angeles Times reported that this man, who has never taught anyone in his life, is disconnected from reality. I read that he owns two yachts and makes a hefty salary. Thus, I believe that he may be part of the problem and not competent nor capable of coming up with a solution to the many problems facing education in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, my life has been placed in danger, whereas no one is apparently accountable within the system.
School enrollments are growing and problems are worsening. The class at which I was substitute-teaching at Lincoln High School on Monday - Mr. Martinez’ Math class 5B – has been left unattended for several months due to Mr. Martinez’ illness and has not had a regular substitute teacher. Many of the kids spend their class time watching videos while seeing a procession of substitutes go through with no academic agenda. They have no grades to show.
I may also add that various subject teachers with whom I’ve spoken tell me that 90% of their classes are failing and that they give out charity “D’s” for the students to “pass” and get out of there. They have told me that they’re “obligated” to do so by the Los Angeles Unified School District in their efforts to cover up ineptitude on the system’s part.
The above situation makes a safe, learning environment extremely difficult for the students as well as the teachers. Could you kindly review the material enclosed? A copy of this letter is going to U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and State of California Director of Safe Schools Jan Mayer.
Thank you for your time and diligent consideration of the issues detailed above. As a resident of the State of California, member of the teaching staff and as a parent, I urge you to please consider the issues raised for the benefit of our children and for the future of education in Los Angeles.
Sincerely,
Migdia Chinea
Enclosures –
cc: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
California Senator Diane Feinstein
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
State of California Director of Safe Schools Jan Mayer.
Los Angeles Unified School District David L. Brewer
Los Angeles City Mayor Antonio Villarraigosa
National Organization for Women San Fernando Valley Chapter Co-President Jan B. Tucker
The title you created: “Corrupt Democrats and unions have deliberately turned LA schools into war zone” was not the title at the source.
Please do not alter titles of any published material.
We must remove the Christmas carols!!!!
What is the old saying? “A conservative is a liberal that’s been mugged.”
World Net Daily is excerpt only. Your post has to be removed.
First step would have to be determining which students even belong in the United States and heave the rest back into Mexico. The virtues of the simple catapult are often overlooked in our age of sophisticated weaponry. Catapults were instrumental in the one good deed which the Mongol empire ever did for mankind, i.e. Hulagu’s destruction of the Ismailian sect in 1255 - 56, in which gunpowder bombs were hurled into those castles which were thought to be impregnable. My own guess is that we’d only have to hog-tie four or five of those latino gang members and similarly heave them over the line into Mexico, and the rest would either leave on their own volition or radically upgrade their behavior.
My wife is a teacher in an alternative high school, but we live in TX and the principle is a Marine combat vet. There is discipline. But that said her best friend is now a teacher, but until last year was a long term sub in a large district in Mass. She said it best about subs in the district and how things have fallen, “If the kids aren’t bleeding or breeding by the end of the day you had a good day.”
My wife and I have already decided our kids go to private Catholic schools, just like her friend’s sons do.
Memo to self-
When I substitute teach in El Barrio don’t carry $3,000 cash and don’t bring in my $3,000 laptop
The principal is your pal
Thanks for that info. I’ll bet you didn’t know that WND sells its “book reviews” for $31,000, as part of a month long advertisement package? Yep. They are striclty into conservatism for the money, so I guess I’m not surprised that they object to a few paragraphs from an article being reposted without payment.
This principle is in his first year and doing good, but in a way he has it easier then LA. He in In TX in a small school with only 200 students. This school is the last resort to get a diploma for many so there is a waiting list to get in. To much problems and bye bye.
Liberal’s answer to this situation. Toss more money at the problem and continue to elect and hire the same liberals who allow this situation to perpetuate.
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