Teacher: It's a feeling of us vs. them

Odessa American ^ | 1/22/12 | Cayler Ballinger

[Nachum]

Cleaning out years of projects and student art from her classroom was an emotional process for Teri Cowan, but she felt it was her only choice. Cowan worked for the Ector County Independent School District for 23 years, 13 of those years teaching Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate sophomore English at Odessa High School. She was teacher of the year for the 2010-11 school year at the high school and secondary teacher of the year for ECISD for the 1995-96 school year. As well as volunteering as the National Honor Society, prom and class council sponsors. Tuesday, Jan. 17, was

[verga]

Yep, as long as “educators” have performed their sacred environmental brainwashing, who cares if our children can do simple arithmetic.

It’s how they ‘feel’ about numbers that matters.

What have you personally to change that?

[verga]

Teaching is, or ought to be (in my often not humble enough opinion), a calling, like the ministry.

I agree with you, but the militant home schooling nazis will tell you it is a job and nothing more. Be ready for the assault.

[Clara Lou]

We don’t have teacher’s unions in Texas like the ones in the northeast. I have a teacher’s organization that I belonged to for professional insurance. I made sure to join one that keeps all dues in Texas. It is also not affiliated with any national teacher’s union.

[Clara Lou]

What, are you drunk? You’re certainly not funny.

[Clara Lou]

Yes, it’s still as I described it.

[Clara Lou]

I doubt that you have any friends, personally. A sanctimonious person such as yourself is insufferable.

[verga]

How did I every manage to get three homeschoolers into college at the ages of 13, 12, and 13 with two earning B.S. degrees in math at the age of 18?

By sending them to public schools when it was convenient for you, and then sending them to community (Public state funded) colleges, which you also attended. You need to tell the whole truth.

Let me ask you a question Why is it you will support the anti Catholics as long as they are home schoolers, but you won'(Refuse out right) to defend the Catholic Church against their bigoted attacks.

And before you ask I will feel free to respond to any and every single post of yours that I feel needs to be corrected, so don;'t even both asking me not to respond to you.

[Clara Lou]

I’ve only heard of CSCOPE, and nothing complementary, by the way. I’m glad to be out of it. Teaching is like being caught in a C-clamp that is being tightened more each year.

[verga]

Not worth repeating your whining, but let me ask you a related question, The police and fire Departments are all members of public unions, and you don't speak out against them, The police enforce the laws of this “leftist government that you constantly whine about, have you told them to quit? Do you post to threads advising people not to listen to the police?

[MV=PY]

Would you mind sharing the county or location? PM me if you like.

Much obliged...

[verga]

I doubt that you have any friends, personally. A sanctimonious person such as yourself is insufferable.

You are 100% correct, now be prepared for wintertime to rain his wrath down upon you. He always tends to make these extreme comments and then has to back down from them when he is called on his bizarre "facts"

[netmilsmom]

>>but the militant home schooling nazis <<

Anyone who calls another FReeper a nazi loses the debate.

[verga]

Anyone who calls another FReeper a nazi loses the debate.

Only if it is an inaccurate description, if it is accurate it is counted as an automatic win. Also notice that I did not refer to a specific person, do you have a guilty conscience?

[metmom]

Godwin’s Law.

[wintertime]

Please do not post ( mail or ping) to me for the remainder of this thread. I will extend the sam courtesy to you. Please feel free, though, to have the last word.

Respectfully,

Wintertime

[Lancey Howard]

Thanks for the clarification.

FRegards,
LH

[Col Freeper]

I’ve worked as an assistant teacher in special ed. My question is this- why can’t the office assistants handle this? Let the teachers teach, let the administrators administrate.

Having read the article I found this info at the bottom. It pretty much locks the Teacher into being the one who has to enter the information on each student:

What is Eduphoria?

Eduphoria is an online software ECISD uses district-wide. The program allows teachers to input student exams into the program and it identifies exactly which strategies the student is struggling with. It also has a lesson plan component where ECISD teachers must enter their lessons, explain which state assessment is taught and how the teacher would alter any given lesson if something goes wrong.

What is CSCOPE?

CSCOPE is a web-based lesson plan software program. It provides the time sequence needed for teachers on when to teach lessons as required by the state standards and how long to spend on each lesson. The lessons provide units, exams and projects for teachers of every grade level. The district currently uses CSCOPE only for mathematics and science.

Additionally, I particularly liked this bit of gobbledygook (Administrator Quinitela's) response to the Teacher's complaint:

"Quinitela said the school was redefining its path and focus through new programs he believed in and the district was doing nothing wrong with its expectations."

I suspect that if you follow the money, you will find that there were some significant greasing of palms when the Organization/Company that sold this software to the Texas School System promised that it would (using flowery PHD level words): "maximize learning, minimize effort, empower students, teachers and parents, illuminate shortfalls in the existing learning process, yadda, yadda, yadda."

I also suspect that the administrators/local experts on the new software systems attended minimalist indoctrination/introduction classes, and can't answer/resolve the questions/needs of the Teachers saddled with this new White Elephant, resulting in lots of "Administrator gobbledygook talk masking their lack of knowledge (and lack of real interest).

Unfortunately, I saw such situations too many times while working for the Federal Government.

Probably time for some quality teachers to start up some small private shools (the modern equivalent of Texas prarieschools of olden times). With the low cost technology available today I suspect it would be amazing what would happen (think small business homeschool approaches).

[Lancey Howard]

In many areas of the country, particularly those areas that are close to concentrated Democrat parasite nests (”cities”), it is akin to child abuse to send children into the government schools. In such areas parents who love their children should homeschool them, no matter how great the inconvenience.

In places where the majority of people are normal and decent, it is still critical that parents debrief their children after school to find out what the teachers may be feeding them. This, too, is an inconvenience but it’s something that loving parents must do regularly.

FRegards,
LH

[rwfromkansas]

Their choice.

My doctor is closed for a month for Christmas.

My orthodontist when younger shut the office down for a week for Thanksgiving, two weeks for Christmas, and numerous weeks in summer.

Many people who don’t take vacation do so by choice and rack up months of time off but are just workaholics or afraid of getting fired for taking some time off to enjoy life.

[CMAC51]

you come and tell me about my “ingnorance” again

Your ignorance was in blaming a non-existent union.

Your stupidity is pointing your finger, without any knowledge to back it up, at a particular group. Texas sufffers from top down imposition of theory and practices developed by the liberal education ruling class of the north. They are also saddled with the burden of one of the highest percentage of illegal immigrants/children of illegal immigrants. A problem promulgated by the Federal Government, not the education system in Texas. Tasking teachers to educate students whose parents don't care is a task in futility.

Refering directly to the article that you so ignorantly commented on, demonstrates how administrators seek to improve education by sticking teachers behind computers at the cost of preperation and instructional time. Teachers cannot be held responsible for imposed stupidity. Between the push for technology and profligate spending by administrations on non instructional material, school systems are saddled with bug riddled software that does not deliver, increases the time demands on teachers and impedes progress. The article references two examples, however most school districts have the same disease under different names.

In the early 90's a commission headed by Ross Perot, comprised mainly of non-educational professionals developed a plan for Texas which created a meteoric rise in performce through the decade. Unfortunaley, increased Federal involvement and control of funding has resulted in Administrations populated with "elite educators" who have zero experience in actual instruction. Coupled with the increased burdens of illegals, they have produced a steady decline in performance since the end of the 90's.

Sighting a few statistics may indicate a limited level of research. However, you had already demonstrated your ignorance by blaming a union that doesn't exist. You then moved on to stupidty by castigating teachers without possessing any of the salient background information. Sighting global metrics to indict the least empowered element of the system doesn't change that.