Please note that it is wintertime who is resorting to this "Alynsky tactic."
He has never once set foot in my classroom, has never seen me teach nor seen any of the prep work I do on a daily basis. He has never seen any of my interactions with students or their parents. To the best of my knowledge he has never once taught more than one or two of his own children at the high school level at a time, never mind the 20 to thirty that most of us teach. I also understand that he has never taught at the college level. His posts are made in total ignorance, save the single incidence that defines his own pitiful parenting skills. I have offered this person a list of students that he can in under his wing and demonstrate the magic powers of home schooling, and never gotten a single reply.
He has regularly ignored the fact that I and almost every other public school teacher on the FR site agrees that he system does need repair. Rather than making positive comments old winterboy continues with the snide comments about what "**professional**" teachers would and would never do. Rather than engage in legitimate debate he continually resorts to emotional arguments referring to the "Prussian model" in an attempt to make the system seem like some sort of Russian gulag system.
Over the years he has suggested that the public school teachers union be disbanded. When I asked him about the similar unions for police and firefighters I never received a reply.
Further on a previous thread one of winters truly "enlightened" fans advocated violence against a public school person. Several of us begged him to distance himself from these comments, he refused even after the mods deleted those comments.
Now I am certain that this post will draw the ire of the "great and powerful" wintertime and he will make a snide comment about Alynsky tactics for telling the truth about his history and behavior. I am also certain that he will again thank me for "moving this up in the post" oblivious to the fact that it really only appears moved up on the list of people pinged.
I truly hope that some of the more "mainstream" home school supporters whisper in wintertime's ear that he is doing your cause no good and is instead relegating this cause to the "fringe kook" corner.
The schools reflect the community
They HAVE to do so since that is the human element in the school.
Solution? Well, it's sort of kind of easy and hard at the same time...Conservatives have to make their voices heard at the school board level. If a few citizens speaking out can get something like this passed, why can't a few conservatives get it out? As has been mentioned before though, conservatives tend to be busy, busy. If I were a homeschooler, I would STILL want the public schools to reflect conservative, traditional values and would attend meetings demanding good value for my tax dollars. Help choose textbooks and weed out the ones that don't support a conservative view. Be visible and be heard.
Others see their role differently...posting on FR is a good idea, it's just that if that is all one does, the effect is much less reaching.Then there's people like you and me Verga, we are out doing the job that others don't want to do. And doing it with a clean conscience. And doing it conservatively.
Enjoy the rest of your summer -- the battle begins soon...Stay strong!
So?....Where are the studies and articles debunking the posted article? Aren't professional teachers up to date on teaching issues? Why don't we see these posts and threads?
And....Where are all the “good” teachers protesting this perversion? Good professional teachers should have immediate access to their website links, organizations, and published articles.
Please re-read my posts. I do strive not to direct my comments to any specific person ( that includes you) but address the problems of government schooling and its teachers in a **GENERAL** manner. I am not perfect, however, and if, on occasion, I have not done so, I apologize.
Finally....( With absolutely NO sarcasm )
I personally know that as **professionals** the government teachers would never be snide with their students. They would**always** stick to the issue and defend their position with solid statistics and links and **never** dismiss a student with accusations of “bullying, ignorance, foolishness, thin skinnedness, canned responses, bigotry, Alinsky tactics, and hypocrisy”. Nope! A **professional** teacher would **never** do that. ( No sarc tag)
Oh, bullshit. Grow up; both of you. I don’t care to hear about your trials and tribulations, the oh-so-tough world of public teaching. You may be an exception, but most of your peers are morons who couldn’t cut it in any other field of study in college. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together and any life experience knows it, too, so spare me.
Educrats are one of the worst problems facing families and taxpayers in American life. You picked the wrong site to defend them and their profesion.
As for “winterboy”, I don’t know ‘im, don’t care what he has to say. My ex and I homeschooled a house full of children over a period of decades; what we “produced” will and do run circles around your public school product. Don’t think you want to challenge me (or most home schoolers) on that one.
One more idiot refers to home schoolers as “fringe kook” I’ll bitch slap ‘em, I swear.
Forgot to add, sport.....I’d break up your teachers’ union, firefighters’ unions, police unions....ANY unions of public employees....in a New York minute. If I have to explain why, you’re on the wrong site.
The most useful and important work that I could be doing is to warn parents about the godless government schools. Children are saved from the government school perversion one child at a time. Only parents can do that and it is to them that I direct my message.
As for teachers: There are a few good teachers. They are the teachers who take every opportunity to persuade parents to NOT to send their precious children into the godless government schools. These teachers likely have very short careers.