About the only time people on different sides of an issue agree, is when they quit posting and decide to call it a day. Just when you think people are starting to come to some consensus, in comes a poster with all intent to upset the apple cart and the ones who were starting to agree, go right back to their partisan corner because their reinforcements arrived.
If you been on our forum for any length of time you should know what side I will take on just about any issue. It's in my DNA but I still know that there is another side that has a legitimate point of view. I believe this is why EA said that posters should be more forthcoming because she likes to know who she is arguing with and what they stand for. That's why it's puzzling that stillthewaywardwind and BigJ compared them self to cattleman. Nothing could be further from the truth, in my opinion. So far, cattleman has not been controversial and has been willing to entertain both sides, even though he might have a difference of opinion. It's not a knock on the two individuals I mentioned but like myself, their views are known and they certainly aren't as willing to try to understand both sides of the issues. For example, stillthewaywardwind, give the impression that the police in Colorado had no possible cause to temporarily detain some innocent civilians. You can read a story for yourself here
Democrats often lose their arguments with Republicans because the latter will always stick to their guns, no matter what the polls say, they will find words to make people change their minds and as Bill Maher pointed out last night. You'll always hear a republican candidate speak proudly of his conservative credentials and condemn government and then convince their constituents to send them to Washington to be a member of a body they hate. On the other side, my party refuses to embrace the healthcare law that was passed or Dodd-Frank and they wonder why the arguments are being fought on the right of center home field. They call the president a socialist but if he is; he's a terrible one. Think about it, the public option was never on the table, the president never nationalize the banks although he should have broke them up, he's barely saying that we need firefighters, policemen, and teachers (public sector jobs) and is mostly bragging about the 4.3 million private sector jobs that were created. The Tea Party holds the Republicans feet- to -the fire but the liberals aren't doing the same to the president. Yes liberals are complaining a little bit but they're not trying to find liberal replacements like the Tea Party did in their party.
I'm interested in hearing some good solutions on fixing our educational system. That shouldn't be a conservative, liberal argument but a lot of people think it is and we can't make it to first base. I guess we should all start off in agreement that parents, students, and teachers unions are all part of the problem and try to move the ball from there. It doesn't seem unreasonable to me to think that nutrition, sleep and exercise should be part of the solution starting at the elementary level where bad trends start. I still believe that Brockton Massachusetts has it right by emphasizing that English is the most important subject. I've mentioned that Brockton Massachusetts used to be a powerhouse football school but dead last in academics. They changed that when the students became proficient in English; then they were able to catch up to speed and learned other subjects at a much faster rate.
I've been ignoring this blog because strangely enough, most of my time has been spent having some civil discussions on my VA blog. I think things are getting back to normal;back to just disagreeing.
43 comments:
109 comments on your Advocate blog and counting! Good job, Mike! It is a good blog.
Yeah, I'm guilty of the just quitting method of ending something. In fact, my new policy on Facebook is that I'll go back and forth with you until you make me mad, and then I unfriend you. Had to cut one loose last night. All he could reply to any comment was, "Well, your party does it, too!" Finally got old.
Oh, and I am still waiting on a repbulican, any republican, to explain why we should vote for Mitt Romney! No one wants to touch that. No one wants to talk about Romney! And I understand Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum and Jeb Bush have all said they will not be the VP for Romney.
It is going to be a long, long, long FIVE months! You are going to have to keep me sane!
So true,EA
STWWW is getting out of control and now itisi is making more sence than he is...lol.
I think STWWW is angry because I posted the facts about the Colo. police roundup that he onviently left out....You know arresting innocent citizens every day is what he Arizona biill is all about but he has no qualms about that...I wanted to tease him by telling him that the police caught one undocumented immigrant so that should make it better.
Even on a larger venue like the VA forum ,people are not stepping up to support Romeny...I posted Romney's calling for the same economic policies in Dec. of 2008 but I never got a responce. People like Dale prewarned his party about Romney early and often but he is far and inbetween.
I don't blame the local Republicans for not climbbing on board..They are used to being resolute but Romney hs a history of being on both sides of the issue.
Sad to report and it might surprise you but politcal science students are now learning that race plays a part n polical theories...Wonder why?
It's not just locally. I have republican friends on FB who are quiet as mice. What doesn't make sense to me is how he got all those votes,yet no one seems to care for him! Will this be a case of the most unpopular guy getting the nomination? Or is it no harder than he is the lesser of all evils?
And his flip-flopping--they do not want to hear the same things said about their candidate that we had to hear about John Kerry. What goes around, comes around...
Dale is a Ron Paul guy, so he would do that.
Though Romney got the most votes there wasn't a large Republican primary turnout this year. Remember Obama and Hillary got 32 millions votes in the 2008 primaries.
It was not unusual for Obama to fill a large arena and I still laugh at Romney speaking at his 1,000 people turnout in a stadium that held 80,000.
The Kerry flip-flopper issue is why I keep saying that Republicans are great campaigners but can't govern.
It will be months of anti-Obama rhetoric and nothing else
The grandparents of the homeschooling movement, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore, were advocates of good nutrition. They wrote a series of books and proper nutrition was a focus. I know that in the homeschooling community, parents say that, depending on the diet, there is a night and day difference in their child's behavior and memory. I learned quickly that if I started out my son's day with sugary foods, we would have a bad ADHD day.
Not saying it's a solution, but foods can trigger behavior aka learning problems.
Solution to our educational woes? Make school relevant! The world has changed, but that's not always reflected in the curriculum. For example, why not learn, if you are going to learn a foreign language, a PROGRAMMING language? I think it's more relevant than French: http://www.codecademy.com/
More vocational ed! Not everyone is going to grow up to be a college professor and there's no shame in that.
Mike, I think things are changing, where they can. The online public schools are catching on with those families who wouldn't homeschool, but who would feel comfortable completing public school at home. These programs allow students to talk with teachers via computer and all the AT HOME kids get to meet their teachers and classmates during field trips.
I would rather use programs like Khan Academy, rather than these online public schools. Khan has added sciences and social studies.
Honestly, I think the only way to change education for the better is to get the companies that make money off of the students OUT. Pearson is one of those companies.
Let teachers teach and let them assess their students so they can tweak their teaching. Tests that don't allow a teacher to use the results to HELP her students learn better, are a waste of time and million$.
Also, it's time to stop using public education as the great leveler.
Not all children are good at school. It's time to admit that school, right now, only cares about certain types of learners. Spacial intelligence, though more important in some careers, is not valued at all. That should change.
P.S. I really only meant to send that first paragraph. LOL
P.P.S. We sold our house and have to be out by the 18th. Since my hubby will be working four days leading up to that date, we have about four days to vacate.
The topic of education disturbs me, however, I get excited about LEARNING! I know teachers do too.
Was my math wrong there? LOL
S T R E S S
I forgot to tell you, that along with community service, the Moore's also advocated DELAYED ACADEMICS. Even back then, they believed that we were pushing too early and too fast.
The Colfax family used their (the Moore's) methods and their children (all adopted, so you can rule out genetics) all but one attended Ivy League schools - one attended Harvard and Yale.
Delayed academics, sounds iconoclastic in our world today.
Not that Ivy League should be the goal of education, but I used that example to show that when academics has been delayed, it didn't hurt children in the long run.
Rebecca
I always like to read about your ideas to improve our system but unfortunately we don't have leaders to address this national crisis nor they have the enthusiasm that you do.
Our problem solving techniques suck.....For instant,I've watched several shows on education that end as a waste of time...A two hour show will spend about 45 minutes discussing unions and the rest of the time will about the pros & cons of the voucher system.
I'm reminded of our boring meetings where everyone would try to find reasons to get out of them because they were unproductive..After many years of this; we were fortunate enough to get a young inspiring boss from the northeast. He started the meeting by telling everyone to leave their titles at the front door. We saw about 5 items that always dominated our meetings but were impossible to resolve at our level ,written on a big white board with lines through them. There was a note at the bottom stating " considered these items throughly discussed."......I would say for education,let's leave politics and ideology at the front door.... Positive things started coming out of those meetings like implementing new bar code systems,removing redundancy, and updating our computer system to make it more worker friendly. These were solutions that we could make happen at the local level...We will never get rid of central planning but that doesn't prevent us from having more local input and gaining credibility by trail and error.
My daughter always felt the urge to try and put more time on a 11 year girl (4th grade) but her principal would always remind her that her priorities SHOULD BE on her class passing the standardized testing exam.
I know we can't really do anything about our culture problem but we mustn't yield to stereotyping because as you say it's not about genetics..I've seen too many examples of successful inner city schools when money, good teachers,patience and different teaching methods were part of the solution.... Dallas has one the finest high school in the nation but there was a lot of money spent on it for the latest computers,teachers,buildings,atmosphere etc.,so it's not true that money is NOT an issue. We all know the push back is public monies.
I'm reading an article in today's Houston Chronicle that HISD wants to enter the $15 to $25 per school district high-stake payoffs in grants from the US Dept. of Education...Can someone tell me why this is a bad thing? Texas sits on the sideline watching other states get their portion of the $4.3 billion.
I don't think I'm all that proud of being 48th in the nation that is losing ground in education around the world.
We have to hold Rick Perry responsible for passing on the Race to the Top funds. He refused millions of dollars because he would have been restricted in how he used them (on education, Duh!) when he wanted to plug the holes in the budget with them
Remember, he just bought DPS 6 high powered boats to patrol the waterways of Texas (because we know the Coast Guard and the Parks and Wildlife guys have just been sitting on their asses...) to the tume of $580,000, per boat!
Anyway, I know I am preaching to the choir. Thank you for letting me vent.
Rebecca--great stuff!
No doubt about it,Rebecca knows her stuff.
EA,since you know local politics;how can the local republicans be against tax deferments at the local level,yet be for corporate tax cuts at the state and federal level?...It's the same thing unless you factor that one is a delayed transaction....Republicans usually stay on message.
This blog allows me to vent before I post something @ VA that I'll be sorry for.
This is another time where I don't think many people agree with my view but I can post it here.
The Shiner incident was a hideous crime and of course I have a lot of sympathy for the little girl and her father but I'm glad the VA shut down the comment section. I think it should be standard policy from now on....Yes, we have free speech but the grieving family takes priority..IMO
We have some posters who use that thread to stymie any view contrary to theirs like little children...Just my opinion but I think only posts that offer condolences should be allowed.
It's a terrible incident and it's made worse with inappropriate comments.....IMO
Mike,
Something that has always puzzled me is how some of the same folks who have no problem calling President Obama a socialist--he wants to give it all away, they say--yet, they have no problem with our local city leaders actually doing what they accuse the President of! It beats the hell out of me and the only ones who ever wanted to take the time to discuss it are the Libertarians.
I could never see the difference, except that they (the folks who puzzle me) must have had no problem separating their 'friends' (local) from strangers (everyone else).
As to tax deferments--are you talking about for homeowners? Because you know the City does love to give those tax abatements to folks.
I think I know why Libertarians are consistent...Ideology and they don't like to pay taxes...If other people and business don't pay their.share they are afraid theirs will go up.
Libertarians live on an island all by themselves. In the 30 years or more of arguments with them,I've found that they can't explain a simple decision without discussing their idealogy.
I was thinking about local established Republicans being for "trickle down" at the state and national level but will balk at abatements at the local.....I only know of 3 Libertarians complaining about city transactions,so maybe there are more and I don't know who they are.
I didn't know that the city gave tax abatements to homeowners....Do they advertise it?
Uh, let me clarify my comment about tax abartements for homeowners.
No, the city does NOT give tax abatements to homeowners. But they are generous to a fault where business is concerned.
Come now EA, you know why we MUST vote for Romney as our Republican Presidential Nominee of choice:
a) Mitt ran four years ago and didn't get picked. It is his turn.
b) Mitt is a successful businessman... and even local Democrats say government should be run like a business.
c) 31% of all Republicans have consistently voted for Mitt. And he won a bunch of states, according to our Establishment Leaders.
d) Rick Perry isn't our nominee of choice, so we have to be satisfied with Mitt.
e) Besides, Mitt is the only American born nominee running for President.
EA, those are reason enough for this Republican to Stay at Home. I give up... really Obama is not that bad. There is nothing like gridlock to run a federal government.
dale
When I watch discussions about education, I, too, see the same topics being discussed. No one thinks outside of the box. It doesn't surprise me. We have a "choose one answer out of these four" mentality. No one thinks outside of the bubbles.
I don't know my stuff. I just have the mindset of the Canadian teachers: what America does in education, I do the opposite.
I don't blame any politician. I see NCLB and RTTT as the exact same thing only someone else trying to get credit.
Nixing Pearson could save Texas over 80 million a year. We have created a testing machine instead of places of learning.
I mean, what has all this testing done? Are "at risk" students suddenly academic successes? or do we still have a percentage of students who, for whatever reason, are not academically gifted? Do teachers get to use the data for immediate, detailed, and individualized feedback so she can tweak instruction for each student? No. It just made us aware of what we already knew: not everyone is college material.
Since testing (Pearson style) isn't used to improve education, we need to admit that it really only serves to harm the process.
I'm for teachers assessing their students and using that data to improve learning. NOT the kind of testing that yields data that is only used by strangers to compare and demoralize.
Remember that the drop out rates have sky-rocketed. This isn't good for society. Schools need to be relevant, even for those who will not attend college.
Sorry for my bad grammar. I don't think I'm making much sense this morning.
We are starting that phase of moving where we are lifting heavy stuff in the Texas heat. Also, we are helping my mom move out of her house so that we can move in. I didn't mention that we purchased my mom's house.
One day I was griping about my oldest teen not being as independent as he should be and my brother said, "AND Look who's moving in to their mom's house!"
Get a Facebook page so I don't have to make your blog work like Facebook. =P
Dale--I think it will be interesting to look at the final tallies in November. I suspect we are going to have just a whole bunch of folks NOT voting for Romney or Obama. They will just skip that race all together.
Both candidates are against legalizing hemp for industrial purposes. A very popular stance based on ignorance. Typical.
Rebecca
I stand by my statement “Rebecca knows their stuff..:-)" because you do more to emphasize that there's another way, by posting examples of successful teaching methods.
You have mentioned “industrial hemp" several times but is your issue that our country’s attitude doesn't distinguish "industrial hemp" from normal uses of marijuana?
Dale
I don't know of any democrat that thinks that our government should be run like a business. Perhaps at the local level they think that city government budget should have to be balanced like a business. Our Federal budget will never be balanced because short term deficits should never matter, as long as state and local governments balance their budget..i.e. Our country will always respond to tornadoes, floods, and other national disasters; whether we have the money or not.
EA
I disagree that voters will not vote for the top of the ticket.... I think the top of the ticket of the Democratic Party will bring out the largest turnout ever.... It will be the nastiest campaign ever and but Republicans want Obama out of office and that priority will bring them to the voting booth....BTW Ron & Rand Paul have endorsed Mitt Romney ,so it’s all systems go.....But we will have to wait & see...:-)
Hemp for industrial purposes, like rope, maybe? And yes, Texas is merely a testing machine, nothing more, nothing less.
The only way to solve Texas' (and the nation's) education problem is to place it totally in the hands of the locals. Locally, we decide what the kids need to know. Locally, we decide how things are taught. Locally, if we screw it up and only teach athletic skills, it is no one's fault but ours. When we produce a bunch of scientific and mathematic scholars, we alone will take the credit. How can it hurt? It seems VISD has no where to go but up, academically. And I suppose the new super is our newest and greatest leadership marvel? We will see in four years, when he moves on to the next place. I guess Bob the Builder did everything our board asked of him. We do have some pretty schools and impressive capital improvement taxes on the books.
Dale
I guess we will always part on the effectiveness of collectiveness....Victoria can only be as good as Edna, San Antonio etc. ..I believe in local control in achieving success but I don't mind a coordinated effort at the state and Federal level.... Texas has every right to know that every school district is on par with the nation... Example, I had a problem with Rick Perry saying that he lowered the taxes and gave incentives to companies that left the state they were in...How does taking jobs away from one state and move them to another help the jobs number. ..Improving one state and bankrupting another is counter intuitive...In your football analogy; if EAST found a way to get all the talent, WEST & St. Joe would eventually give up their football program for lack of attendance(revenue)...IMO
Dale
I know you are probably thinking that I'm describing socialism where you" spread the wealth"...lol
Read the NFL collective bargaining agreement;that's exactly what it does...It collects money from all the teams and divides the TV,paraphernalia sales, and gate receipts among all the teams....remember when Jerry Jones wanted to capitalize on the " America's team" logo?
You might be right, Mike, but I really think there may some who just skip it. We'll see.
Collectiveness is great at blowing up bridges and killing enemy combatants. The Collective is great if you are a mind numbed member of the Collective. But for individuals and those wanting to excell, the Collective is a horrible place to get ahead.
And when you worked at the plant: a) did you do just enough to keep your job?, b) did you go over and beyond in order to stand out from the rest?
And excuse me, when I want Victoria to be just like Edna, Bloomington and Placedo, I'll suggest that we de-incorporate the city.
I am not against taxes and a certain bureaucracy. I am against the glossing over of expenses and the use of euphemisms to accomplish unstated personal and collective goals.
Dale
It's not an either or.... I'm saying that the ideal situation would be that Bloomington, Placedo and Victoria were all part of an exceptional educational base for employers to choose from. Being thou brother's keeper and sharing our expertise is what I'm all about. Now, if after awhile you see that Bloomington and Placedo are not pulling their weight and continue to be a drag, of their own choosing ,then it's time to start cutting them loose.....One for all and all for one (Unus pro omnibus) and not "Only the Strong Survive" is how I would start out.
I had some strong boys little league, senior teen, and my girl’s softball teams because I had a single philosophy of us only being as strong as our weakest player... I knew there would be times when our first line players would not be able to play for one reason of the other, so our bench had to be a capable replacement if we wanted to compete for first place…I spent a lot of my time working with the non- starters and made sure my coaches and players followed that practice when I was not around.
Individualism is just another word for “justified selfishness" and I'm sure you've heard it described that way by those that don't believe in the teachings of Ayn Rand.
I don't believe anyone approves of corrupted individuals or groups but show me the perfect locality, so I can get a chance to throw darts at it.
I lot of people THINK they made it on their own but if they would look around,they would see that they didn't.
HAHAHAHAHAAHA
Perfect educational base. Just a second, give me a minute. HAHAHAHA!!!! Ok. OK. I have my breath. Ok. I have stopped laughing.
Bloomington ISD. VISD of today. Both keep talking of improving their education quality. BISD can not keep their board from firing or running off every super that has come to them in the last twenty some odd years. VISD, talks a nice game, but something is wrong. More and more students supposedly are moving into the system. And fewer and fewer are graduating. Something is wrong when we are consistently improving the same thing I thought was addressed by the bond issue before the last capital improvement bond election. BISD and VISD should not be used in the same sentence of improving education for their students. Of course, the problem can not be the administration OR THE staff. Just my thought. But we did not have these problems 20 years ago. The only thing which has changed is the Administration and the State testing thing. You figure.
The Victoria County Education Collective..... hahahahahahaahahahahaahahahahha. EA help me. I am laughing to death. Beam me up Scotty.
OK,Dale you are being literal, kind of silly and definitely out of character and you want EA to agree with you for some reason.
I did not nor do I know the academic shape of BISD or VISD but I was describing the bigger picture of how "strength through many " is not such a bad idea...i.e. If only the highly acclaimed school in Dallas could share the secrets of their success.
We have a NATIONAL education problem and Victoria is still part of the system...I don't have the slightest clue if your 20 years is a valid answer. Again,I'm a 50 state person because I think we are in this together.
There you have it, another post you can laugh at but I'm glad to be here for your amusement but perhaps someone may see my point of view.
Mike,
At one time, in a galaxy not so far away, I would not have even read your point of view. A conservative and a liberal sharing a civil conversation, plus me learning something from your point of view? Impossible!
I am definitely not laughing at you. I do find some humor from your optimism in light of the utter failure of the liberal hope for a perfect utopia.
Yes, my 20 year view is valid. My perception of public education is accurate. Teachers will agree that centralized education has been, is and will continue to be a failure. But, it is nice to think we can lift all up by their bootstraps. The lazy will be made industrious. The educationally challenged will learn. And our country will once again become the industrial and technological leader of the world. But not in our lifetime Mike. Not, in our lifetime. The slothful will always be sloths, as long as you offer up the eternal safety net. Human nature, my friend.
I've heard that rhyme and reasoning before but I didn't buy it then and I certainly don't buy it now...The "all for one" started with a large family upbringing,indoctrinated by the army of "we are in this thing together"the work atmosphere and then owing a business where I met with my competitors to network and share ideas...This past Sunday,I was reassured that caring about the poor came from my Christian beliefs, not from my politics or ideology.
This is a civil discussion by your standards but I've always shared political beliefs with conservatives that were a lot more meaningful but I could never get along with the Ron Paulites because they were always ideologues who didn't budge an inch.
My daughter (teacher) does not agree with your perception of central planning.,.BTW What are your credentials in education? I may be making a fool of myself because I'm certainly not an expert in the field of education but I don't pretend to be.
Example "I do find some humor from your optimism in light of the utter failure of the liberal hope for a perfect utopia."....I NEVER said anything about a perfect utopia nor did I say I represented the liberal point of view....One more time..."I would share successful practices with others and seek advice from successful schools,I certainly wouldn't endorse a "negative reinforcement" attitude because that leads to a "Self fulfill prophecy.'...I may be totally wrong but I'm going to continue to watch education seminars on TV,read all I can about the subject and keep an open mind because I'll admit I'm nowhere close to being an expert. I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel because I have seen it before.
Safety net? I never went near the subject.
I took a break from the work and googled graduation rates, victoria, texas. What I found was a site hosted by county health ranking. It provided a cohort four year ranking for student graduation rate from 9th to 12. Victoria was ranked at 75% graduation rate. (Among the lowest in Texas.)
http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/node/2892/21
This national graduation by the TEA shows Texas in the 28th place for graduation.
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/acctres/dropcomp_index.html
then link to: "Secondary School Completion and dropouts" (July 2011)
You can look at the way dropout rates are monkeyed with by going to page 240 of the "Completion and Dropout 2009-2010". These numbers correlate with the 75% graduation rate noted in the first link.
Mike, anyway we shake it, Victoria is not doing well in its graduation rate. When 25% of the freshmen do not graduate... there is trouble. Even Edna ISD grad uated 95% and Bloomington graduated 90% of their freshmen.
I would think the TEA numbers can validate my perception.
Both parents were in education, as is the wife. I have always had an interest in the education process. The upper degree was an MAIS from UHV and I defended a paper on adult learning styles. (And why do you continue to brand me a Paulite and ideologue?)
dale
dale
You never answered the question;other than a concerned parent,grandparent, interested party;what are your credentials?
I have an app from the Texas Tribune that supplies graphs,power point presentations,data etc. as I told STWWW the other night it's not necessarily good data points when you compare a smaller school to VISD...More students avg. changes.
This discussion started with new ways of handling the problems of education to dropout rates...I've always said that we should start at the elementary levels and look for trends because if we sit on our duffs and wait until they get to HS;it's too late.
Just looking over the posts we are just talking past each other..I'm going to think of another subject to write about.
Have a good day.
The wife just dropped in with chicken tacos from Ventura's. (On sale for 99 cents this week.)
I asked her about centralized education planning. Her credentials are 28 years in the classroom, upper level degree and she was a finalist for Texas Teacher of the Year last year. She said centralized planning is a big failure. It forces teachers to teach to limited scope and prevents students from having a worldly view of the subject matter. She did say in March-May she taught "to the test" for her Spanish 4 students. These students were testing for college hours. Her "teaching for the test" netted 12 students from 3-12 hours of college credit. Several maxed with 12 hours. Still, she said, teaching to the test is not good. Centralized planning is a failure.
This coming week I will have a number of teachers in my office. Shall I ask these education professionals their thought about Centralized Planning?
At 2:53 I noted my credentials. It is a MAIS from UHV, my paper was on adult learning.
The TEA data provided graduation rates for all school districts. The County Health site obviously synthesized the TEA data, making the data relevant to county graduation rates. Being that all districts "teach to the test" the sub-graduation rate pretty well proved my thought of the Victoria system.
I did not dance around any of your questions.
BTW Not a grandparent.
Dale
Brand or describe?...You have admitted to being for Ron Paul on one of Spotter's blog besides the example I gave was of a couple of old workmates who were Ron Paulites. An ideologue (An advocate of some ideology).
Libertarians have been against centralized government of any sort for a long time. I read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" a long time ago just to see what the libertarians were talking about and said " whoa, that's all about justified selfishness." ... The views you espouse are very similar; intended or not.
At work I used to tell them that they (Paulites) reminded me of Jehovah Witnesses;once they get in the front door,you'll never get rid of them...:-)..We got along but we never talked politics...They would always start,the room would get quite; they got the hint and left.
If you tell me I'm 100% wrong, I'll take your word and I'll never make that mistake again.
So you are familiar with education through osmosis(parents) and you enhanced your knowledge through some studies but you don't currently work in the field nor are you in a professional position to have first hand knowledge. Am I correct?
If all of that is correct, then you're giving your assumptions of what you extrapolate from the data; not from firsthand knowledge...So,when you state "My perception of public education is accurate," you should have said that your personal opinion is accurate.
Now you went to standardized tested which is a different subject all together. I have publicly in several of my blogs that teaching to the test is a stupid way to teach and my daughter (sorry she has only been at it 10 years with no great achievements) will concur. She likes TEA and is not ready to "throw the baby out with the bathwater."
Am I that far behind or are you purposefully bringing up different subjects?...I thought this originated with each school district achieving their success collectively (my choice)at the lowest possible level with a central planner to coordinate the efforts..it then went ot drop out,failures,safety net etc.
Mike,
You asked how is it possible to enhance education.
But first, I am not a Paulite. I do not wake up in the morning to the sound of a Libertarian drum. I do not follow Ron or Rand Paul. My political thoughts developed into what you are calling a "Paulite" long before Dr Paul represented our district. I am my own person, with my own beliefs based on education, training, faith, profession. To wrap this up, My thoughts came before Paul.
As a political interest, I would say my understanding of education methods are far beyond that of an interested party. Through environment I have known many teachers and administrators over the last five decades. We have discussed trends. Centralized education (and tests) was the beginning of the problems which education experiences today.
There is no one teaching style which works for all adults or children. Just as there is no one career/education path which is suitable for all individuals. Austin can not dictate a single education curriculum and expect all to be successful. Wasting time teaching a test is nothing more than a waste of time...that is unless you believe you need a society of successful test takers.
I await your next topic. But you liberals will never budge in your thought. ;) Isn't that what you told me? (Not a fair assessment is it?)
Speaking of drop-out rates. Remember that if a drop-out can some how be labeled as a "homeschooler," they are. That way, a student transfers instead of drops out. I know this happens because it was so widespread in Texas that the TEA did an audit of "homeschoolers" who left public schools. Also, I've received called from two different districts from parents who were told by the schools to homeschool.
Drop out rates are higher than recorded.
AND that is why schools should be relevant - not just testing factories where we try to make all students college material - by becoming so irrelevant that we push all non-college material students OUT.
Sorry, still blurry eyed. SO TIRED.
(Still buried in boxes.)
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