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That man's experience pretty much epitomizes why it's very frequently pointless to try to get involved with local school districts to try improve our country's pubic education system. I wish it weren't so, but we can all see what happens to those who question public officials' poorly made decisions.
That man would be much more effective in his protest if the education dollars used to fund his children's schooling followed his kids to the school of that family's choice. Make the public schools compete for students. Competition improves performance. Instead, as residential taxpayers, they're locked into funding a non-responsive ineffective public school district by threat of losing their home.
Picking and choosing "some" public input while ignoring others is commonplace? Wow.
How on earth is it even acceptable that public School Boards are only partially accountable, and only accountable in terms of their own choosing?
Was there ever an opportunity for an open debate on the issue at hand? Or was the School Board meeting merely a self-congratulatory slam dunk of a pre-determined outcome à la the Delphi Technique?
I'm completely shocked at the number of sheeple on this forum, but not so surprised to note their political leanings.
Like I stated, you have never been involved in board meetings. Picking and choosing in the majority of board meetings are commonplace. The fact that you are surprised means you have very rarely, if ever been to one, which is a shame. You should go to see for yourself how they are conducted.
In regards to the bold above, I am unsure in regards to this school board meeting in questions. Many times elected officials, including school boards hold "community" meetings where people can, and do voice their concerns. Also they have "public forums" where the public is invited to speak and the board/council/committees respond to attendees. I know here in my state we did have public forums on Common Core and many people did voice their concerns with it and many people voiced their opinions on how it would be beneficial. They also held board meetings that the public was invited to attend. Usually board meetings are for the board to make decisions based on public forums and community communications with their representatives.
The man in question probably did not know about or go to the public forum and chose to have one during a board meeting where this sort of discourse is not allowed.
I admit that it can be quite confusing if one has never been to these sorts of meetings, fortunately (or unfortunately) I have been to way more than I care to admit over the past couple of years since I made a commitment to get "more involved" in my neighborhood and community in general so I go to school board meetings, city council meetings, and various community meetings, including resident asociations and neighborhood planning units. All of these organizations are open to the public but follow "Robert's Rules" and so they are conducted in a very formalized manner. At all of the meetings usually people who have never been to a meeting before, tries to stand up and make a comment or scene or rile up the audience. Audiences are easily riled up BTW, people actually are "sheeple" which is evident IMO in so many of you believing it is okay to cause a scene in a public board meeting. Everyone thinks their view "should be heard." People are very selfish and value their own opinions and feelings over other people and this is why these organizations institute Robert's Rules, to have some control over the situation and calm people down.
Wanted to also add, that very rarely have I been to a meeting when all the questions were not answered. People who get up and make a scene are the ones who usually don't have any questions at all and they just want some attention and to make a "comment" instead of a question so this format easily weeds out those with good questions from those who don't have a question and instead have an opinion. I'm not saying that opinions aren't important and our elected officials should keep our opinions in mind when they are representing us, but it really isn't difficult to write down a question and wait for the answer. It is called "self control." I ask questions all the time. I prepare them in advance. I have a meeting I have to go to next Wednesday and I even created "submittals" for the committee I will be addressing (at these meetings I have to sign up to speak, I get only 2 minutes to speak/ask a question and if people speak out during these meetings they will be removed by police/security so I am used to everything that this man went through. Even after I speak, the committee does not immediately respond, they wait until the end of the meeting to respond to all questions so that they can get through the business of the day). It really isn't hard to think about a question and submit it. If it is not answered, in today's day and age, we have many recourses. In the meeting I'm going to next week, and there have been a series of meetings on the same subject as it involves a lot of money for our community so everyone has something to say, the committee was not answering questions the way the public wanted and people who were being ignored went to the media. Due to that, they got everything they asked for. The committee even set up a website for us with documents dating back to the 1980s as people asked for an audit of an account from that time period. No one during these meetings were out of line or interrupted people speaking on a continuous basis. If people are asked to be quiet, they are quiet. No one has ever been arrested but people have been warned. So I have no sympathy for this man. People at the meetings I go to, you would think were "ghetto" and "uneducated." They also have some pretty big mouths as they are the ones who went to the media, but they also know how to follow rules in a meeting and how to get action when their concerns/questions aren't being addressed instead of whining about a board not answering their questions and putting themselves in jeopardy of being removed or arrested.
conservatives puppet whatever there radio gods say.
im tired of hearing about the common core and how its some commie manifesto.
conservatives do not have original ideas, and just copy and paste, or reply with one liners. one cannot explain with original thought why common core is bad.
they are just supporting it because, as i said one of there radio gods is pushing it
conservatives puppet whatever there radio gods say.
im tired of hearing about the common core and how its some commie manifesto.
conservatives do not have original ideas, and just copy and paste, or reply with one liners. one cannot explain with original thought why common core is bad.
they are just supporting it because, as i said one of there radio gods is pushing it
I agree with this. I also have not seen any sort of valid argument against going with Common Core. The only ones I have heard of were broadcast on liberal stations and they were concerned about textbook/test companies becoming a monopoly in the educational market. Also that the Common Core does not give teachers the freedom to teach in a more creative fashion with their students. And really, I don't agree with the second liberal point but I do feel the monopolization of the educational text book and testing segments are a concern.
The whole - Common Core equals "evil liberals training our kids to be evil liberals" stuff is just too idiotic to listen to IMO. If you come at me with something worthy of concern, other than a political fear based on medial polarization, I would gladly take your concerns into consideration. I actually don't like IB (International Baccalaureate) programs and schools because I don't see the need for them and don't think, at the high school level, they are any better than AP courses. I think they are more of a money grabbing sort of curriculum/testing program. For me, I think in benefits when it comes to education - will this curriculum benefit my kid/family, will this curriculum/test provide any insight about my kid/family, will this curriculum/test teach my kid a wide variety of subjects including a wide array of opinions and outlook on subjects at an age appropriate manner. Common Core IMO is not an evil curriculum. I feel that if combined with a good gifted/special education program for kids who need more stimulation or more services, it can be a great program in our country. But what do I know - I'm just a parent who knows how to write questions in a board meeting
If I'm a parent with kids in school, for which I'm paying taxes for, and the board over rides my questions, you better believe I'm going to turn to those present and ask them....
Do you understand what this new system is?
Are you going to do something about it or just sit there like bumps on a log and say nothing, when it's your hard earned tax dollars paying for this, what is wrong with you?
You don't have to just be a parent with the kids in school. 75% of my tax bill goes to the schools, and I have no kids, still my tax dollars.
I find schools to be one of the biggest wastes of tax payer dollars, and it has nothing to do with actually educating children.
Like I stated, you have never been involved in board meetings. Picking and choosing in the majority of board meetings are commonplace.
Indeed I HAVE been at many School Board meetings. Oppressing dissenting public input by controlling which questions they will or will not answer is EXACTLY how they operate. How is it that you have totally failed to recognize the fact that when School Boards pick and choose which public questions to answer and which to ignore, that they are manipulating the meeting into reflecting a pre-determined outcome à la the Delphi Technique?
Quote:
The man in question probably did not know about or go to the public forum
That WAS the supposed public forum, as the Superintendent later admits:
Quote:
“We appreciate the Maryland State Department of Education for holding a Common Core State Standards Townhall meeting in Baltimore County last week. Excellent questions were asked and answered that evening. Questions that were not answered due to time constraints will be addressed. We will post the questions and answers on our website by the end of the week.
“The meeting helped us realize that we must do a better job of communicating what the Common Core is and what it is not. We have to ensure that our parents and community members understand that the Common Core allows us to implement our own curriculum, written by us, for us. This gives us the flexibility to ensure that we are meeting the needs specific to our children in Baltimore County.”
The "townhall meeting" in which dissent was squashed was nothing more than a manipulated slam dunk of a pre-determined outcome à la the Delphi Technique. I've seen this in operation in public school systems MANY times over MANY years. Delphi Technique - Massachusetts
A LOT of good information on how public school educrats scam the public into thinking they've had any say whatsoever in what goes on in their local taxpayer-funded public schools: Political / Social Control Tactics
Im glad they dropped all charges....... EVEN THEY CAN SEE HOW STUPID PEOPLE ARE GETTING!!
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