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Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jillz
Quoted from Chatteress: "While we are at it, let's get rid of the top heavily, overpaid management and pour more of the funding inside the classroom where teachers do not have to pay for the supplies out of pocket (which is ridiculus!)"
This is the same with higher education. While the UC system was trying to decide how much to raise tuition and cut our pay (staff and faculty) they gave over 6 million dollars in raises, perks, and the creation of new executive positions. These are the top 1.5% of the workforce within the UC system and they have NO student contact.
The money given to the school systems rarely make it to the classroom and to the rank and file that run the school on a day to day basis. It goes to the exec's.
Since the UC and CSU systems are dealing with budget cuts, it makes no sense for the execs to not face any cuts, especially as more and more students are being turned away for admissions.
Last edited by Chatteress; 09-27-2009 at 04:33 PM..
Reason: Clarity
Has anyone noticed that the premise stated for lengthening the school day/year isn't even accurate?
Quote:
Obama and Duncan say kids in the United States need more school because kids in other nations have more school.
"Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here," Duncan told the AP. "I want to just level the playing field."
While it is true that kids in many other countries have more school days, it's not true they all spend more time in school.
Kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests — Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013). That is despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years (190 to 201 days) than does the U.S. (180 days).
We already have more time in school than these other countries. What good will more of the same do? I don't really think more time in the classroom would help when we have the same weak curriculum, low standards and unaccountable teachers....not to mention that the students who are doing well are already putting 50-60 hour school weeks when you count homework, projects and studying. I think that's enough. It's not about QUANTITY it's about QUALITY. However, I'm not opposed to lengthening the year if the school days are shortened. Spread the work out a bit, the days are too long as it is for students who are doing what they should.
If the kids who are mediocre or falling behind need more time then fine, set up a program for those kids. Let the rest opt out. They can have tutoring, study hall, etc. for the kids who need it, but let those who are doing well now get on with their own work and not have to suffer through extra hours because the mediocre kids need it. Already they have to endure the slow pace of mediocrity in the classroom, waiting while students who don't study get extra attention from the teachers and slow the entire class or multiple chances to take tests, etc. It's ridiculously slow enough already.
I like to see my kids come home each afternoon and they are already top students, learning more than what is taught even, they don't need more time in school.
Since the UC and CSU systems are dealing with budget cuts, it makes no sense for the execs to not face any cuts, especially as more and more students are being turned away for admissions.
Oh President Yudof talked about how he is sacrificing by having his pay cut 60K. Well he STILL gets 10K per month for his house, 9K per year for his car allowance, had nearly 200K put into his retirement. And his salary is still over 500K per year. He was interviewed in the New York Times this week (Big Man on Campus) and he was so incredibly flippant and arrogant that it makes ya want to slap him silly. The UC system is NOT unique. I am sure that it is the same at all public institutes of higher learning. When Yudof was the President of the University of Texas they went through similar issues (low paid staff and faculty and high exec salaries). In fact, they showed the average advisors salary at 2350/month while his was 67K/month. Students also had their tuition raised there under his guidence. Yudof's Paycheck | UT Watch on the Web
Oh and the UC system, despite a HUGE fiscal crisis, felt they could loan the state 200 million dollars. The tuition is going up another 30% after raising it over 7% last year and 9.2% this fall. I think those funds could have done more good staying in the UC system and not laying off people, cutting salaries of staff who mostly earn less than 40K per year, and gouging students for more tuition.
I also think that the teachers union needs to do a better job of not protecting bad teachers. In the school district I went to, many teachers should have been axed but they weren't. Some teachers WERE very good though and should have been rewarded for their efforts. The last thing this country needs is uneducated citizens.
You all finally got what you wanted. Bush and Cheney out of office.
Yet, you still keep talking about them.
You're obsessed.
Conservatives complained about Clinton for a year or so after he left (some pundits still do). When the reigns of power switch parties, they always need a year or so to undo the crap left for them by the previous administration (or try to at least).
Unbelievable. So now extending maths and sciences and such is "indoctrination," but injecting the bible and creationism is just peachy.
Man, I hope we keep the Republican party out of control forever and ever.
Keeping kids in school longer is not the answer IMO. Cut the summer vacation time down by a month. The answer lies in reforming the school systems. Who said anything about injecting the bible and creationism?????
Republican party? Again, who said anything about that??????
Indoctrinating kids utilizing robots programmed with Obama ideology to teach the classes? Is that what you are saying?
I think they have already started this with the chanting and praising of Obama in the classrooms. Children need to respect the President but this chanting his name, etc. should not be, but that's another thread.
Conservatives complained about Clinton for a year or so after he left (some pundits still do). When the reigns of power switch parties, they always need a year or so to undo the crap left for them by the previous administration (or try to at least).
George Bush already reformed pub;ic schools with NCLB. He never tried to inject the Bible or creationosm into schools.
I think you might be paranoid.
He never tried to overthrow Roe v. Wade either.
They won't let historical facts like that get the way of their perpetual scenarios of the bible-thumping bogeyman. The republicans controlled the congress and the presidency, and none of the predictions about right-wingers cutting social security or Medicare, or inserting religion into government came true, but that does not stop their paranoia.
Our worst fears of full blown unaccountable control of government by the liberals, on the other hand, have been coming true.
It won't happen as long as the unions are calling the shots and/or tossing up inpenetrable roadblocks; look no farther than the recent events in Washington DC involving Michelle Rhee.
Obama's too indebted to those unions to fix our schools.
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