[Rhodes22-list]Public Schools, was Public Radio and TV

[Bill Effros]

Funny!

But please label your posts as Satire:

Bill Effros

helix fig wrote:

>can u take me off your e-nail list.
>thank you
>
>--- Philip Esteban <3drecon at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>I am not wealthy by any stretch, but I send my son
>>to private school (which
>>means I probably have to postpone purchasing a
>>boat).  My older boy went
>>through the abysmal public school system  and I
>>regret the decision to this
>>day (and yes, I have taught in the public schools
>>system and so has my
>>wife).  The public schools have become a politically
>>correct liberal forum
>>for issuing condoms, undermining parental authority
>>and values and have
>>drifted away from teaching the fundimentals.  Most
>>of this can be laid at
>>the feet of the liberals (usually Democrats) who are
>>in bed with the
>>teacher's unions.  A union's charter is, by its
>>nature, to protect the job
>>of its members.  The teacher's unions are no
>>different and they get a pass
>>for illegal political activities as well (by the
>>way, I am also a union
>>member since 1976, though not the teacher's union).
>>
>>More liberal claptrap is the canard that more money
>>means better education.
>>Washington DC spends in excess of 15k per student
>>and has a 50% drop out
>>rate.  The public school system is failing.  When I
>>went to school in the
>>60s we routinely had 30+ children per class and we
>>received a fairly good
>>education.  That was before the curriculi
>>degenerated.
>>
>>Some examples:  Punishing a child for pointing a
>>french fry and saying bang;
>>allowing a child to be assaulted daily (even though
>>he complains to several
>>teachers) but kicking the assaulted child out of
>>school for writing Kill
>>"[Name]" with no sanction to the aggressor; not
>>allowing pictures of the
>>Minute Men because they carry guns; the recent issue
>>of a principal not
>>allowing the picture of a recent graduate in the
>>school (the assignment was
>>to bring a picture of a graduate of the school in
>>his job or school) because
>>that student is a US Marine in Iraq and was carrying
>>a weapon; the schools
>>in our area stopped having award ceremonies for kids
>>who did extremely well
>>because it "isn't fair to those who don't get
>>awards" or it "hurts the
>>self-esteem". . .
>>
>>This doesn't begin to scratch the surface.
>>
>>As for fund cutting, that is ridiculous.  Cutting
>>the amount of increase is
>>not "cutting" funds.  When the federal government
>>(under the liberal Clinton
>>Administration) can require Medicaid to fund Viagra
>>(in general, not just to
>>sex offenders as recently covered in the news) then
>>they don't need more
>>funds for other things.  You can argue life saving
>>medications for people
>>unable to afford it, but why should we pay for
>>someone to have sex?  Then
>>they come after us for more taxes for schools and
>>the like.  Then the
>>schools don't teach the fundimentals.  Once upon a
>>time a person leaving
>>highschool learned to be a good citizen.  College
>>opened their horizons to
>>the deeper meanings of our history, liturature, math
>>and science, but first
>>the basics.  Not anymore.  Now they get condoms;
>>Billy has two daddys; they
>>learn about the "Nine" amendments to the
>>Constitution (leave out the Second
>>Amendment); they can have "holiday celebrations" and
>>can study every
>>religious holiday activity except Christian holidays
>>etc.
>>
>>There may still be a few good public schools in this
>>country, but they are
>>far and few between.  An indicator is the teacher's
>>unions opposition to
>>standards.  They don't want to be held accountable
>>and it shows.
>>
>>There is more and you are deluding yourself if you
>>ignore them.  I know
>>teaching is a tough job and unfunded mandates eat
>>into budgets, but the
>>schools began a downward slide years ago when the
>>administators began to
>>outnumber the teachers.  Recently in Virginia, the
>>legislature succumed to
>>pressure from the teacher's unions to leave the
>>"guidance counsellors" in
>>place in the elementary schools instead of
>>converting most of those
>>positions to reading teachers (reading scores were
>>falling and we are
>>producing a generation of illiterate people).  Why
>>do we need guidance
>>counsellors in elementary school?
>>
>>Philip
>>
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
>>[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org]On Behalf
>>Of Slim
>>Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 5:41 AM
>>To: Rhodes
>>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list]Public Schools, was
>>Public Radio and TV
>>
>>
>>Philip,
>>
>>Why are you against public schools?  I admit, there
>>are many problems,
>>mostly caused by union-bashing, fund-cutting
>>republicans; but the public
>>schools are our best resource, period.  Shouldn't we
>>be giving our youth the
>>best that we can?  Private schools cost money that
>>most do not need to pay.
>>The public system is as good as the funding.  Offer
>>a decent wage and you
>>attract decent teachers.  Where I live, Minnesota,
>>the average life-span of
>>a new teacher is three years before they find better
>>pay/conditions
>>elsewhere.  It's abysmal.  It's a very tough job.  I
>>know - been there, done
>>that.  Have you?
>>
>>It's easy to sit back and complain, but consider
>>this:  The law requires
>>specifically mandated curriculum but doesn't fund
>>it, and so private schools
>>have to send students to the public schools for
>>whatever they can't provide,
>>e.g., special ed, phy ed, science, or whatever.  And
>>then the public schools
>>have to take these students, for which they are NOT
>>paid, and provide
>>service because it's the law.  Private schools want
>>to have their cake and
>>eat it too.  It's just not fair because it puts the
>>public schools in a
>>deeper hole than they're already in.  If you want to
>>send your kid to
>>private school, fine, but don't send him to the
>>public school for gym.  But
>>you'll have to change the law first.
>>
>>What really bugs me is that everybody thinks they're
>>an expert, e.g.,
>>legislators, governors, parents--none of whom have
>>ever set foot in a
>>classroom.  They keep coming up with nothing but
>>educational gimmicks that
>>do nothing but waste the valuable time and money of
>>teachers.
>>
>>Philip, teaching a kid to read is not rocket
>>science, but it becomes
>>Herculean without the proper resources.  If you want
>>to see our public
>>system collapse, we'll be putting our youth and
>>therefore our country at a
>>disadvantage.  Privatizing leads to nothing but
>>discrimination and elitism.
>>Is that what you really want for our country--even
>>more of the "haves" and
>>the "have-nots?"  Should we abandon our nation's
>>entire educational
>>infrastructure to accommodate you and yours?
>>
>>Slim
>>
>>On 5/25/05 10:06 PM, "Philip Esteban"
>><3drecon at comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>I am totally against public education in its
>>>      
>>>
>>current form.  Any parent who
>>    
>>
>>>wants their child well educated will NOT send them
>>>      
>>>
>>to public school.  As
>>for
>>    
>>
>>>PBS, if you do not detect the left wing near
>>>      
>>>
>>communist, praise Castro
>>
>>    
>>
>=== message truncated ===
>
>
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