tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-921293226506503314.post9110901028931589724..comments2023-10-22T02:03:11.535-07:00Comments on Fiona Bernard: Reagan Busted The Air Traffic Controllers Union, And Now Obama Seeks to Bust The Teachers' Unions.Fiona Bernardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05907366833096699328noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-921293226506503314.post-91711007515647074222010-03-05T10:33:11.385-08:002010-03-05T10:33:11.385-08:00Hey Don: thanks for reading, and thanks for posti...Hey Don: thanks for reading, and thanks for posting it at Mike Malloy's site. I often do post there, but sometimes get distracted. <br /><br />I went to public schools in working class neighborhoods, and got a wonderful education, had terrific teachers. I feel bad that today's schools and teachers are treated so poorly. I have lots of teachers in my family, and I know how hard they work, how dedicated they are. <br /><br />There is no question there are some bad teachers -- lazy, stupid, mean -- and I agree there should be a way to get rid of them. But for anybody to come into a school or any other work environment and fire every single person makes me sick to my stomach. They had teachers who had been there for 28 years. Where do they go? <br /><br />I see this as mostly a union-busting, public-school-ending tactic. To hear Obama cheer them on makes me sick.Fiona Bernardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05907366833096699328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-921293226506503314.post-50997646806377072362010-03-04T19:17:40.600-08:002010-03-04T19:17:40.600-08:00I don't object to testing kids. I do object t...I don't object to testing kids. I do object to firing all the teachers and thinking that will solve the problem. Or shutting public schools and replacing them with Warl-mart institutions to warehouse kids. If Obama or anyone else wants to develop better ways to teach, or to help children, then let's do it. But to assume the fault lies with the teachers without any investigation of the underlying conditions is mad.<br /><br />For example, when you have 40% of the kids with no English in the home, that is a different situation than you find in upper middle class neighborhoods, so the two schools cannot fairly be compared to each other. When one parent is in jail and the other one's dead, and the kid is sleeping on some relative's sofa, that's another problem. <br /><br />The teachers today are expected to take on way too many roles, from police officer, parole monitor, family counselor, drug addiction counselor, specialist in abuse, nutrition, family dysfunction -- and to be bilingual at the same time. We have terrible and unique problems in our schools because many of our families are facing terrible and unique problems. <br /><br />In particular, the recent immigrants face significant hurdles to education. The infestation of neighborhoods with drugs and drug-dealers and the criminal culture is another problem. Paying teachers more is not the answer. Neither is firing them.<br /><br />If we really wanted to help the children, then we would end these terrible wars and spend our money investing in education and in family support. It's absurd to cut education to the bone as we have under the Bush regime, with tax cuts for billionaires and more money for war, then blame the teachers when the problems show up. It's just like when Bush started the war against Iraq and sent Americans over there without proper armor. Would it have been the right thing to blame the young kids who got blown up? Come to think of it, that's what Rumsfeld did. <br /><br />The people running this country are destroying our public education system. They have instituted testing standards that are not appropriate for all schools without any additional funding to help schools raise their students up. It's a program that is designed to end public education. That was my point. This is all going according to plan.Fiona Bernardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05907366833096699328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-921293226506503314.post-80512658733117084042010-03-04T00:43:48.315-08:002010-03-04T00:43:48.315-08:00It seems incredible to me that a nation might deli...It seems incredible to me that a nation might deliberately destroy education.<br /> The mythology of progress, how we are striving for a better future for humanity, how we aim at ending the ravages of disease, war, hunger, all the painful things which we wrestle through the ages, this myth dies hard for me.<br /> No matter how evil the present situation is, I hoped that somewhere there was enough awareness to eventually overthrow the fascist New World Order.<br /> This one is the straw on the camel for me.<br /> I am reminded of Huxley's "Brave New World", where the population, through the use of drugs and slogans, avoid any psychological discomfort which might arise from thoughtful analysis.<br /> "Gee, I'm glad I'm a Delta!"<br /> The idea of a society controlled by drugs and psychological conditioning seemed a bit far fetched to me when I read the book.<br /> Now, it seems, I live in that very same nightmare order.<br /> Your thorough coverage of this topic moved me to post it at Malloy's site.<br /> Keep up the good work, I regard this site as a refuge of sanity, no matter how bitter the news may be.<br /> Don SmithAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-921293226506503314.post-41509753415128619422010-03-03T19:55:57.813-08:002010-03-03T19:55:57.813-08:00Teachers should be paid-incentivized, to a great e...Teachers should be paid-incentivized, to a great extent, based on their performance as measured by their student's achievements. If we don't test kids, e.g. measure their knowledge, how will we know what they are achieving? Schools are for students. Their function is to educate, not provide jobs for teachers. I am all for good jobs and unions, espcially unions in private enterprise profit based environments. But first and foremost I want my kids to have great teachers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com