+1, +2, +3, ... on parent involvement!

The mantra of the National Extortion Association: "It's the parent's fault." I just don't buy that. Sure there are parents who don't care. Probably on a par with teachers who don't care. Let's get back to people who call themselves professionals, yet have both collective bargaining and tenure...The teacher's union stranglehold on this nations government education system must be removed for the system to have a chance.

If the NEA had a stranglehold on the gov't there would be no standardized testing. 'no child left behind' would never have seen the light of day.

BTW, my wife is a dues paying member of the NEA for one reason. The state/fed can not be trusted to defend her if a parent cries foul for any reason. NEA provides insurance/paid access to an attorney. This is important as many parents at my wife's school have demonstrated an ability to claim 'i'll sue for millions' when their child is sent to alternative school (ie inmate training) for beating another child senseless.

And the beat goes on...this thread demonstrates well why our government school system will not be fixed.

"Those of us who have long dismissed the National Education Association as a tool of the Democratic Party have been badly mistaken. Apparently it's just the opposite. As documents now sealed under a judge's order indicate, it's the Democratic Party that is the tool of the NEA.

That, at least, is the gist of a report from the Federal Election Commission, all the more tantalizing because the object of its investigation was not the NEA but the AFL-CIO. Yet the NEA's name surfaces again and again as one of those organizations that, in return for financial contributions, were given seats on campaign committees in 1996 as well as the right to approve or reject the Democratic agenda."

http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=95000909







http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=10190

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/1/24/105439.shtml

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.politics/browse_thread/thread/44f531cfdb2d1023/991b8c72e41589be?lnk=st&q=Teacher%27s+union+has+ve to+in+Democratic+Party&rnum=4&hl=en#991b8c72e41589 be

If a public school teacher told me they worked 60 hours a week, I'd call them a no good liar to their face.
The only exception might be teachers who are involved in coaching sports or other extra-curricular activities after school, and that would be for a season, not all year.

they get paid for that in many areas of the US afaik.

Yep....they get paid for these "volunteer" activities. Dunno if it's true now, but during my daughter's time, Lebanon Union High School, Lebanon, Oregon, had ELEVEN "assistant" Football coaches for the varsity team....Eleven. With the head coach, that made an even dozen. But hey, they went to the state championship game one of those years. Isn't that what high school is supposed to be all about? :rolleyes:

my mom easily worked that many hours a week when she taught 5th grade gifted in SDUSD. And spent her own cash on supplies for her room. I know because i went to the school supply store a couple times a year.

Some of you guys really hate teachers. I still don't understand why you guys don't jump on this gravytrain. Not only would you have all this free time to work on your p-cars, you'd actually be contributing to society...

And if you did that to my wife who did work those kind of hours I'd call you a lot worse.

And she did not do extracurricular stuff.

Believe what you want but you're wrong.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.
He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers:
"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied,
"You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...)
"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental...
You want to kn ow what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)
I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them to write and then I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in math.
I make my students from other countries learn everything they need
to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
I make my students stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag,
because we live in the United States of America.
Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)
"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant...
You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make?"

Isn't that sweet? Which NEA newsletter did you glean it from?

I'm in the minority here. Not too many teachers with P-cars. I worked teaching most of my life (30+ years) to be able to afford the 1971 911 I always wanted. Heck its not even running. I don't seem to have the time to work on it because there is always another soccer game to go to, basketball, etc etc. I've used up many of "my summers off" taking classes to improve my craft. Ha, some people draw unemployment when they don't work - for teachers its called.......... "summer vacation".

You guys are welcome to beliveve whatever you want, I'm not about to change your belief system. A lot of people used to believe the world was flat too. You're welcome to call me a no good liar right to my face, I've been called worse. Some have really no idea, "walk a mile in my shoes". I would dare some of you to fill out the paperwork and try being a teacher sub for a day. Good Luck.

LOL I have a kid tha acts just like you in class! I wonder if he will ever grow up?

won't happen. They'd actually have to get off their arse and do something rather than take potshots. You'd think that people who know all the answers and have the time to slag teachers and the NEA would instead rather be making a real contribution to society in the classroom.

Sorry but some people here for whatever reason just hate teachers. Maybe they got a bad grade in school once and have been bitter ever since. Or had one or two off-putting situations with their kids so they indict the entire profession. Whatever the reason, the vitriol is sad...

Thanks nostatic, there are a lot of kids nowdays with the same attitude. No respect for anything except "whats init for me" . The societies that value their teachers and education make great strides, the ones that don't, well........I hope we don't find out the hard way.

Yeah...be sure to keep up the great work guys...pat yourselves on the back...but try to think of something. On this thread, those who urge that we continue to stay the course on education, are, for the most part, educationalists....it's we who aren't in the profession, aren't good NEA members or related closely with one who is, are beginning to wonder why the system is so screwed up...

Oh, I forgot..."It's the parent's fault." :rolleyes:

where did I say stay the course? Oh yeah, I didn't. I'm all for trying new ideas, vouchers included. But the plan better be well thought out and not some knee jerk reaction with no real analysis of the short and long term effects.

The system has problems. But some of us are actually doing something to try and change it rather than just blaming the teachers. Put up or shut up.

I'm DONE putting up...but how did I get so down on the teacher's union? By being a dumbass local biz man...stupid enough to serve on a district budget committee. Boy, was that EVER a steep learning curve! Now, tell me what you're doing to try to change things. I'll confess, I gave up in frustration! But I left with the belief that the Government schools are a sewer system that we toss our children and our money into. Unless we release the NEA's stranglehold...our government schools are a lost cause.

What am I doing? For 5 years I was a professor and sent some of my students on to teaching careers. After that I ran a new media research center for 5 years and one of our major projects focused on multimedia literacy. We had ongoing projects with various K-12 districts around the country. I also worked (and continue to work) on research looking at new models for classroom interactions. I have another research project now focused on applying viral media techniques to open education resources (freely available higher ed content). I am also looking at leveraging some of our training systems designed for the Army to be used in K-16 education. And while I'm at it I'm also working to help improve training simulation systems designed for incident commanders at large scale disasters, and intelligence analysts.