This is why I find the Parents' Coalition of MC so frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the problem tends to be there is so much spin that you miss the truth. I would be surprised if teachers really demanded Promethean Boards. Usually a certain percentage of teachers embrace new technology, others see it as more work to figure out how to incorporate it. Now I do wonder why PB were picked. There are less expensive smart board technologies plus I see iPads being more up and coming.

Here's what happened. Dr. Starr wanted more Promethean Boards purchased. The BoE said OK. In the alternate universe known as Sartucci-World, teachers of course demanded this purchase because, you see, MCEA has a seat at the, in HER words "secret" budget table, and every $$ that MCPS spends automatically means that teachers demand it because, you see, MCEA is at the "secret" budget table...

WOW, alternate universes are such fun!

[Anonymous]

7:34 again. I agree with 14:33. She does raise valid points (the bidding process or lack thereof). But by adding incendiary (often inaccurate) commentary she weakens her position.

[Anonymous]

While PBs are as useful as the individual teacher makes them, at the elementary school level at least, I think they are a wonderful interactive tool.

At our ES, 4 PBs were purchased years ago by the PTA to prove to MCPS that they were truly useful and that they needed more - as a result, the school was featured in a grant and we now have PBs in every classroom.

What never ceases to amaze me in this story is how much power the PTA can have.

[Anonymous]

We got more new ones this year, and they are amazing. The new ones has a touch screen--better than the "clunky" old ones. Some teachers don't use them to their full capacity, but many do. As they become standard in classrooms, the resources and training will grow.

[Anonymous]

How were the boards being used? How are they being used now and how much did they cost? You could have gotten more laptops, tablets, desktops. By the time we are done we could have given kids laptops or desktops to take home or use for the year so that can do their homework, research etc. When I see the boards being used, the are doing the same function of a computer at triple or cuadruple the price. They will be outdated technology and collecting dust or being used as white boards again pretty soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got more new ones this year, and they are amazing. The new ones has a touch screen--better than the "clunky" old ones. Some teachers don't use them to their full capacity, but many do. As they become standard in classrooms, the resources and training will grow.

problem - not enough money for maintenance

Check out the price for one bulb. times how many classrooms in just one school and it's a financial disaster

[Anonymous]

I'm not defender of the PCMC - i don't even know them. But I don't see why we are spending lots of money on high-tech stuff when there are basics (like too few instructors or too little arts/music) that we're not doing. if you have all the basics in place, then great. but if you are still talking about not having enough money for basics then why in the world is it appropriate to do more high tech stuff.

[Anonymous]

The PC is a good resource if you use it skeptically. Janus digs out a lot of interesting factoids, and heaven knows I don't have the time on my hands to go through the MCPS budget like she does.

But is the PC the best PC it could be? No, you have to keep an eye out for her spin. And you will never, ever, see any positive news.

[Anonymous]

i don't think there is actually a group. It seems to be one person.

[Anonymous]

I read one of the author's comment to her post, and the support for the statement that teachers are demanding the PBs is her belief that the boards would not be bought without the teacher Union's approval. Wow. Paranoid much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read one of the author's comment to her post, and the support for the statement that teachers are demanding the PBs is her belief that the boards would not be bought without the teacher Union's approval. Wow. Paranoid much?

She apparently believes that MCEA controls ALL MCPS purchases because they sit at the "secret" budget table. This is a woman used to getting her own way. To her it makes sense that one group, out of the many at the "secret" table, always gets what it wants. What a juvenile conclusion for Janus to make! Is she even aware how transparent her circular reasoning is?

[Anonymous]

Janis raises some legitimate and interesting issues from time to time. But her demeanor and attitude towards anyone that doesn't agree with her totally undermines most of her legitimate issues.

It's sad someone with so much to offer has so little to offer at times.

[Anonymous]

If you want to get behind the scenes details of what Mcps is up to, parents coalition can be a great source of internal memos. If Mcps was more transparent and we savvy, folks would not need to partner with Janis. Mcps has no real oversight, no institutional check on its power. The school bOard is a rubber stamp - there is no deliberative process. So when they make a mistake, it is a Doozy - parents coalition mines those mistake and why not? Can she be caustic? Yep. Can she also be correct? Yep.
Perfectly respectful bland blogs are also rarely read and have little influence. She stirs things up and sometimes airs dirty laundry - good for us all. If Mcps can't take the heat from one itty-bitty blogger they should get a new job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to get behind the scenes details of what Mcps is up to, parents coalition can be a great source of internal memos. If Mcps was more transparent and we savvy, folks would not need to partner with Janis. Mcps has no real oversight, no institutional check on its power. The school bOard is a rubber stamp - there is no deliberative process. So when they make a mistake, it is a Doozy - parents coalition mines those mistake and why not? Can she be caustic? Yep. Can she also be correct? Yep.
Perfectly respectful bland blogs are also rarely read and have little influence. She stirs things up and sometimes airs dirty laundry - good for us all. If Mcps can't take the heat from one itty-bitty blogger they should get a new job.

It bothers no one that she is caustic toward MCPS. But she is caustic toward commenters, caustic toward individuals who make innocuous comments, caustic toward parents of special needs kids who share their own personal experiences that might shed light on the issue. That's called paranoia.

[Anonymous]

The current topic on the Coalition's site is child molestation in the classroom. If you read the document on there with the case of the MCPS elementary teacher who for years was inappropriately touching students and being told to stop the behavior, it does make you wonder why he wasn't fired long ago. This is the type of information that I appreciate being brought forward.