Citations needed. Most states don’t even have teachers unions. Looking at you, South, where you’re lucky to earn $40k teaching 30 kindergarteners who have more in common with a feral cat than a child. |
But that’s the whole point. |
Back in the '70's, I taught in a school system that had experienced a strike shortly before I began teaching. The strike was run by the teachers' "association."
As a result of the strike, the only people that benefited were the leaders of the strike. The person in charge who led the strike was fired--but was hired by the association and made 6 times the salary of a beginning teacher. The others who helped and encouraged the strike were also fired. EXCEPT, that they were brought back to the system two years later in supervisory positions. This was clearly the result of a "deal." Later, in another school system, I saw the "benefits" of a teachers' union. In particular, one terrible teacher who was moved around and put on "probation" before she was finally fired. A waste of a year for more than one elementary school class. I saw our "building representative" spend much of her time on "union duties" rather than teaching. Pushing us to "work to the contract" and do no more than minimum. At that time I was working in a school with awesome teachers, and we ignored her. That is not always the case. Check out the pay of those who lead the unions. Check out all the compensatory time they get. Look at where the money is going. Sadly, the money does not get to the classroom teachers. And, even worse, it does not get to the classroom. It is peeled off at every level of bureaucracy. Check out the programs and see where the money from the Dept of Education goes. I taught Title I. A great idea that enriches lots of people long before it gets to the classroom. I suspect this is true with many programs. Just look at the mess it has made of student loans. Sure, there will be problems, but the funds are better spent at the need--not in ivory towers. |
This is just rebranding the segregationist backlash to civil rights. Republicans want state and local schools to be permitted to discriminate against whomever they wish. |
You have it backwards. In the 1970s a lot more kids with developmental issues were being excluded from any form of education than today. That changed with EACHA in 1975, IDEA in 1990 and so on, which mandated that those kids WOULD be able to get a public education wherever possible, via implementing IEPs and similar measures. Now with the closure of Department of Education a lot of that will go away and those kids' families will be left to fend for themselves. |
PP here. You misunderstood my post. Trust me, I'm someone who's old enough to be fully aware of what it used to be like and appreciate FAPE. I was a special education teacher for a very long time. |
We already have defacto segregation, so de jure segregation isn't really much of a stretch. |
We HAVE to keep spending $250 billion a year on the Department of Education. They haven’t budged teat scores, but they might be able to fight racism in some way? |
How many bureaucrats does it take to process the FAFSA forms? |
Reposting for the cheap seats in the back, dumb dumbs like you, and the truly in the dark so they don't fall for you crap: Again, someone who completely misunderstands the Ed's mission. It is the SMALLEST cabinet dept because it has a few, discrete goals, and raising test scores is not one of them: *Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education and distributing as well as monitoring those funds--hope no one you know filed FAFSA or needs free school lunch *Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research-this way we get to know LA and TX are at the bottom. *Focusing national attention on key issues in education, and making recommendations for education reform--local school boards have the final say. *Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education--IEPs, IDEA, Title Nine. So all this accomplishes is eliminating a tiny department that protects women, special education students, poor kids, and people trying to access higher ed. Good work knowing nothing about anything |
Islands are like that. |
I was a teacher-not special ed. FAPE is not going anywhere. Title I is not going anywhere. More money will get where it needs to go--hopefully. But, it is not getting there now. |
PP here. I sincerely hope you're right, but I've taught in areas where the poorest and neediest of kids were relegated to old, deteriorating buildings and given the most basic of materials, many of which were out of date. The more affluent areas had better, but many parents sent their kids to private or parochial schools. I'm doubtful that politicians in those school systems care that funds are directed fairly. |
I mean, it's heartless to say it but many of those students are what has made education so expensive and also so untenable for typical familes. |
Sorry, I have two women working for me who are both State of Maryland high school graduates. Both are illiterate. Neither can write a complete sentence. Neither can write a paragraph and neither can write a reference letter.
I think the department of education is just a waste of taxpayer money. School should focus on teaching the basics and not all of this fringe stuff. A student that cannot write a sentence or a paragraph should not be promoted to the next grade and passed along. |