and you have me locked in to that arrangement for four (or more) years...
Locked in? The only lock in I know of is that most/nearly all universities require you are enrolled for the two years prior to getting your BA/BS
and you agree to provide internet access, and you forbid me from having Verizon drop a DSL line right to my bedroom...
You don't have to live on campus, it's an option, not a requirement.
in favor of charging some insane "Internet access" line item to my bill for 4x as much...
As much as what, the $40/month DSL bill you are lusting after?
How long before you decide to rail against the cafeteria for not offering you the foods you want, prepared how you want, and for a subsidized price too?
The problem is that most of the proposed merit-based evaluation systems that are going into place are as bad as, if not worse than, the existing system.
What, prey tell, is the "existing system" - the ability to turn oxygen into CO2 year after year appears to be the only system in place once a teacher makes tenure.
Evaluating teachers based on student performance results in: 1) Teachers that "teach the test" - as a result we have mediocre educational performance getting rewarded.
Wow, that sounds really bad, until you realize that the questions on "the test" are taken from the state curriccullum! - you know, the things the teachers are supposed to be teaching already. If they have to stop what they are doing to "teach to the test" they were most likely not advancing the students in the way they are supposed to.
2) Teachers penalized for things not under their control - For example, in a large district like Manhattan, if teachers in the high-crime inner-city schools are evaluated in the same pool as the teachers serving students who live on Park Avenue, those teachers will be at a fundamental disadvantage simply because their job is harder.
Then explain charter schools where student success is either the same or better with a student population choosen by random chance and the schools have fewer resources than public schools?
A teacher put "at a fundamental disadvantage" that doesn't want to face the challenges they are presented with can do what every other employee can do - change jobs. When a school can't keep it's teachers, someone will decide to see what the problem is.
However the current seniority-based system is also shit - once a teacher receives tenure there is no incentive to continue performance.
The guarantee of lifetime employment obliterates any incentive the community can offer the teacher to improve - especially if the teacher's union refuses to allow merit pay for excellent teachers (apparently because it makes bad teachers feel bad about themselves - not the kids that had to suffer them for the year)...
I wish we could start putting teacher's children in the classrooms of the lowest performing teachers - maybe that will drive home the idea all teachers aren't the same...
The biggest secret about the teacher's union is that their role is the protection of the teacher, not the students. The Teacher's Union has as it's number one priority increasing compensation & benefits, and protecting the employment of teachers. It makes sense - it is what a union is supposed to do.
Think how much different schools would be if it were the students that were unionized, not the teachers...
We tried letting the school administrators evaluate the teachers, that didn't work and that gave us tenure (remember, it's to protect "helpless teachers" from over-bearing principals and administrators), then we evaluated teachers on attendence (if you show up, you keep your job, with very few exceptions), and that lead to a complete flat line in overall academic achievement in this country (ironcally, performance has stalled since the creation of the U.S. Dept. of Education by Jimmy Carter), and now we're gonna pull back the kimono and expose exactly what is going on in the classroom. Teacher, lulled into a sense of complacency after decades of just getting along, are rightly terrified by what these evaluations will show.
Good.
They have denied every other option for evaluating teacher performance, so this is all that's left - congratulations, couldn't happen to a nicer group of people.
The Washington D.C. school system had a peer-review system when Michelle Rhee took over, in one instance she found a school where 95% of the teachers were ranked "Excellent", yet staggering numbers of students were failing year after year.
What problem would switching platforms solve? They'd have to select/learn a whole lot of different software, they'd have to cobble together some way of centrally managing several hundred computers AND a thousand or two user accounts without any real vendor tools to speak of.
Typically people who spout 'linux' as the answer for problems in educational computing tend to think that shooks use little more than an office suite & a browser... That is rarely the case - typically textbooks have supporting software, there are various assessment tools, special-purpose tools for managing HVAC, the library, student records, etc.
Turning the entire infrastructure of a school upside-down to switch platforms is more of a problem than a solution.
The OP didn't complain about technology (apple, PC) but about respect and trust issues. His teachers would never think twice about picking hardware for his environment, but they'd never let him pick their text books.
"When I was in school, there wasn't a single teacher that had any idea how to start and run a small business. (Except, perhaps for the ones that left to do just that, and they weren't teaching business)"
Of course not, a teacher is a teacher is a teacher, they are interchangeable professionals and can teach anything to anybody - as long as you make sure you give them a copy of the text book that has all the answers.
The community funds free education for all, based on their state's constitution - you are not paying school taxes "per child sent to school" you pay based (typically) on a tax on either the assessed value of your property and/or your income level.
I'm sorry, by funding a handful of schools across America they don't "RULE THE WORLD" - they spend their money and send their children to private schools, and their children tend to succeed, in part, because of their better education. Pity the poor billionaire that tries to extend the same educational advantage to poor, inner-city children their own children have enjoyed - they will be branded as "trying to rule the world"...
Doesn't every child that attends a "billionaire-funded" private/charter school free up precious resources in the public school system?
Chicago has how many public schools in it? And this is ONE private school you have a problem with? As noted, sending your children there is a choice - something the vast majority of parents lack for their children.
BTW, Chicago teachers, after being forced to forgo this year's 4% pay raise are trying to negotiate a 25% raise next year, with another 4.5% the following year - based, in large part, on the extension of the school day. Apparently the teachers that used to argue they were salaried professionals are now arguing they are hourly workers.
This is why, on those rare occasions when an animal manages to overcome the odds and win this rigged contest by killing a hunter, I smile. It's justice, in its purest form.
Does this have anything to do with the story?
Have you walked through the hunting section of any store recently? There's an entire arsenal of technology designed for the purpose of making the hunter's advantage as lopsided as possible.
That's cute - If deer could get credit cards maybe the stores would offer items to help "even the playing field", but since they can't, the hunter gets the advantage.
I would contend that your stated "loopsided advantage" is mitigated by the liberal infusion of alcohol, tilting the scales back towards fair - many hunters return without having hit anything...
I don't read this as trying to hide their cowardice, I look at it as the animal rights group presented a bunch of armed folks with a desire to shoot things with a viable target. The shoot was halted, and the "oh so clever" animal rights group sent up a substitute target for the group, which the hunters availed themselves of once the police left.
What, exactly, did the animal rights group think was going to happen? They went out to harass a group whose intention was to shoot flying things out of the air, and when they showed up with their flying thing, the hunters shot at it.
Were the hunters right to do it, I'm no lawyer but I'd say no, but this was 100% predictable.
I'm not sure, but that claim that this is the leading cause of death in America seems a bit, uhm, off. I suspect there are some broad qualifications to that statement, like leading cause of preventable deaths?..
I've grown up in the US (New Jersey) and we have many roundabouts (AKA circles), and when I've travelled to Bermuda where they drive on the wrong side of the road (not side I learned on) I've gotten used to it in about 5 minutes, and the roundabouts there simply seem natural - once you are used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road.
Wait, you want to build a pipeline in the mid-west? No way! And don't try and argue that it would be 100% privately funded or create thousands of jobs - been thee, done that.
What is so alarming about using 92% of all the water that is used in agriculture? If we cut agricultural water use in half, it would still account for 84% of all the water that is used?
100% percent of all the fresh water that is used is not 100% of all available fresh water. Some places have too much water, others too little, the primary issue is the distribution of the water, then the protection of it from harmful pollutants - the great thing about water is that it is about 100% reusable.
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Locked in? The only lock in I know of is that most/nearly all universities require you are enrolled for the two years prior to getting your BA/BS
You don't have to live on campus, it's an option, not a requirement.
As much as what, the $40/month DSL bill you are lusting after?
How long before you decide to rail against the cafeteria for not offering you the foods you want, prepared how you want, and for a subsidized price too?
What, prey tell, is the "existing system" - the ability to turn oxygen into CO2 year after year appears to be the only system in place once a teacher makes tenure.
Wow, that sounds really bad, until you realize that the questions on "the test" are taken from the state curriccullum! - you know, the things the teachers are supposed to be teaching already. If they have to stop what they are doing to "teach to the test" they were most likely not advancing the students in the way they are supposed to.
Then explain charter schools where student success is either the same or better with a student population choosen by random chance and the schools have fewer resources than public schools?
A teacher put "at a fundamental disadvantage" that doesn't want to face the challenges they are presented with can do what every other employee can do - change jobs. When a school can't keep it's teachers, someone will decide to see what the problem is.
The guarantee of lifetime employment obliterates any incentive the community can offer the teacher to improve - especially if the teacher's union refuses to allow merit pay for excellent teachers (apparently because it makes bad teachers feel bad about themselves - not the kids that had to suffer them for the year)...
I wish we could start putting teacher's children in the classrooms of the lowest performing teachers - maybe that will drive home the idea all teachers aren't the same...
The biggest secret about the teacher's union is that their role is the protection of the teacher, not the students. The Teacher's Union has as it's number one priority increasing compensation & benefits, and protecting the employment of teachers. It makes sense - it is what a union is supposed to do.
Think how much different schools would be if it were the students that were unionized, not the teachers...
We tried letting the school administrators evaluate the teachers, that didn't work and that gave us tenure (remember, it's to protect "helpless teachers" from over-bearing principals and administrators), then we evaluated teachers on attendence (if you show up, you keep your job, with very few exceptions), and that lead to a complete flat line in overall academic achievement in this country (ironcally, performance has stalled since the creation of the U.S. Dept. of Education by Jimmy Carter), and now we're gonna pull back the kimono and expose exactly what is going on in the classroom. Teacher, lulled into a sense of complacency after decades of just getting along, are rightly terrified by what these evaluations will show.
Good.
They have denied every other option for evaluating teacher performance, so this is all that's left - congratulations, couldn't happen to a nicer group of people.
The Washington D.C. school system had a peer-review system when Michelle Rhee took over, in one instance she found a school where 95% of the teachers were ranked "Excellent", yet staggering numbers of students were failing year after year.
What problem would switching platforms solve? They'd have to select/learn a whole lot of different software, they'd have to cobble together some way of centrally managing several hundred computers AND a thousand or two user accounts without any real vendor tools to speak of.
Typically people who spout 'linux' as the answer for problems in educational computing tend to think that shooks use little more than an office suite & a browser... That is rarely the case - typically textbooks have supporting software, there are various assessment tools, special-purpose tools for managing HVAC, the library, student records, etc.
Turning the entire infrastructure of a school upside-down to switch platforms is more of a problem than a solution.
The OP didn't complain about technology (apple, PC) but about respect and trust issues. His teachers would never think twice about picking hardware for his environment, but they'd never let him pick their text books.
Parenting the children at home? Teaching them manners, punishing them when they are wrong, and rewarding them when they are right?
I seem to recall that formula working when I was growing up...
Out of curiosity, where, exactly do you think the questions on "THE TEST" come from? The required state curriculum.
And one more question, why is it such a struggle for teachers to teach the required curriculum?
Of course not, a teacher is a teacher is a teacher, they are interchangeable professionals and can teach anything to anybody - as long as you make sure you give them a copy of the text book that has all the answers.
The community funds free education for all, based on their state's constitution - you are not paying school taxes "per child sent to school" you pay based (typically) on a tax on either the assessed value of your property and/or your income level.
Teacher's unions across America seem to think so - they encourage great teachers by paying them just as much as the worst teacher in the district.
I'm sorry, by funding a handful of schools across America they don't "RULE THE WORLD" - they spend their money and send their children to private schools, and their children tend to succeed, in part, because of their better education. Pity the poor billionaire that tries to extend the same educational advantage to poor, inner-city children their own children have enjoyed - they will be branded as "trying to rule the world"...
Doesn't every child that attends a "billionaire-funded" private/charter school free up precious resources in the public school system?
If we can't give teachers merit pay for doing their jobs well, how can you defend paying students for doing their jobs (learning) well?
What surplus of money do you propose we pay these students from? If there is no surplus, what programs will you cut to fund this reward system?
Chicago has how many public schools in it? And this is ONE private school you have a problem with? As noted, sending your children there is a choice - something the vast majority of parents lack for their children.
BTW, Chicago teachers, after being forced to forgo this year's 4% pay raise are trying to negotiate a 25% raise next year, with another 4.5% the following year - based, in large part, on the extension of the school day. Apparently the teachers that used to argue they were salaried professionals are now arguing they are hourly workers.
This is also Chicago, where TVs are falling and killing small children at alarming rates.
This is Chicago, the city that was recently ranked the most corrupt city in America.
This is Chicago, where nearly 40% of all students dropped out before graduation LAST YEAR.
This is Chicago where almost 31% of students either meet or exceed standards on the PSAE examinations.
Did parents know about these "fees" when they enrolled? Were the reasons for them explained to the parents when they enrolled their children?
There must have been some reason these parents choose to enroll their children in this school.
Does this have anything to do with the story?
That's cute - If deer could get credit cards maybe the stores would offer items to help "even the playing field", but since they can't, the hunter gets the advantage.
I would contend that your stated "loopsided advantage" is mitigated by the liberal infusion of alcohol, tilting the scales back towards fair - many hunters return without having hit anything...
So I'm guessing you are not a hunter?
I don't read this as trying to hide their cowardice, I look at it as the animal rights group presented a bunch of armed folks with a desire to shoot things with a viable target. The shoot was halted, and the "oh so clever" animal rights group sent up a substitute target for the group, which the hunters availed themselves of once the police left.
What, exactly, did the animal rights group think was going to happen? They went out to harass a group whose intention was to shoot flying things out of the air, and when they showed up with their flying thing, the hunters shot at it.
Were the hunters right to do it, I'm no lawyer but I'd say no, but this was 100% predictable.
I'm not sure, but that claim that this is the leading cause of death in America seems a bit, uhm, off. I suspect there are some broad qualifications to that statement, like leading cause of preventable deaths?..
Interesting it didn't make this CDC list of causes of death: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm
From the report:
Heart disease: 599,413
Cancer: 567,628
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 137,353
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 128,842
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 118,021
Alzheimer's disease: 79,003
Diabetes: 68,705
Influenza and Pneumonia: 53,692
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 48,935
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 36,909
I've grown up in the US (New Jersey) and we have many roundabouts (AKA circles), and when I've travelled to Bermuda where they drive on the wrong side of the road (not side I learned on) I've gotten used to it in about 5 minutes, and the roundabouts there simply seem natural - once you are used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road.
Wasn't it healthy when it was in the apple?
"Sun Chips" is people!
Who funds the school lunch programs - the state with federal funds from the USDA perhaps?
You do realize the "ketchup is a vegetable" decision related to school lunches, right?
Wait, you want to build a pipeline in the mid-west? No way! And don't try and argue that it would be 100% privately funded or create thousands of jobs - been thee, done that.
What is so alarming about using 92% of all the water that is used in agriculture? If we cut agricultural water use in half, it would still account for 84% of all the water that is used?
100% percent of all the fresh water that is used is not 100% of all available fresh water. Some places have too much water, others too little, the primary issue is the distribution of the water, then the protection of it from harmful pollutants - the great thing about water is that it is about 100% reusable.
Really - maybe 'el presidente' is a dolt, msybe their IT guys are dolts, and maybe, just maybe, they didn't even really think about it.
I suspect they chose trivial passwords when the default auto-expired on first login...