Monday, August 28, 2006
No Child Left Behind, My Ass
And this doesn't even have anything to do with Bush's bullshit initiative. No, school districts themselves are screwing over kids and teachers alike, all in the name of saving a few bucks. In Michigan, teachers in 227 schools are hitting the pickets, then being jerked around with regards to prompt negotiations. The district wants to hash off a 5.5% pay cut, which IMHO is a load of crap. (Link -- via Fark)
Let's face it people. Teachers are a resource we can't afford to screw around with. These are the people who we rely on (probably much more than we should) to educate our children and prepare them for the future. When teachers walk, children suffer. And why? All in the name of the almighty dollar. Because the district wants to save a few bucks. They can say it's to buy better books, improve facilities, and whatever education buzzwords they'd like to throw out there.
The fact of the matter is this: Our children's education isn't up to snuff with the rest of the world. Why? Because of petty crap like this. What we need to do is this: Pay teachers what they're worth. Then you have the conduit for passing on knowledge in place. Then you need to get the curriculum up to snuff. None of this "creationism vs. evolution" garbage. Just teach the vital sciences and be done with it . Then PARENTS need to impress a work ethic on their kids to encourage them to achieve more and more. Responsibility, passed around rather evenly, I think: The Admin supplies the knowledge, the Teachers pass it on, and the Parents prepare their kids to recieve the knowledge...
And while I'm on my soapbox: Seriously. Creationism? Look folks, you can't simply PRAY your kids to be smarter. Like the old saying goes, 'Wish in one hand, Shit in the other, See which fills up first." To take away the core subjects the rest of the world has no trouble teaching is to strip our kids of the ability to compete. The world doesn't run on prayer and miracles; it runs on know-how. And sadly, American children are severely lacking in the latter. I don't want my kids to fall victim to an educational ideology that's doomed to fail, and you shouldn't want yours to, either. The lines have to be drawn, and soon, so we can give these kids the chance to succeed that each and every one of them deserves...
Let's face it people. Teachers are a resource we can't afford to screw around with. These are the people who we rely on (probably much more than we should) to educate our children and prepare them for the future. When teachers walk, children suffer. And why? All in the name of the almighty dollar. Because the district wants to save a few bucks. They can say it's to buy better books, improve facilities, and whatever education buzzwords they'd like to throw out there.
The fact of the matter is this: Our children's education isn't up to snuff with the rest of the world. Why? Because of petty crap like this. What we need to do is this: Pay teachers what they're worth. Then you have the conduit for passing on knowledge in place. Then you need to get the curriculum up to snuff. None of this "creationism vs. evolution" garbage. Just teach the vital sciences and be done with it . Then PARENTS need to impress a work ethic on their kids to encourage them to achieve more and more. Responsibility, passed around rather evenly, I think: The Admin supplies the knowledge, the Teachers pass it on, and the Parents prepare their kids to recieve the knowledge...
And while I'm on my soapbox: Seriously. Creationism? Look folks, you can't simply PRAY your kids to be smarter. Like the old saying goes, 'Wish in one hand, Shit in the other, See which fills up first." To take away the core subjects the rest of the world has no trouble teaching is to strip our kids of the ability to compete. The world doesn't run on prayer and miracles; it runs on know-how. And sadly, American children are severely lacking in the latter. I don't want my kids to fall victim to an educational ideology that's doomed to fail, and you shouldn't want yours to, either. The lines have to be drawn, and soon, so we can give these kids the chance to succeed that each and every one of them deserves...
