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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (78152)	3/8/2010 4:00:19 AM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Respond to of 90947

My short response to your post is that our main disagreement is apportionment of blame for the multitude of problems. Below is the windy version. This is a complex situation [far more than I attempted to cover] that doesn't easily fit into broad bush categories or solutions. "Can you tell me how many teachers were fired at the schools you taught at Sully?" I can't think of a single instance where a teacher was appropriately fired for cause in my life. BTW, I was an auditor for the Dep't of Education's Inspector General Office. Unfortunately, termination issues were never part of my audits, so I can't speak with authority on it. However, working for the gov't & auditing many schools gave me a unique look into bureaucracies & teaching in public schools. Still this is just MVHO.... First, Federal gov't agencies & employees are generally left of center. Among various left wing policies & politics that abound, Affirmative Action is a rampant problem there. These policies & politics are entrenched. It's not a great place for right of center folks to make a career. Fortunately, the Inspector's General attracts a higher % of right of center employees. But like elsewhere in gov't a principled, mainstream conservative generally ends up spending most of their career as a worker bee [no doubt it's similar for conservatives in teaching]. Worker bees rarely are in a position to usher in major change. Unlike many of my peers I was at loggerheads most of my career fighting the insanity. Nothing ever changed. So I left as did oh so many other quality folks over the same issues. The NEA & teachers in general are more left of center than the gov't. The NEA is about as militant & liberal in their politics as the folks at the 'View from the Center' crowd, the DNC, the NYT or MSNBC. That's not so true with teachers though. I think the NEA took the whole system to the left. Like most unions they took merit, responsibility & achieving results out of the equation. Mediocrity is not only rewarded, but it's the safest place to be particularly if you're not in lockstep with the NEA. And worse, the NEA will fight hard to keep incompetents, miscreants & criminals in the classroom. Like all social justice minded libs, once the NEA got control the leadership ruled with an iron fist & began implementing their idea of utopia. Their policies & politics are more entrenched than most gov't bureaucracies. They don't listen to their membership unless it fits into their agenda. You cross them you will pay dearly. They may not be as brutal as SEIU or the UAW but that's not saying much either. For that I lay more blame on them. It's nearly impossible to stand against them on anything. Few if any who do are ever successful. That's just how the NEA wants it. And they're not about to let it change. Like Obama, Pelosi & Reid they have an agenda & a staunch belief they know better than everyone what must be done. Teachers likely have a decent % of left of center thru right of center folks, though they are in the minority. Still, I think that most of these folks have not or no longer will stand up to the NEA over the issues you cited. I think this group plus a decent segment of liberal teachers are highly dedicated folks who are trying to do what they can [though levels of effort vary widely] within the awful system they are now in. Very, very few are seriously pushing the NEA for the change you discussed because the system is ruled by the far left NEA, a mostly far left Admin & a vocal militant minority of like minded teachers. This group sees the highest turnover rate, for similar reasons that the quality folks leave gov't - they eventually give up. Given different circumstances, like a union that works with teachers to give them all the tools they need to do their job & worked with the system to achieve results & accountability based on merit, this group would be the vast majority. It isn't, so some give up & do what they can locally or in their classroom. Others try but realize they'll never be in a position to to make the necessary changes. They give up & leave. Some give up & become part of the last group. Then there's the majority of teachers. Sigh! They are generally more left of center, but they are a disparate group. Many are no different than the teachers we see posting at the 'View'. They are the more militant, vocal ones who dominate the union & Admin leadership. They shout down, badger & ostracize those with differing POV's. They treat differing POV's no different than folks at the 'View' do. And they have the NEA firmly behind them. Quite a few in this disparate majority generally agree with the liberal agenda, yet they believe that some change is needed. Lots of these folks are squishy libs - some are more concerned with career advancement than they are with principles - some want to be accepted by the group - they keep their yaps shut - others think they agree with liberal policies [sounds good in theory], but at the personal level they often take a more conservative approach to things - these folks just can't see the dichotomy. Bottom line, most aren't willing to rock the boat to achieve change. Some tried & quickly learned what happens when you do. Others saw what happened when you challenge the groupthink & decided it's just not worth the effort. Many end up in the next group eventually. This group is simply marking time in mediocrity or worse. There are disparate levels of teaching effort given, but this group gets involved in little else. Hell, for some it was as simple as this. They went to school for 16 years. They know what they saw [though they didn't see the BS]. The idea of short work days & long summers off was their preferred lifestyle. Now I'm not saying all of these folks came to teaching so they could be slackers. I do think that the idea of a short work week/year was an appealing enticement for a career choice. So yes, some likely got in with mediocrity in mind. Then there's folks from the other groups above who aren't happy with the system but now are just doing time with ball & chain, staying out of the fray. I do lay plenty of blame on teachers. Just not near as much as the NEA. The NEA has the power with a vocal, militant minority of teachers that make any real change near impossible. That's my story & I'm sticking to it!

To: greenspirit who wrote (78152)	12/7/2010 3:07:07 AM
From: Peter Dierks	2 Recommendations Respond to of 90947

What I've Learned About Education Politics We can’t keep politics out of school reform. Why I’m launching a national movement to transform education. Michelle Rhee, Newsweek December 6, 2010 After my boss, Washington, D.C., mayor Adrian Fenty, lost his primary in September, I was stunned. I had never imagined he wouldn’t win the contest, given the progress that was visible throughout the city—the new recreation centers, the turnaround of once struggling neighborhoods, and, yes, the improvements in the schools. Three and a half years ago, when I first met with Fenty about becoming chancellor of the D.C. public-school system, I had warned him that he wouldn’t want to hire me. If we did the job right for the city’s children, I told him, it would upset the status quo—I was sure I would be a political problem. But Fenty was adamant. He said he would back me—and my changes—100 percent. He never wavered, and I convinced myself the public would see the progress and want it to continue. But now I have no doubt this cost him the election. The timing couldn’t have been more ironic. The new movie Waiting for Superman—which aimed to generate public passion for school reform the way ... Message 27009527