Educators for DeVos??

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

She was put in the position to release the children fro public indoctrination and train to fail centers. I think she will do a good job at that. I just hope in Trumps second term he will keep her and by then she will have enough of the curriculum changed to have returned the schools to Succeed mode and freed the children from liberal rewritten history, and social justice control classes and returned them to real science with choice, real social studies with choice, and real history of the world and this country.

What makes you think that the federal government has ANYTHING to do with curriculum? They do not!

Most conservatives have been complaining about centralized control of education and want to return to local control. Is that what you really want or not?

No offense, but most non- educators have no clue as to what a curriculum is. Do you know?

 

[toomuchtime_]

You can't imagine why offering children and their parents the opportunity to go to better performing schools benefits the children? If you really can't understand this and you are a public school teacher, that is a very strong argument for providing options DeVos advocates.

The argument is her purposed system, her qualifications and if she has the ability to still provide a good education to all. Teachers spend everyday with these children. They understand their struggles and persistently attempt to better their students lives, can you say the same about yourself? Since you decided to get personal.

You are a teacher but you use the word, purposed when you mean proposed, and again you make a strong argument in favor of the increased options DeVos wants to give to children and their parents.

If the public schools were serving the needs of all the children rather than just those children who are fortunate enough to live in more upscale neighborhoods, then there would be no need for DeVos' plans, but you and your colleagues have failed the children for as long as records have been kept, and the efforts of the last three presidents have failed to significantly improve the public school system, so it is necessary to provide alternatives to this failed system you are so attached to.

Ohh my deepest apologies for not catching my computer auto changing my terms. That must mean I am ignorant and also the cause of failed schools. Smh! That's silly but your entitled to your views. Once again I am for alternatives that will help our schools become more effective and efficient. Read up on this "voucher"/"charter school" system. Research the statistics and the issues surrounding them. This is not the best way for all children. Some will benefit but more will suffer. No one will be on with their children going to "a bad school" so how is everyone going to attend these so called best schools. How will the low income households provide transportation to these schools when every member of the family works, in many cases the student works.

The voucher plan worked very well in D.C., costing the city less for each student that went private schools than maintaining them in the failed public schools and showing improvement in their test scores. There is simply no basis for claiming any students would be harmed by it. What you don't seem to be able to understand is that this is about helping the childen, not the public school system and not the teachers' unions.

The schools they attended were Catholic parochial schools and the church was taking huge losses in doing so. Were any of those DC public school students allowed to sit in classes with the Obama girls at their swanky private school? Not on your life!

Why can't people just be honest? The model fails to work again and again and again. No putting lipstick on a pig is going to make that hog any prettier. Are there some successes? Yes. Are there enough to justify the ridiculous costs at the expense of public schools? Not a chance.

I am reading a book written by Ron Clark who started a charter middle school in Atlanta. The school is a non-profit and the founder admits he could not run the school without an incredible amount of donations from celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey. What amazes me is how this man has managed to stay out of jail as long as he has. He also freely admits to doing things that would likely have him locked behind bars if he tried some of that crap in public schools.

The D.C. program was a success. The students who used the vouchers to go to private schools had a significantly higher graduation rate and were 25% more likely to enroll in college than the students who went to D.C.'s public schools.

 

[buckeye45_73]

She was put in the position to release the children fro public indoctrination and train to fail centers. I think she will do a good job at that. I just hope in Trumps second term he will keep her and by then she will have enough of the curriculum changed to have returned the schools to Succeed mode and freed the children from liberal rewritten history, and social justice control classes and returned them to real science with choice, real social studies with choice, and real history of the world and this country.

What makes you think that the federal government has ANYTHING to do with curriculum? They do not!

Most conservatives have been complaining about centralized control of education and want to return to local control. Is that what you really want or not?

No offense, but most non- educators have no clue as to what a curriculum is. Do you know?

We want local control and expect schools to teach specific information to their kids.

Math

There is a correct answer. Anything else is wrong


Science

Teach scientific method, anything else is conjecture


History

Teach what happened, not liberal propaganda.....ie Christopher Columbia was a good guy and not evil.

 

[Unkotare]

.........ie Christopher Columbia was a good guy and not evil.

Depends on who you ask. The Taino developed a different view, as did early Spanish colonists in Hispanola.

 

[CowboyTed]

I find it hard to believe that this lady is equipped to handle this job. She never taught or was part of school administration that would prove that education is difficult and we are going down the wrong path. There are good and unworthy Charter Schools. We cannot go whole hog one one idea and throw out possible solutions that would precipitate answers that would aid in the raising of standards in our schools.

You know that the College loans program is the size of a small nation bank and she has no experience in finance either... She was visibly surprised when told in the confirmation hearings, they lend out $100bn a year... That is a fair amount of money..

 

[CowboyTed]

This is a very very rich woman who took it as her particular obligation in life to do what she could to get very poor children a better education than they were getting.

She is not in it for the money; she has all she and subsequent generations could ever need....except that she has given a huge amount of it to further that obligation she has felt called upon to assume.

The problem is that part of the solution she has identified....giving the kids (and their parents) a CHOICE in where they send their kids to school....will hit the Bolsheviks Teachers Unions in the pocketbook....and funny thing is....when it comes to their pocketbook, Bolsheviks are very much like the greediest capitalist in New York and New England.

(By the way, where do you think the Robber Barons came from....whose Greed called forth Unions in the first place?)

Which Greed applies strictly to Private Employee Unions. Their existence is justified.

But the Public Employee Unions, especially the Teachers Unions...simply Suck Off the public tit...through a fraudulent co-conspiracy with the Democratic Party....a conspiracy which ought to have been busted up a long time ago...and maybe this lady will finally do it.

Naturally, the Democrats are raising Hell. They are paid a fortune to raise Hell by the Public Employee Unions, who are funded by us Taxpayers.

What's going to drive this country into some sort of disaster...its tough now to tell how bad...but its going to be a combination of an almost illiterate public, educated by lazy Bolsheviks, and the Liars in the Media who have abandoned all pretense of impartiality and openly joined the Bolshevik side.

Ugly times at hand.



______

Simply put that is bullshit...

A sobering look at what Betsy DeVos did to education in Michigan — and what she might do as secretary of education

 

[owebo]

This is a very very rich woman who took it as her particular obligation in life to do what she could to get very poor children a better education than they were getting.

She is not in it for the money; she has all she and subsequent generations could ever need....except that she has given a huge amount of it to further that obligation she has felt called upon to assume.

The problem is that part of the solution she has identified....giving the kids (and their parents) a CHOICE in where they send their kids to school....will hit the Bolsheviks Teachers Unions in the pocketbook....and funny thing is....when it comes to their pocketbook, Bolsheviks are very much like the greediest capitalist in New York and New England.

(By the way, where do you think the Robber Barons came from....whose Greed called forth Unions in the first place?)

Which Greed applies strictly to Private Employee Unions. Their existence is justified.

But the Public Employee Unions, especially the Teachers Unions...simply Suck Off the public tit...through a fraudulent co-conspiracy with the Democratic Party....a conspiracy which ought to have been busted up a long time ago...and maybe this lady will finally do it.

Naturally, the Democrats are raising Hell. They are paid a fortune to raise Hell by the Public Employee Unions, who are funded by us Taxpayers.

What's going to drive this country into some sort of disaster...its tough now to tell how bad...but its going to be a combination of an almost illiterate public, educated by lazy Bolsheviks, and the Liars in the Media who have abandoned all pretense of impartiality and openly joined the Bolshevik side.

Ugly times at hand.



______

Simply put that is bullshit...

A sobering look at what Betsy DeVos did to education in Michigan — and what she might do as secretary of education

I can't wait until she gets started dismantling your fascist democrat reich....

 

[Markle]

Does she have an education degree? How many years has she spent teaching? How much coaching has she done?

All of which equip you to be a principal of a high school but certainly NOT the Education Secretary. Why do we want the same ol' same ol' which has failed for decades? Your only solution is to pour more good money after bad. Why not try other solutions?

 

[Markle]

Does she have an education degree? How many years has she spent teaching? How much coaching has she done?

Oh, but she believes in all charter schools! Quite a resume, don't you think?

Your ignorance is not surprising. As you know, it is a common trait among Progressive. Allow me to attempt to inform you.

Education activism
Christian motivation
DeVos in 2001 listed education activism and reform efforts as a means to "advance God’s Kingdom".[5][6] In an interview that year, she also said that "changing the way we approach ... the system of education in the country ... really may have greater Kingdom gain in the long run".[5]

School choice
DeVos believes education in the United States should be opened up to for-profit charter schools, and she has stated that education is "a closed system, a closed industry, a closed market. It's a monopoly, a dead end."[113] DeVos believes that opening up the education market will offer parents increased choice, a view that critics call a drive to privatize the American public education system.[113]

School vouchers
DeVos is known as a "a fierce proponent of school vouchers" that would allow students to attend private schools with public funding.[114] According to The New York Times, it "is hard to find anyone more passionate about the idea of steering public dollars away from traditional public schools than Betsy DeVos".[61]

DeVos served as chairwoman of the board of Alliance for School Choice.[115] Until November 2016,[116] she headed the All Children Matter PAC which she and her husband founded in 2003 to promote school vouchers, tax credits to businesses that give private school scholarships, and candidates who support these causes.[117] Over the years, DeVos and her husband have provided millions in funding for the organization. In 2008, All Children Matter was fined $5.2 million in Ohio for illegally laundering money into political campaign funds.[118][119] DeVos was not named in the case.[120] The fine remained unpaid as of 2017, prompting calls by Democratic Party lawmakers for DeVos to settle the debt.[121][122]

Her other activities on behalf of public-school reform have included membership on the boards of directors of the Advocates for School Choice, the American Education Reform Council, and the Education Freedom Fund.[123] She has chaired the boards of Choices for Children, and Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP).[124]

DeVos is Chair of the American Federation for Children (AFC). Affiliated with the Alliance for School Choice, the AFC describes itself as "a leading national advocacy organization promoting school choice, with a specific focus on advocating for school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs".[125]

During the 1990s, she served on the boards of Children First America and the American Education Reform Council, which sought to expand school choice through vouchers and tax credits. She and her husband worked for the successful passage of Michigan's first charter-school bill in 1993,[21] and for the unsuccessful effort in 2000 to amend Michigan's constitution to allow tax-credit scholarships or vouchers. In response to that defeat, DeVos started a PAC, the Great Lakes Education Project, which championed charter schools. DeVos's husband and John Walton then founded All Children Matter, a political organization, which she chaired.[126]

Detroit charter school system
DeVos has been an advocate for the Detroit charter school system. Douglas N. Harris, professor of Economics at Tulane University, wrote in a 2016 New York Times op-ed that DeVos was partly responsible for "what even charter advocates acknowledge is the biggest school reform disaster in the country". In the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Detroit had the lowest reading and mathematics scores "by far" over any city participating in the evaluation. She designed a system with no oversight, said Harris, and where schools that do poorly can continue to enroll students.[127]

Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review said that "some 47 percent of charter schools in Detroit significantly outperform[ed] traditional public schools in reading".[128] Defending DeVos's record in Michigan, Jay P. Greene, professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas argued Harris's New York Times article misled readers on the evidence and "falsely claimed that Detroit has failed to close failing charter schools", noting that Detroit has closed more charters than Louisiana, a state Harris cites as a model for charter school legislation.[129]

In a written response to a question about charter school performance posed during DeVos's confirmation hearing by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), asking "why do you think their performance is so poor?", DeVos defended the charter school system using graduation rates that were significantly higher than those used for state and federal accountability purposes. DeVos provided examples of several charter schools that she said had 4-year graduation exceeding 90%. These examples were contested by Columbia University professor Aaron Pallas and Education Week reporter Ben Herold on the basis that the actual graduation rates were roughly only half as large as DeVos had stated.[130][131]

Grading system
DeVos and Joel Klein said in a May 2013 op-ed that residents of Maine "are now given information on school performance using easy-to-understand report cards with the same A, B, C, D and F designations used in student grades". This system, they argued, "truly motivates parents and the community to get involved by simply taking information that education officials have had for years and presenting it in a way that is more easily understood."[132]

Betsy and Dick DeVos Scholars for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Scholarship
The DeVoses have also established an annual scholarship, called the Betsy and Dick DeVos Scholars for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Scholarship, which is awarded to students earning a BBA or combined BBA/MBA at Northwood University.[133]

Foundation for Excellence in Education
DeVos is a member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd),[134] a think tank founded by Jeb Bush whose stated goal is to "build an American education system that equips every child to achieve his or her God-given potential"

Betsy DeVos - Wikipedia

 

[Markle]

This is a very very rich woman who took it as her particular obligation in life to do what she could to get very poor children a better education than they were getting.

She is not in it for the money; she has all she and subsequent generations could ever need....except that she has given a huge amount of it to further that obligation she has felt called upon to assume.

The problem is that part of the solution she has identified....giving the kids (and their parents) a CHOICE in where they send their kids to school....will hit the Bolsheviks Teachers Unions in the pocketbook....and funny thing is....when it comes to their pocketbook, Bolsheviks are very much like the greediest capitalist in New York and New England.

(By the way, where do you think the Robber Barons came from....whose Greed called forth Unions in the first place?)

Which Greed applies strictly to Private Employee Unions. Their existence is justified.

But the Public Employee Unions, especially the Teachers Unions...simply Suck Off the public tit...through a fraudulent co-conspiracy with the Democratic Party....a conspiracy which ought to have been busted up a long time ago...and maybe this lady will finally do it.

Naturally, the Democrats are raising Hell. They are paid a fortune to raise Hell by the Public Employee Unions, who are funded by us Taxpayers.

What's going to drive this country into some sort of disaster...its tough now to tell how bad...but its going to be a combination of an almost illiterate public, educated by lazy Bolsheviks, and the Liars in the Media who have abandoned all pretense of impartiality and openly joined the Bolshevik side.

Ugly times at hand.
______

Your anti-union barrage of bullshit is off topic.

Eliminating teacher unions would be of immense help to our education problems.

National Education Association General Counsel Bob Chanin stated in July 2009.

Chanin: "It is not because we care about children. And it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power. And we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues...."



Says it all, does it not?

 

[Disir]

This is a very very rich woman who took it as her particular obligation in life to do what she could to get very poor children a better education than they were getting.

She is not in it for the money; she has all she and subsequent generations could ever need....except that she has given a huge amount of it to further that obligation she has felt called upon to assume.

The problem is that part of the solution she has identified....giving the kids (and their parents) a CHOICE in where they send their kids to school....will hit the Bolsheviks Teachers Unions in the pocketbook....and funny thing is....when it comes to their pocketbook, Bolsheviks are very much like the greediest capitalist in New York and New England.

(By the way, where do you think the Robber Barons came from....whose Greed called forth Unions in the first place?)

Which Greed applies strictly to Private Employee Unions. Their existence is justified.

But the Public Employee Unions, especially the Teachers Unions...simply Suck Off the public tit...through a fraudulent co-conspiracy with the Democratic Party....a conspiracy which ought to have been busted up a long time ago...and maybe this lady will finally do it.

Naturally, the Democrats are raising Hell. They are paid a fortune to raise Hell by the Public Employee Unions, who are funded by us Taxpayers.

What's going to drive this country into some sort of disaster...its tough now to tell how bad...but its going to be a combination of an almost illiterate public, educated by lazy Bolsheviks, and the Liars in the Media who have abandoned all pretense of impartiality and openly joined the Bolshevik side.

Ugly times at hand.



______

Simply put that is bullshit...

A sobering look at what Betsy DeVos did to education in Michigan — and what she might do as secretary of education

Well, Ted you sound concerned. Not concerned about what has been taking place for the past decade but concerned it isn't a Democrat doing it.

 

[Markle]

As an educator I have yet to hear any valid argument (based on facts or science) that DeVos is a good choice. Any teachers out there pro- DeVos? Please tell me why.

Public school teachers, with a few exceptions, are only interested in what best serves their interests and DeVos is interested in what best serves the interests of the children, so naturally, "educators" are opposed to her.

You believe teachers are being selfish? Who becomes a teacher for selfish reasons? It is one of the most time demanding and stressful professions there are. I can't believe people agree with you also. However, I digress...How does she know what will best serve All children? Please provide me with evidence of any kind.

Simple, anyone who wants a relatively easy career where they will be off and available to be with and raise their own children.

 

[Markle]

If she has a few years of teaching experience yes. Otherwise no. That should be a requirement. Go in, give up a good salary, and teach tnbe slowest of the slow and behaviorally disabled for a free years. Until then, you are clueless. But this is no different than any other administration. Unless you have been in the trenches you have no clue. My wife was and my daughter is. Let's just say the american families are dysfunctional....

I hear pretty much the same. I'm always struck by the difference of what I hear from inner city teachers versus those in more affluent systems. They seem to agree that it isn't about money, it's about parenting. A friends wife taught in a rough part of Cleveland for 20+ years. She speaks of the changes over her years. One of her last classes, she's now retired, had 26 kids, 21 from single parent homes. That was when she said she'd had enough and retired the next year. According to her you can't teach these kids, period. Those in more affluent areas adore their kids and love their jobs.

Single parents......they are the cause of almost all of the social ills we suffer from. Single, teenage mothers, generation after generation are not capable of teaching young males how to be adult men.......our violence and our education problems could be solved for the most part by fixing that issue alone.

Most notably, the child of a single parent is far, far more likely to be living in poverty than one where the child's parents are married.

 

[Markle]

Your anti-union barrage of bullshit is off topic.

He defined liberals and their teacher unions as Bolsheviks, that's complimentary and a quite obvious understatement, sweet really.

So when I was a member of a teacher's union I was a liberal and a Bolshevik?

He obviously doesn't know anything.

Eh, my 4 children that were educated and raised in California and actually had some pretty great teachers, politics unknown .. as it should be in my opinion. Just wondering, have you ran across teachers that were protected by tenure but basically sucked as educators and how did you feel about that in regards to the students?

If you want my personal opinion... I feel tenure should be re-evaluated. Teachers are always getting more education, however at the same time not staying up to date with the technology children are becoming experts in. The social and educational implications to wide spread internet access is immense. It should not be taken for granted. Students should always come first. They are and always will be our future.

Tenure is one of the most misunderstood terms ever used on these forums.

Last year I finished my fourth year of teaching at my school. I was given a satisfactory evaluation by my administrator and was told my principal wanted to see me. I walked next door to his office and was told that my contract would not be renewed for the next year because that would have given me tenure. I was let go with not even a "Thank you! Get the hell out!" They even expected me to finish the rest of the year with a cheery attitude and work like a dog to get my students to pass. Even a hearty "F U" would have been nicer.

Tenure at any level needs to be eliminated. It is as useful as a fireman, in a caboose on a train would be today.

 

[Lilah]

As an educator I have yet to hear any valid argument (based on facts or science) that DeVos is a good choice. Any teachers out there pro- DeVos? Please tell me why.

Watch this video and then present your valid argument of why the education system has worked so well.

 

[Markle]

So....running a school requires an education degree? Really? That is all you have? Have you seen these inner city hell holes these children are condemned to attend.......all of those people have the education degrees you want....has that helped save these children?

It sounds like you have issues with unions. Despite what you may believe this post (at least) is not about unions. It's obvious credentials don't matter to her supporters, I feel that point is mute.
However, I also have children. I want the schools closest to me to be the best they can be. Not only for my children but for the community they will grow up in. Schools do more for society than filter money and teach kids their ABCs. They are a social stimulus that keeps communities and ultimately society with an entertainment outlet, networking opportunity and thus deters crime, keeps children fed... Etc etc

No....you are limiting credentials very narrowly. You think an education degree is necessary to run a federal organization....when we show you over and over that people with education degrees, and advanced degrees from Masters degrees to Ph.Ds in Education are just as capable of destroying a cities education system.........the inner city schools that cannot keep children safe, let alone educate them in math and reading...are all run by the very people you think are superior to Betsy DeVos....so it is obvious credentials in education don't correlate to success at educating children.

Betsy DeVos has devoted her life to helping poor children get an education......she has put her money where her beliefs are and has put her time where her beliefs are.....

Schools in our inner cities are doing none of the things you say that schools do...they are dangerous and are not educating children.

Why don't you support allowing parents to control where they send their kids to school....? That is the obvious way to get everything you say you want out of a school......parents who send their kids to good schools one or two towns over, or to a new, non public school that gets started because of vouchers will be just as committed to the opportunities you say you want...and the side benefit...their children will be safe from gang violence and will actually be educated......

So what are you doing to fix that by running away from the problem and leaving those who cannot run to stay there with fewer resources?

It's not running....those schools will actually have to improve...instead of staying hell holes. And if they can't compete and get better, actually educating children....new schools will open and schools designed to take care of problem kids.....so it is actually fixing the problem and helping kids...instead of warehousing them and using them to get union dues for democrats.

The whole concept is that parents will have control over the money and where they send their kids....not border lines and bureaucrats...

Do you want your kids in a school with gangs and drugs? Why should you be stuck there simply because you live in that school border....? Why should you surrender the money designated for your kid simply because you want to send them to a school that actually teaches them? Why does your child get to be sacrificed on the alter of another kids horrible parents?

Is it fair to the good kid, the kid who studies, and engages with the school community to be in the same school as the kids selling drugs and shooting each other in drive bys?

Is keeping a good kid in the same school as the bad kid getting the problems facing the bad kid resolved?

If you strip away the funds, strip away the teachers and crowd up the remainder of the students into fewer classrooms, how on God's green Earth do you think things will improve?

Most people have no clue as to the costs associated with running a public school. Very few people do, and the vast majority of them are educators. You likely do not.

The walls of the school don't teach the kids, but there has to be some to hold up the roof. Someone has to pay for the heat and AC, water, sewage and general upkeep and maintenance.

Those are called fixed costs and if 100 kids are there instead of 200, the bills are not that much smaller. THAT is the problem.

As you know, AC, water, sewer and general upkeep and maintainance is NOT fixed cost. Insurance on the buildings would be a fixed cost. As in any operation, labor is always the single most expensive item.

 

[Markle]

If you read what she has said her only goal is to support christian schools, nothing wrong with christian schools, but most of our children go to public schools her goal, turn public schools into christen schools. Great if that's what you want. we are fighting ISS about one way thinking? her views look like one way thinking. looking at her answers at the hearings she is not qualified.

Kindly show us your source and link to where Betsy DeVos states what you say, "she has said her only goal is to support christian [Christian] schools". If you refuse, would that make you a liar or purveyor of FAKE NEWS?

 

[Markle]

As an educator I have yet to hear any valid argument (based on facts or science) that DeVos is a good choice. Any teachers out there pro- DeVos? Please tell me why.

Public school teachers, with a few exceptions, are only interested in what best serves their interests and DeVos is interested in what best serves the interests of the children, so naturally, "educators" are opposed to her.

You believe teachers are being selfish? Who becomes a teacher for selfish reasons? It is one of the most time demanding and stressful professions there are. I can't believe people agree with you also. However, I digress...How does she know what will best serve All children? Please provide me with evidence of any kind.

You can't imagine why offering children and their parents the opportunity to go to better performing schools benefits the children? If you really can't understand this and you are a public school teacher, that is a very strong argument for providing options DeVos advocates.

The argument is her purposed system, her qualifications and if she has the ability to still provide a good education to all. Teachers spend everyday with these children. They understand their struggles and persistently attempt to better their students lives, can you say the same about yourself? Since you decided to get personal.

According to you, the only qualifications you will accept are a history of total immersion in a known failed system. How is that a good thing?

 

[Markle]

Uh, how with the parents know the principal is firing teachers on a whim?

I wish one of you keyboard commandos would tell me what constitutes a bad teacher in your eyes. I have been an educator for over 20 years and I have run across a number that I can count on one hand.

Without being in a school on a daily basis, what gives you the right to decide who is a good teacher and who is a bad teacher?

I have parents that think the sun rises and sets in my ass, and I have some that would throw me an anchor if they thought I was drowning.

The absolute bullshit about teachers not being fired is one of the most ridiculous old wive's takes that you education haters like to throw up. The problem is that good teachers get fired or do not get tenure because of people with attitudes like yours.

Choose schools?

I chose every school my children attended. I spent the extra money to buy a house or rent in a district with a good school. Why can't everyone else do what I have done successfully for my three children who are now adults?

The answer is laziness and the inability to hold themselves accountable for their actions.

Seriously? What is the graduation rate of Chicago public schools? Balitmore? D.C......?

You spent the extra money to buy or rent a house in a good school district...nice for you.......how about the kids who don't have your resources and are currently stuck in a hell hole school....and you talk about leaving the bad kids behind...how about helping the good kids escape....?

Good teachers are leaving the profession after 2-3 years......bad teachers stay because they are protected....and if you are a good teacher...vouchers will increase your pay....you will have value..since you can actually teach kids.....

If you have been in education for 20 years.....it is no wonder you don't understand competition........and how it will save the lives of children.

There are no good kids in those schools. We had vouchers in Florida until someone bothered to read the state Constitution.

Even if vouchers are available, where do they go?

In Jacksonville, we had several very good private schools. A $4000 voucher sounds great until you realize that the tuition was over three times that much at the cheaper schools. Every school has a waiting list so long, no one could have gotten in anyway. The Catholic Archdiocese decided to build another high school west of the city, but it took about 5 years to build and the waiting list wasn't even dented by the students who enrolled there.

How will vouchers increase my pay? That's hilarious! I already get paid crappy wages. Private schools pay less. They cannot charge more than they do now if they are taking a loss on tuition by accepting vouchers.

Pulling students from my school reduces the need for my services. I worked for a Department of Defense school for a year and my position was eliminated because they tore down so much base housing that there were not enough students. I found a job in the county nearby, but the next year budget cuts across the district forced me to teach in one of the inner city hell holes that you have never even visited much less worked in, plus I had a two hour commute each day.

You may find it easy to dismiss my expertise in this area, but I have lived it, worked it, and seen the bad and the good in every aspect.

People like Betsy Devos and most politicians, and unfortunately people like you do not even begin to understand the problem and how to fix it.

The cost per student per year in public schooling looks like around $11,500.00 according to the link.

In a class of 30 that's $345,000.00 per year, perhaps you should open your own charter school and demand equal treatment voucher/cost per student wise or be a super hero and save the taxpayers some bucks.

Fast Facts[/Q
How can we save money and improve education for all? My thoughts include ...Cutting the fat so selling old equipment, books etc. Maintaining or renovate current buildings that are habitable and move to already developed property instead of building new schools for those that are not. Every school should be somewhat self sustaining, meaning providing products and services for the community they are in which will create revenue and fill societal needs. Putting high school students that are interested in trade into apprenticeships early so they are providing, learning, earning their education in a way and gaining experience so they are immediately employable after graduation. Just some thoughts...
What are yours?

How much of that $11,500 never sees the classroom?

Then there are costs most people do not consider. The smart board system in my classroom runs about $1700 BEFORE you pay for the projector, computer and all of the other systems to make it work.

Books? What are those? We don't use textbooks anymore.

What old equipment?

Your ideas on school buildings are ridiculous and have no basis in reality. We just tore down half of our school and are occupying the other half because we cannot afford the land and expense of all the football, baseball, softball, and tennis facilities. We are refurbishing the gym vice replacing it to save money. Out "teacher's lounge" has two chairs and no desks for us to work at. My planning period is spent at my rolling desk in a hallway. Most schools in this country are ancient. That price you quoted has a lot of that going into upkeep, repair, or replacement of schools. In our county, most of the schools were built in the 1940s and 50s. We have 5 K-8 schools because they are cheaper than building a middle school and the ensuing transportation problems.

IF, what you claim is true, why is it that private schools can do the same job for so much less money than a government school.

 

[Markle]

You can't imagine why offering children and their parents the opportunity to go to better performing schools benefits the children? If you really can't understand this and you are a public school teacher, that is a very strong argument for providing options DeVos advocates.

The argument is her purposed system, her qualifications and if she has the ability to still provide a good education to all. Teachers spend everyday with these children. They understand their struggles and persistently attempt to better their students lives, can you say the same about yourself? Since you decided to get personal.

You are a teacher but you use the word, purposed when you mean proposed, and again you make a strong argument in favor of the increased options DeVos wants to give to children and their parents.

If the public schools were serving the needs of all the children rather than just those children who are fortunate enough to live in more upscale neighborhoods, then there would be no need for DeVos' plans, but you and your colleagues have failed the children for as long as records have been kept, and the efforts of the last three presidents have failed to significantly improve the public school system, so it is necessary to provide alternatives to this failed system you are so attached to.

Ohh my deepest apologies for not catching my computer auto changing my terms. That must mean I am ignorant and also the cause of failed schools. Smh! That's silly but your entitled to your views. Once again I am for alternatives that will help our schools become more effective and efficient. Read up on this "voucher"/"charter school" system. Research the statistics and the issues surrounding them. This is not the best way for all children. Some will benefit but more will suffer. No one will be on with their children going to "a bad school" so how is everyone going to attend these so called best schools. How will the low income households provide transportation to these schools when every member of the family works, in many cases the student works.

The voucher plan worked very well in D.C., costing the city less for each student that went private schools than maintaining them in the failed public schools and showing improvement in their test scores. There is simply no basis for claiming any students would be harmed by it. What you don't seem to be able to understand is that this is about helping the childen, not the public school system and not the teachers' unions.

The schools they attended were Catholic parochial schools and the church was taking huge losses in doing so. Were any of those DC public school students allowed to sit in classes with the Obama girls at their swanky private school? Not on your life!

[...]

You are WRONG AGAIN!

The girls of the Obama's attend a Quaker School in Washington. Low income students from DC attended the school through the use of vouchers. The program was very successful and the students were doing extremely well. Part of the requirements for government schools to get any of the Obama Stimulus money was that they discontinue any voucher programs. That, you might be shocked to learn, was put in by the teacher's unions.

Intended or not, petulant former President Barack Hussein Obama was able to get those low-income students OUT of the school attended by his daughters. What a guy! That's how he helped the inner cities and low income families!