Obama Agrees With Firings At RI's Central Falls

[Hannah Bell]

President Barack Obama says a Rhode Island school that recently fired its principal and all its teachers is an example of how there needs to be accountability.

He made the comments Monday in Washington at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He called for "accountability" if a school continually fails its students without improvement. "If a school continues to fail its students year after year after year, if it doesn't show signs of improvement, then there's got to be a sense of accountability."

Obama said that's exactly what happened at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island. He called the school "chronically troubled" – pointing out that just 7 percent of 11th graders passed state math tests. "When a school board wasn't able to deliver change by other means, they voted to lay off faculty and staff. As my Education Secretary Arne Duncan says, our kids get only one chance at an education and we need to do it right."

http://wbztv.com/local/central.falls.high.2.1528415.html



and counterpoint:

The President went to the center for national socialism, the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, today to announce a new take-names-and-kick-ass accountability plan.

No, no, no-- don't worry. The new tough measures are not about holding corporations accountable for ruining the economy, and it is not about holding Wall Street accountable for the leeches and banksters who got deliriously wealthy on the backs of American workers and homeowners, and it is not about holding Congress or the White House accountable for letting the insurance and pharmaceutical companies rape sick Americans with impunity, and it is not about holding the credit card companies accountable for blocking consumer protections or fair lending reforms.

Mr. Obama has some REAL accountability in mind for which there is ample bipartisan support: he and the Oligarchs want to fire the principals and teachers in America's poorest public schools for not solving the poverty problem that American corporations and government continue to ignore to the point of not even mentioning it--

--all the while mouthing cynical bromides about motivating test-choked and impoverished high schoolers to stay in segregated medium security facilities for some more tests and career-building exercises and inventories...

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/

[AngryAmish]

1. ka-boom!

heads sure are loud

[roguevalley]

82. fuck him for agreeing. to assume that everyone in that school sucked

is bullshit. fuck them all.

[PatrynXX]

128. left a disappointed contact us response on whitehouse.gov

total fucking bullshit.

[Winterblues]

153. 7% did not suck

7% was how many passed the tests....How long should that go on?

[proud2BlibKansan]

186. 7% at one grade level are proficient in Math

That's not at all the same as passing the test.

Last year this same school was praised by the state dept of Ed for making great progress. Now a year later - before this year's test scores have even been analyzed - all the teachers have been fired.

Facts. They help.

[roguevalley]

196. The failure of the system starts in first and second grade. I taught

all the elementary grades for 27 years and the failure of first and second and even third grade to do the job makes failure farther up inevitable. If they come in at third grade in eleventh grade, don't blame the high school. Check farther down and I am a do or die elementary teacher but I don't believe in letting slackers off the hook.

[Tailormyst]

215. I honestly doubt many students actually spend 12 years in CF schools

I've never known anyone to live there for very long.

[Ishoutandscream2]

168. Yep, AA, including mine

Very disappointed.

[lame54]

2. Where does that leave congress?

[Xipe Totec]

3. Link? nt

[Hannah Bell]

7. in op...

[Xipe Totec]

10. Thanks, I think...

This issue is really starting to piss me off.

[leftstreet]

4. But Wall Street doesn't have to be 'accountable'

Great

[MissDeeds]

160. Selective accountability

And he thinks we're too dumb to see what's going on. How much more of this crap are we going to take?
Doing a heck of a job, Barack.

[liberation]

178. Don't forget the previous admin, he hasn't even said much about the crimes done by Bush et al, eh?

Apparently, sending the country into an illegal war which has killed hundreds of thousands innocent civilians, and a few thousand of our boys and girls.... it is not much of a big deal, given that he has actually escalated it.

Funny how we can all "look forward and not to the past" when it comes to big item issues, but for micromanaged crap... he has plenty of time to request responsibilities and blame. But I assume it is easier to blame teacher unions, than actually increasing gov investment in public education to address some of the issue that impoverished school districts have to deal with on a daily basis. Because doing so would subtract money from far worthier endeavors like throwing billions to those who need it least (WallStreet) and buying super useful stuff like super expensive intelligent bombs to throw in the middle of a desert hell hole.

[brentspeak]

5. Barack "Wall Street" Obama

No one -- repeat, no one -- will out-Ronald Reagan him.

[Mithreal]

126. +1 well said

IF THIS REALLY represents where the President's heart and mind is...

[Bluebear]

6. Union buster.

[c brand]

8. Obama: Teachers bad. Bankers good.

[warm regards]

58. Obama did not run on a platform that advocated incompetence.

Clearly these folks were not getting the job done.

[LWolf]

67. That's not at all clear.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7815529&mesg_id=7815682

What IS clear is that this is a politically motivated example of union-busting, not an effort to solve a problem or improve student performance.

[Lorien]

88. Yep. The DLC/ GOP in action. nt

[girl gone mad]

78. Yet incompetence on Wall Street was heavily rewarded..

with trillions of taxpayer dollars.

As was military and intelligence incompetence in Iraq and Afghanistan. And let's not forget the incompetence of the insurers, which is about to garner that industry a massive bailout in the form of requiring individuals to purchase their defective products.

[warm regards]

104. Okay, so you are okay with incompetence. I'm not.

[LWolf]

110. Neither am I,

but I know that teachers are not the prime predictor of test score failure, or of student failure. We've known this since well before the current high-stakes testing frenzy.

Until you adequately address the factors that weigh heavier in student failure than anything a school does, you can't pin that failure on teacher competence.

At least, not honestly.

[warm regards]

207. Are you suggesting that no one is responsible?

[LWolf]

213. Of course not.

I AM suggesting that no one person or group is responsible.

If you sort through the layers, though, I think that the foundation of the dysfunctions can be laid at the door of anti-intellectual, anti-public education politics, groups, and politicians.

Their agenda has been crystal clear to me since the Reagan era. Their propaganda has been highly successful.

Please note that educators are not invited to the table to help craft actual positive change.

If we were, we'd be looking at those things we KNOW are obstacles, and those things that we KNOW make a difference.

The current union-busting, privatization trend does the opposite.

[liberation]

165. LOL, I noticed you did not want to address Obama's support of Wallstreet

[warm regards]

203. If you start a thread on the topic of Wall Street incompetence,

I will respond accordingly.

This thread's topic is education.

[ArcticFox]

133. I don't disagree, but

Wouldn't you say that the Wall Streeters, military and intelligence communities were actually very very competent? After all, they all made out like bandits. Do you actually think any of them were trying to help the rest of us? If not, then why would their destruction of the lower classes of society be regarded as incompetence? I think they've performed exactly as they intended.

[readmoreoften]

80. Correlation does not equal causation.

A teacher taught me that. Yours deserved to be fired.

[meeshrox]

118. I second that...thank you!

I also second Hannah Bell's comments:
"Mr. Obama has some REAL accountability in mind for which there is ample bipartisan support: he and the Oligarchs want to fire the principals and teachers in America's poorest public schools for not solving the poverty problem that American corporations and government continue to ignore to the point of not even mentioning it--"

In what realm of reality does shit like this stand up? I cannot even fathom...

From Arne Duncan's own biography on ED.gov : http://www2.ed.gov/news/staff/bios/duncan.html

"Education is also the civil rights issue of our generation," he said, "the only sure path out of poverty and the only way to achieve a more equal and just society."

Just how in the hell is this anywhere near equal and just? My ass! Not to mention the charter schools: nice way of saying privatization, that what the recommendation for "turnaround" is...and thanks to madfloridian for posting/educating me about this!

[liberation]

166. Zing!

we have a winner!

[roguevalley]

83. clearly you have evidence of that. for every teacher. No? Too bad.

if they can shit can a whole school, imagine what they can do to your profession and job if this catches on. working people are the new kleenex.

and maybe he didn't run on a platform that advocated incompetence but he's sure doing that right now.

[warm regards]

106. That's one of the unfortunate circumstances with respect to unions

People are judged as a collective rather than as individuals.

There were no doubt some good teachers that got caught up in this mess.

[liberation]

179. Do not equate the unfortunate circumstance of you not knowing the first thing about unions...

... with this actual situation.

Cheers.

[Hannah Bell]

92. so why did he hand out billions to wall street & general motors?

[warm regards]

105. Apples and oranges...

However, I was not in favor of those bailouts either.

[Mithreal]

131. "Sure, there are winners and losers under Capitalism. That is why losers prefer socialism."

Why are you here?

You advocate simple solutions to complex problems. You blame unions and teachers for failing socioeconomics of communities. You recite tired metaphors, apples and oranges. If you are a fellow progressive here to have a satisfying discussion you might flesh out your ideas a little more.

The President's policy sure sounds like a winner, it wins over people like Newt Gingrich, those on the right and low information satisfied and simple thinkers.

http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Bloomberg+Sharpton+Gingrich+Address+Media+dpQOAMG2Po7l.jpg

If the President showed as much courage tackling 30+ years of economic policies he could earn some respect, instead he is the new Reagan, Yippee ki-ay. Bush and Cheney sleep well tonight.

[warm regards]

206. I haven't advocated any solutions--people with far more knowledge than me

made this decision.

The parents are probably at least, if not more responsible than the teachers. Unfortunately, you cannot fire the parents. Still, good teachers are finding ways to get the job done under more demanding circumstances than this.

[Mithreal]

210. And some of those good teachers have just been fired.

Policies that label people "bad" individuals is at the heart of what it means to be a conservative.

Not many tools in the toolbox, huh?

[warm regards]

212. It's just a matter of knowing which tool to select.

And since you are suggesting that there are no bad teachers, the only tool required is a :shrug:

[Mithreal]

214. Said no such thing. Interesting display.

[Marr]

149. Yep. One was the almighty wealth class, the other organized labor.

Again, we see which side Obama comes down on.

[Hannah Bell]

152. "apples & oranges" = contentless cliche. they screwed up, where's the accountability?

[liberation]

175. Competence is competence is competence...

... I am loving the mental contortions to not let facts and consistency affect your narrative. LOL

[Raineyb]

119. Bullshit! The Wall Street assholes are STILL in their jobs, threatening the economy and

collecting their multi-million dollar checks.

[ArcticFox]

132. Are you serious?

Do you know how impoverished the students are there? Do you really think this is about improving their welfare? Its just another example of Obama turning his back on his base, this time the union part of it.

[Jefferson23]

209. Exactly.

[montanto]

138. Neither did KBR. But that's okay.

[sabrina 1]

142. That's what we all thought. Yet, Wall St nearly destroyed this

country and not a single example of 'accountability' can be found for that.

Or maybe they were NOT incompetent after all. Maybe stealing and misusing other people's money so successfully and helping to destroy the US economy while passing the profits on to Wall St crooks, is something to be admired, at least to those who benefited from it.

Bush targeted teachers also while rewarding war criminals. Obama, targeting teachers while rewarding Wall St. and war criminals, doesn't look like the 'change' we all believed in.

[proud2BlibKansan]

155. The state education dept had praised their progress

This isn't about folks not doing their jobs. It's about destroying our public schools with an unproven political agenda.

[rapturedbyrobots]

181. actually it is proven

proven to be a complete sham. arne duncan's chicago charter school miracle was a complete myth. the numbers are in. it failed. the only reason it looked like there might be some improvements was they lowered passing requirements to make it look like the numbers were going up. charters don't necessarily work any better than public schools. inexperienced low-wage part-time teachers aren't always better than union teachers (except for the budget and profit).

[tango-tee]

163. Welcome to DU

:sarcasm:

Speaking of incompetence....

[liberation]

164. Really, how do you explain his boy Tim Geithner then?

I will be waiting for your creative explanation... or whichever DLC talking point you got (whichever comes first)

[Marr]

145. Yep. It describes his mindset perfectly.

[Bluebear]

180. +1

[Brickbat]

9. So Obama thinks busting a union is OK. So noted.

This makes me sick all around.

[sabrina 1]

169. Well, I'm sure someone will come along to remind us that

Obama told us how he felt about all of this in the campaign, just as his fan club constantly point out how he 'told us' what he intended to do in Afghanistan. Iow, he DID say that Reagan was one of the presidents he 'most admired'. When there was a backlash to that comment, he and his supporters attempted to 'explain' what he meant.

I know that when he made that statement about Reagan, he almost lost me. It is clear now that he meant it.

[Brickbat]

189. Yup. I saw nothing in his campaign that told me I would get more than benign neglect for my issues

-- much like I ended up getting from Bill Clinton -- and it's infuriating that instead of benign neglect, labor is getting active destruction.

[MadHound]

11. Well of course he does, one has but to look at his education policies and appointments to see that

This is simply more confirmation that Obama is ready to take the destruction of our public school system further than his predecessor Bush.

The way we're going we're going to wind up with a three tier education system, private, elite quality schools for the rich and elite, private charter schools that do a crappy job for most of the the population, and a totally stripped carcass of a public school system that does horribly for the poorest among us.

Teachers will get paid much less than they are now, which means that only the worst teachers will stay in the profession because they can't get a job anywhere else.

Dumbing down our nation before our eyes, and sadly there are people who will cheer this on because it is being done by a Democrat.

[madrchsod]

12. barack just put another nail in the coffin of union support

http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2/1499632738?page=NewsArticle&id=13738&news_iv_ctrl=1261

the unions are not happy with barack.....but as rahm says...we don`t need them and of course-who else are they going to vote for?

and for those who do`t like socialist publications....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/28/AR2010022802815.html?hpid=sec-education

but i doubt it really matters what the truth is.

[ipaint]

13. OK

"If a country's president continues to fail its citizens year after year after year, if he doesn't show signs of improvement, then there's got to be a sense of accountability."

Throw congress, banks and the health care evil empire in there and maybe we can begin to change things for the better.

[Oregone]

14. Accountability is such a bullshit word

People can be held accountable without having an entire staff fired. And to use it to cover up for the lack of a administration/union resolution is bullshit.

The only think being held accoutnable here is the union for not submitting to the admins whims. And thats not the good type of accountability

Its a word that has appeal, but little place in describing what happened.

[Mithreal]

134. +1

[berni_mccoy]

15. How do the people responding to this post go from...

How do the people responding to this post above go from Teachers and Schools not doing their job (according to the article, the schools failed to perform or even file teacher/school performance records as required by law; they were warned to file them and still failed to do so) and the STATE laying off the failing teachers/schools to Obama being a union buster?

There is no logic that gets you from failed teachers to that conclusion.

There was a problem there. The STATE of RI had no other option. The teachers can even reapply at schools that will be absorbing the kids.

ONLY SEVEN PERCENT OF THE KIDS were passing the STATE MATH TEST.

Obama is right to agree with the STATE on this issue.

[Hannah Bell]

17. schools failed to perform or even file teacher/school performance records: LINK?

[berni_mccoy]

18. From the referenced article in the story linked by the OP

http://wbztv.com/local/central.falls.high.2.1516541.html

A study by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education reports that even though Boston teachers are required to be evaluated every two years, only half have been evaluated since 2007. A quarter of all schools did not even turn in a single evaluation.

Dr. Johnson said that the district is expediting the evaluation process to identify teacher performance and plans to improve the process in the future.

[Hannah Bell]

22. That's in BOSTON, NOT RHODE ISLAND. jesus.

[berni_mccoy]

29. Um, the story is about Central Falls RI

The headline is about it and so is most of the story. It's possible the study included their schools as it's within a 40 mile radius of Boston, closer than some other Boston-area schools in MA.

[Hannah Bell]

31. um, the story you link is, despite the headline, about the BOSTON schools.

and clearly states the study was of BOSTON teachers:

"A study by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education reports that even though Boston teachers are required to be evaluated every two years, only half have been evaluated since 2007. A quarter of all schools did not even turn in a single evaluation."

http://wbztv.com/local/central.falls.high.2.1516541.html

[berni_mccoy]

32. That link comes directly from YOUR post as the REFERENCING LINK.

[Hannah Bell]

33. It's about BOSTON. The only relation to CF is the speculation that Boston might try the same thing.

Now please, quit your spinning. Anyone who bothers to read the story can see you are.

[liberation]

167. I think the previous poster is under the impression that repeating the argument enough times

it will become true somehow, or Rhode Island will magically turn into Boston. Whichever comes first.

Narratives after all, seem to be more important to some posters in this site... than actual facts.

[Jakes Progress]

194. Dude. Here's how it works.

You write something in error. It is pointed out that you got it wrong, that you missed what the link says. You say "I'm sorry. I was wrong". Then we move on to discussing the OP.

The OP pointed out that you were in error. So admit your mistake and try to find other things that would prove your point.

Your welcome.

[kwassa]

114. The administrators are responsible for evaluation, not the teachers!

This is an admin problem about doing THEIR job.

[frazzled]

24. I agree with you

In reality, they are being fired because they did not agree to the new plan for improvement (which involved some after school time and a two-week summer training session) over MONEY. They were offered extra pay, but it was not deemed enough. To get a new contract that would require the new provisions, the superintendent had no choice but to fire everybody and rehire.

I realize teachers are not wholly responsible for the performance of students in a school that has a 96% poverty rate. But they are in part responsible. And when a plan to improve performance is put into place, they should jump at it, not be constantly thinking about more money before these kids. I'm sorry, but especially when so many people are out of work, it is a bit galling to see this. It truly seems as if these teachers are more interested in dollars than in the 97% of kids in their school who can't pass a math test.

I'm normally a big supporter of unions, but I'm starting to feel that the unions don't care about the rest of us.

So fine. Fire them. They chose to be fired over agreeing to the performance plan, so I can't feel too sorry for them.

[Hannah Bell]

26. They were not offered *extra pay*. The only guaranteed pay offered was for a two-week summer

training.

And as Gallo summarily ended negotiations at the third session, we'll never know what the union would have agreed to, will we?

[frazzled]

68. I guess you just made my point

Money considerations trumped educational ones.

And btw: Since when does pay for a two-week summer session not amount to compensation? I don't know what you mean by "extra pay."
I'm sorry, but there's not a whole lot of sympathy from the public on this one. Not when the situation is so dire in that school, and not when the economy is so strained and so many people are getting no pay whatsoever.

[Hannah Bell]

91. Only if your point was: YOUR STATEMENT WAS FALSE.

Oh, & thanks for amplifying the right-wing megaphone to take down public ed & public unions.

[Raineyb]

120. I wasn't under the impression that teachers worked for free.

And if the school district wants more of their time they should pay for it. Or do you think the time that could in theory (although probably not in practice) be spent with their families has no value and they're supposed to give it up for nothing?

The teachers have every right to make demands for money considerations. I don't see the school board giving up their well padded paychecks and it seems that the possibility of hiring teachers at a lower cost than their current batch has a hell of a lot more to do with how they "negotiated" than any consideration for the children of the school district. (And really firing every teacher in the middle of the school year? Exactly HOW was that taking the children into consideration? Are you claiming it's a good thing to yank teachers out of the classroom in the middle of the year and traumatize the children plus leaving any children who were already working with the teachers on tutoring and what not high and bloody dry?) So what it sounds like you're saying that it's perfectly acceptable for the school board to pull this crap over monetary considerations but the teachers themselves are not supposed to look out for their own pockets when offered more hours of work and a cut in their vacation time without any offer of compensation for it? That's a pretty shitty anti-worker attitude you've got there.

[jeanpalmer]

103. The problem with the offered performance plan

is that it presumes the teachers are at fault, when that may not be the case. Where's the scientific study determining why these kids are failing, and saying that teachers are the cause? There isn't any. This is scapegoating on a massive scale. Mass firings of teachers without consideration of individual ability, worth, or responsibility for a problem? This action fails to meet the most basic standard of fairness. Until the cause of the problem is determined, why do teachers have to agree to a bureaucratic political solution that may not address the problem, and be fired if they don't?

[tonysam]

40. No, he's not.

Time to wake up and smell the coffee. Obama is not the great liberal people thought he was but the neoliberal he always was.

He despises public education.

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LWolf]

69. "No other option." What total bullshit.

There are plenty of options that politicians don't want to acknowledge.

"Not doing their job." Also bullshit. Given the right kind of support and resources, they would have done a better job, to be sure. But in comparison with the rest of similar schools, they weren't doing worse.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7815529&mesg_id=7815682

[Mithreal]

136. Typical.

Ignore the complexity and go for the cheer.

[Marr]

151. 'If GW Bush ate a baby on live television, those stupid Freepers would cheer'.

How does the fence look on that side?

[proud2BlibKansan]

188. 7% at ONE grade level

And last year the state praised this school for making good progress.

It helps to have all the facts before drawing a conclusion.

[aquart]

16. He never had a union job in his life, did he?

Who was there to teach him what it means? His mother? His father? His grandparents? How was he to learn what the rest of us know?

[PurityOfEssence]

19. Pssst...Conservatives STILL hate you.

Pass it on to Bill and Hill when you see them...

[Bozita]

28. ... and you're still a SOCIALIST to them!

[Nite Owl]

20. Not the least

bit surprising.

[G_j]

21. how Reaganesque!

:banghead:

[Romulox]

23. First the Obama admin broke the UAW and I did not speak out--I was not a UAW member.

:hi:

[Hannah Bell]

27. +100000. exactly, death by 1000 cuts.

[harkadog]

36. How did Obama break the UAW?

He gave bailouts to GM and Chrysler and saved their jobs.

[Hannah Bell]

37. read all about it

http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/gmford-bailout-deal-is-union-busting-and-corporate-welfare/

[readmoreoften]

81. I wouldn't vote for this guy again if someone gave me $100 bucks.

I'm serious. Bush could've never cracked the edifice of public education and social security. You need a Democrat to get away with that job.

[closeupready]

25. What is Democratic about that position?

He's got some kind of weird neurotic need to out-DINO the worst DINO. :crazy:

[inna]

30. KR+6. Absolutely deplorable.

[Hannah Bell]

34. kick for the pm

[amborin]

35. all part of the financialization of all areas of life: educ, health care, etc.... n/t

[rug]

38. I wonder how he feels about PATCO.

[Bluebear]

39. Obama: Union teachers need to be accountable. Wall Street bankers, not so much.

[seaglass]

107. War criminals protected by Obama, bankers protected by Obama,

teachers - not so much. Interesting priorities that are nowhere close to mine. WTF.

[louis c]

41. The more I see of Barack Obama

the more I love Hillary Clinton

[liberation]

182. ... and attitudes like that are exactly why we are in such a shithole.

Because obviously, the person who was once the president of the College Republicans chapter in her Alma Mater, and former Goldwater Girl to boot... is such a better replacement for this guy.


Good grief, why are people so easily dupe. When choosing between a female neo-liberal, and a male neo-liberal, at least from a personal perspective... it is not their genome which I find disagreeable but the whole "neo-liberal" thingie.

[Gabi Hayes]

42. this is profoundly disturbing, on a number of levels. and thx for the second link. their message:

''This space explores issues in public education policy, and it advocates for a commitment to and a re-examination of the democratic purposes of schools. If there is some urgency in the message, it is due to the current reform efforts that are based on a radical re-invention of education, now spearheaded by a psychometric blitzkrieg of 'metastasizing testing' aimed at dismantling a public education system that took almost 200 years to build''.

[Gabi Hayes]

43. oh...I almost forgot. I work in a large suburban district-- about 30

primary and jr. high schools.

last week they told us that 55 of the 68 bilingual assistants are getting fired, along with all Title I teachers and assistants, as well as a number of 'general education' assistants. we'll find out how many of them on Wednesday.

we have a LARGE number of multilingual situations in our district. our five jr. high schools have over twenty different languages spoken at each one.

my school is about one-third hispanic, and we're losing ALL our bilingual aids next year, not to mention all our Title I teachers/aids (not sure of the exact number, but it's between 7 and 10)

[upi402]

44. the corporatist utopia cometh

all hail the uniparty


resistance is futile, please get back in line


NOT!:grr:

[Hannah Bell]

45. which state?

[Gabi Hayes]

48. Illinois

''Without an infusion of cash, Gov. Quinn plans to slash more than $2 billion from next year's state budget and make already cash-strapped public school systems across Illinois bear the brunt of that cutting, his budget director confirmed Wednesday.

Budget data that the Quinn administration posted online showed elementary and secondary education facing a possible 15 percent cut in state payments during the fiscal year that starts July 1. Schools are expected to lose $920 million from current funding levels.''

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/2069489,CST-NWS-budget25.article

Illinois is SO screwed, and the worst is yet to come

not that things are rosy most other places

welcome to 1984/Idiocracy, a few years behind schedule/ahead of schedule, depending on which POV to which one subscribes

[Hannah Bell]

63. thanks. to better days.

[Skittles]

46. OMG

WTF - WHO THE FUCK HAS HE HELD ACCOUNTABLE??? Fucking the economy is fine, torture is fine - but heaven forbid it's TEACHERS :puke:

[Bluebear]

64. +1 and 1 and 1 and 1....

[Name removed]

74. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[amborin]

75. we also see new

non-union GM plants in Michigan, of all places.....

i would really like to see the UAW's agreement with the Treasury Dept. concerning this....

[Karmadillo]

49. "...there's got to be a sense of accountability." LOL. Not much of a President, but

he does say funny things sometimes.

[Starry Messenger]

50. What I want to say would get me banned here.

But I'm thinking it really loud.

[Catshrink]

55. Me too!

You remind me of one of my best pals at work. We can't sit together during meetings or we get in trouble. We've already been there, eh?

[Starry Messenger]

56. (hug)

Time for some loud music and a glass of wine. WE don't want to get sent to the office. :)

[freddie mertz]

51. This really sucks. Pure Reaganism. Anti-Union, anti-worker.

Let's all remember this when the time comes, OK?

[branders seine]

52. go after the union members.

hold them accountable.

let the banksters and capitalist criminals do whatever they want, but screw the damned workers!

[tranche]

53. Do 93% of students that haven't been taught math think this is a great opportunity to bash Obama?

Loves me some DU Obama bashing circle jerks... While there's good kids that haven't been taught shit, the best we can do here is somehow try and hang this around Obama's neck as a union busting Reaganite. Maybe all these teachers had the same "fuck the kids, what's in it for me" attitude that all the posters in this thread have. If so, fire them all.

[tonysam]

54. Hardly

Obama and Duncan DESPISE public education, being both privileged kids who attended private schools.

Supporting public education is a DEMOCRATIC stance; hell, it is an AMERICAN stance.

Neoliberalism has NO place in public education.

[LWolf]

65. Thank you for saying it better, and more civilly, than I can. nt

[Catshrink]

57. I'm sure the teachers attempted to teach...

the issues involved are very complex and Obama & Co. are pandering to those who like little sound bites who reduce the complexity to simple solutions. Teachers are being scapegoated all over the country for problems that are endemic in our society. It's so much easier to fire a bunch of teachers than fix poverty, unemployment, offer health care, etc. Simplistic. I thought Obama was too smart for that but I was wrong. So very very wrong.

[ConstitutionalLib]

73. I probably missed something here, but

how is 93% of students FAILING Math a "problem endemic to society"? Is this happening everywhere?

[Hannah Bell]

93. state wide average = 27%.rich districts do significantly better, poor ones significantly worse.

i'm sure it's because all the good teachers work where the rich people live, & the bad ones congregate among the poor.

[ConstitutionalLib]

112. I am sorry but that

is an excuse. EVERY school in the country has great teachers, teachers marking time till retirement, teachers who just come in and do what they have to, and teachers who should find another career field. EVERY career has this gamut.

But there is no way that only 7% passing math is acceptable anywhere! And anyone who condones this or makes excuses for it is worse that the superintendent who did the firings, because the only people you are hurting is our kids who don't know shit!

[Catshrink]

150. So EVERY teacher in the school is to blame?

Sorry, that is just too facile. If a doctor had 50% of his/her patients die of cancer, would you say the doctor is to blame? Of course not. Poverty is also a disease that has many manifestations and among them is often, but not always, poor performance in school.

BTW, do you know how the 7% was measured? Statistics can be manipulated to say anything. A year ago this school and staff was applauded for making progress so whose numbers are you going to believe? But, go ahead, go for the easy answer: blame the teachers. Guess what? A year from now it will be no better and probably worse.

[liberation]

170. Hey, if Obama says so... it must be so!

Do not use logic and facts, they are so last century. Let the power of hype and empty electoral promises take over, and bask in the warm embrace of Obama as your messiah. He knows best, hail his great track record of accomplishments, like for example that time he said that one thing and the other time he said that other thing and who can't forget that speech he gave that one time. He has clearly earned his validation, as exposed by that time he said that stuff about the thing.

Amen....


Here is a hint, when it comes to chose to support the Unions which gave us the 40 hr week, the weekend, paid vacation, stopped child labor, and fought for living wages, or a charlatan that only finds the time of the day to support military expeditions to nowhere and insane rescue plans for Wallstreet.... it should not be a difficult choice really.

Let's see choosing between the folks that gave me the weekend, or the folks which take my money and give it to richer people than me. Hmmmmmm. hmmmmmm... now that is a "though" one. LOL

[ConstitutionalLib]

193. excuse me, but I did not blame the teachers...

I said that the SCHOOL is failing to educate, and that is simply unacceptable!

The fact that the School Board proposed some changes(and I don't know if they would have improved the situation or not, that is not my point) and were willing to pay $30/hr. for all of them except for sitting with kids at lunch, and spending 25 minutes after school one day per week. The union refused, according to the paper, and the school board only had one legal option and that was to fire everyone. The school board said that the teachers will be eligible for rehiring.

[Catshrink]

200. I think you're missing some information....

and obviously you're not a teacher or you would understand the implications and the minutia here. But, there's no point in arguing. The problem is bigger than this one school -- it's happening all over the country in schools like this. That needs to be address but sadly, this administration is more intent on bailing out banks than schools.

[ConstitutionalLib]

216. So help me out.

what info am I missing?

Also are you implying that simply giving schools more money will improve academic results? because that has been being tried for 20 years with little results to demonstrate. Money is neither a cure nor a panacea without a plan of action.

As I said, my position is simply that only 7% passing math is unacceptable. I don't HAVE to tell the schools how to fix it, I am paying them ( in my district) $14,447.00/ child to educate my kids. For that money, I should not have to second guess the "professionals".

[liberation]

171. Do you know what "superintendent" means?

[ConstitutionalLib]

195. Do you mean definition, or legally in current usage

The superintendent is functionally the day to day operations officer for the school board.

[montanto]

156. Yes.

[montanto]

140. Hear, Hear.

Poverty and many of its companions are the real problem. Way too easy to blame teachers, and way too easy to follow the leader.

[Hannah Bell]

61. we've heard your talking point a million times. bullshit then, bullshit now.

that 7%, specifically, is bullshit.

name the test. name the grade level. name the year.

you can't, because you pulled it from some source without questioning it or thinking about it, as a talking point.

[montanto]

137. Obviously you don't know shit about

how hard teachers work just to get blamed for the failure of education and then fired for it.

[Mithreal]

139. Should see a doctor. Who is saying, "f the kids."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BANkMaLJaY4

[WindRiverMan]

59. Well, first of all

the Superindent should have his/her ass fired. We need a top down evaluation system here. If that fails to rattle cages, then the Principals, Vice-principals, and counselors get canned. And not to stir the pot, but if Obama is all about taking accountability, he better take a long look in the mirror. Huge majorities and we have accomplished nothing. You can bet your ass if the Republicans were in charge with those kinds of majorities, the top tax bracket would be cut to be in par with someone making $25,000 per year, mining and drilling on public lands would have about 2% royalty down from 12%, and kids would be saying the Lord's Prayer after recititing the pledge of allegiance every morning.

[LWolf]

70. +1

[RedRoses323]

190. +2

[MichiganVote]

60. Shit rolls downhill Obama..or haven't you heard........

[varelse]

62. I think something just broke inside me

Our President is not on our side, is he?

:(

[lolly]

89. No

He isn't.

Every time he does something like this, a few more stop making excuses and give up.

He lost boatloads of supporters with the Rick Warren bs, but I dismissed that as a misguided attempt to "reach across the aisle."

For the first few months of the healthcare backpedaling, I kept wanting to believe he was doing the "multi-dimensional chess" thing.

Several times I almost gave up, then he would give some speech and I would think he was finally getting down to business.

But he is down to business. And we're toast.

[LWolf]

66. This is what I heard on NPR

first thing this morning. What a way to start the day.

He's certainly burning bridges, and votes, behind him.

As one of my colleagues, who has been generally hopeful about Obama, said today, "What happened to those campaign platitudes about holding students and parents accountable?"

[Bluebear]

71. Obama: Hold union teachers accountable. Torturers? We have to "move forward".

[ipaint]

72. Bob Kerr: A Central Falls teacher speaks out for his side

"...But now there is this storm of educational reform striking the high school and threatening to do away with those close relationships built up over the years. A new breed of administrator with few close ties to the community and, in some cases, few hours spent in a classroom, is moving in to work by the numbers and probably not stay long. And teachers are seeing the personal investment in their jobs diminished.

McLaughlin points out that Central Falls High School has the most transient student population in the state, the highest percentage of students who don’t speak English and a high percentage of special-needs students. More than 90 percent of students live in poverty. Teachers have to adjust and readjust. And the high turnover in administrators over the last five years has left them wondering what each new day will bring.

But the numbers do them in. Test scores and graduation rates are too low. The special nature of Central Falls is not part of the formula. The high school is a very easy target.
When crunch time came, when teachers had to agree to certain conditions, including longer work days and those once-a-week lunches with students to guarantee their employment, they didn’t cave. They couldn’t accept things they found insulting in some cases and illegal in others. They have a contract and still think it means something.

...George McLaughlin sees a meanness of spirit at work, an effort to make “fat cat” teachers the cause of problems that begin a long, long way from the high school. He has been in education for 32 years. He has degrees from three colleges and five teaching certificates. And he has never seen anything like this.

Students and former students have been weighing in. At least one wrote Gallo a poem:

“How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?

“How do you dream when a teacher and a student have no chance to say goodbye?”

http://www.projo.com/news/bobkerr/kerr_column_21_02-21-10_1IHGEOS_v14.32a7a3b.html


Slash and burn is a right wing ultra conservative social policy. It is NOT democratic. It's destructive to the community, the students and families living in these poor areas. These schools are coming off of 3 decades of conservative neglect which includes an 8 year and counting stint with an underfunded NCLB mandate, increasing homelessness and poverty among students and families and an ongoing depression.
The best democrats can do is fire everyone, bust the union, tear apart the community and privatize. For someone who touts being a community organizer this type of draconian conservative policy is shameful.

[Hannah Bell]

94. +100

[Starry Messenger]

111. Exactly.

Thank you.

[Mithreal]

143. Thank you

:hug:

[blue97keet]

183. Who do they expect to get as replacements for the fired teachers?

Indentured servants?

[Starry Messenger]

199. More or less.

The superintendent Gist has been connected to Teach For America. Young, cheaper teachers will probably be replacing the older more experienced teachers who had seniority and were at the top of the pay scale.

[Stuart G]

76. Very very sad..

Not enough time or space to explain how dangerous this really is.

[Tailormyst]

77. What I would like to say to the president would get deleted.

Same shit, different fucking letter next to the name.

[Stuart G]

79. Same for me.

I worked a long time in tough schools. Very tough and poor readers too. I cannot tell you how many hours I put in.

To say that an entire school staff should be fired, well the nicest thing I can say, is that is totally stupid.
Arnie Dunkin set that crap up in the Chicago Public Schools that I worked in. It is really a disaster.
Sadly Obama has not thought this one out. That is very very sad.

[Starry Messenger]

84. Yep.

Hell, I'm not sure an R could have gotten away with this.

[QC]

99. Only Nixon could go to China... n/t

[Mithreal]

147. Howard Zinn quote, Obama year one.

"I think people are dazzled by Obama's rhetoric, and that people ought to begin to understand that Obama is going to be a mediocre president--which means, in our time, a dangerous president--unless there is some national movement to push him in a better direction."

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100201/forum/6

[QC]

157. Howard got his turn under the bus when he said that.

People were furious around here. It was one of the ugliest DU spectacles in a while. Zinn was a liar, a communist, an effete intellectual--all the usual right wing smears were deployed against him.

It's amazing how this place has changed.

[Vidar]

85. Firing would be a good solution for a President & about eighty Senators.

[Mithreal]

148. Here's a good list.

http://whipcongress.com/

[TheWebHead]

86. I suspect every poorly performing school has plenty of good excuses for failing

but there's going to have to be instances when people need to be removed from their jobs for underperforming their peers. The feeling I get from reading this thread is that there's never an instance where teachers or administrators should be fired en masse. It happens all the time in many different professions, and frankly it needs to be something that would be beneficial if it were more common in the public sector

[Bluebear]

87. 'It happens all the time in many different professions' - but not on Wall Street.

Those failures this Administration bails out.

[TheWebHead]

100. there have been 35,000 job losses on Wall St. during the recession

and in the majority of those cases, people were laid off en masse, especially when entire firms folded.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20091117/FREE/911179992

[Bluebear]

101. While the Administration bailed out the biggest failures & secured big executive bonuses.

Whatever.

[Tailormyst]

109. Who the fuck is going to replace these teachers?

No one is going to want to work for this city except morons who work cheap and can't get hired anywhere else. No teacher with half a brain would go to work for these administrators.

[kwassa]

116. Exactly! What competent teacher in their right mind would take a job here?

Come back in five years and see how it is worse in Central Falls.

[Hannah Bell]

96. yes, there are. and it's up to the super to 1) identify those teachers specifically,

and 2) offer them assistance in understanding & meeting standards, and 3) set a timeline that gives a teacher a reasonable opportunity to meet the criteria set.


not to fire every teacher because students in the high school of the poorest, most transient, & most heavily non-english speaking district in rhode island got poor math scores.

are you aware that english scores were significantly better?

are you aware that the percent of students meeting math standards had doubled in two years?

[Bluebear]

102. +1

[Mithreal]

154. This wasn't a case of individual people, it was EVERYONE regardless of individual performance.

What kind of person recommends going in some place and firing everyone. Just ask Obama and Holder how they handled firing all the Bush US attorneys and that was well within our expectations.

[Richard Steele]

90. Presiden t"Repub Reconcilation" Obama needs to KISS MY SHINY METAL ASS>>>>

[lonestarnot]

95. What bullshit is he about anyway?

[roody]

97. Fuck him. Signed, a teacher

[montanto]

141. Fuck him 2x and extra pepperoni please.

I'll take that tombstone now.

[lonestarnot]

98. How bout some more shock and awe appeasement there Mr. President.

[coyote]

108. A man of the people. N/T

[blindpig]

113. I suppose there is something to be said for consistancy....

and woo boy, has this administration ever been consistent in implementing reactionary policies.

[fascisthunter]

115. he has no problem making everyone accountable but those screwing America

I know what side he's on, and it's not ours.

[spanone]

117. no child left behind bullshit

[Kermitt Gribble]

121. Wow!!

"he and the Oligarchs want to fire the principals and teachers in America's poorest public schools for not solving the poverty problem that American corporations and government continue to ignore to the point of not even mentioning it--"

That's it, in a nutshell. I'd only add that American corporations and government seem to be purposely ignoring the poverty problem.

Never thought I'd see a Democratic President tearing down public education and the teacher's unions.

[Tailormyst]

123. To your last sentence:

That's really the shock of it all. I expect shit like this from the right. But to see a Dem president applauding and encouraging the destruction of school and unions is heart breaking. Why not go after the real issue: POVERTY POVERTY POVERTY POVERTY POVERTY POVERTY

[montanto]

135. Poverty. Thank you!

Poverty is the problem. But we won't go after it.

[liberation]

174. I never expected a Dem candidate to wax poetic about Reagan during an electoral campaign, either

Obama must be a master of bipartisanship-fu in his own mind. LOL.

And we all fell for it... sad the joke is on us ultimately.

[Individualist]

122. Obama has admitted he's a New Democrat

NDC/DLC's stance against unions is well known, as is their support of other neocon policies.

[Tailormyst]

124. I dislike him more every day

[tango-tee]

158. With much sadness, I agree.

Don't really have anything to add to the discussion. The reasons have already been stated by those more eloquent than I could ever hope to be.

Damn. Just damn. And that man could have been someone hailed in future history books as a shining beacon, not a flickering old lighter. I'm disgusted beyond belief.

[liberation]

172. I almost wish he was an Old Republican at this point...

.... it would be somewhat of an improvement.

[placton]

125. all part of Obama's plan to

end public education so the banksters can run our schools - see Mad Floridian

[Libertas1776]

127. ya know, i had my last straw with Obama a long while ago...

so i can easily say now...FUCK HIM! and the corporate horse he rode in on!

[ArcticFox]

129. Obama sucks

Isn't "accountability," as applied to the poor suckers on the bottom a Republican talking point?

I thought democrats were supposed to look a little higher up.

This guy never ceases to disappoint.

One term president.

[Bozita]

130. BREAKING over in LBN: KBR gets no-bid contract worth up to $2.8 billion - So much for accountability

link:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4290245

[G_j]

146. +1000

[liberal_at_heart]

144. Why are the teachers the ones that take the brunt of it?

How many fat salaried administrators get fired when a school doesn't do well?

[liberation]

177. Yeah, but if you fire the administrators...

... who are going to do the mass firings then?

[Eyerish]

159. After reading this I feel like I've been punched in the gut....

This is just disgusting.

President Obama, I hold You and Congress Accountable for the continuing disintegration of Our country. Should I be able to just let all of you go???

[greiner3]

161. I may be in the minority here;

But I choose the latter explanation!

[tango-tee]

162. Rec. Amazing that his kick-ass-and-take-names program

only applies to teachers in a rough district with so much going against them and their students, and not to the Wall Street leeches.

I'm pissed off enough I could scream.

What makes this situation so exasperating is that I know too many people who will accept this as "another day, another forty-nice cents in Washington", not realizing the implications. How much worse can it get than this blatant attempt at undermining public education, aimed at keeping working folks's kids as dumb as possible? Turn them into witless tools destined to do the bidding of the so-called elites? An educated populace capable of critical thinking poisons their well.

As a third-generation union member, all I can say is that I've had it. I don't give a good goddamn rat's ass about seeing pretty pictures of dinners at the WH, of Bo The First Dog, of the cute private-school educated daughters destined for greatness, and Michelle picking tomatoes in her vegetable garden. It's all window dressing. Everything our parents and grandparents have fought for in the workplace is being dismantled in front of our eyes. Our children and grandchildren will pay the price.

My God, how could I have fallen for the pretty speeches?

[earth mom]

218. Glad to see that some people around here are waking up. I like your point about window dressing

and the WH dinners, Bo the cute dog, the cute well educated kids, and Michelle and her vegetable garden.

Because to me all of that fluffy cutesy crap sums up just how far out of touch Obama and his perfect little family are with the rest of America.

That Obama could care less that a bunch of people at that school lost their ability to put food on the table for their own kids while his perfect family have absolutely no worries pisses me off to the nth degree.

[tango-tee]

220. earth mom, I only wish I could pin my discomfort down to something specific.

But the problem is it's more than one thing. The appointments, FISA, Patriot Act extension, the ramping up of the war in Afghanistan, the spineless reaching-across-the-aisle in the name of bipartisanship and getting-nothing-accomplished crap. I'm sure that I'm not one of the smartest people in the world and therefore don't grasp the moves he is putting on the Republicans. But I know for a fact that something is going terribly wrong. For us, the working people. A general sell-out. The man isn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination. He could have been a transformational figure, and I had so much hope... but perhaps I really didn't pay enough attention beforehand. All I know is that now, right at this moment, I am disgusted beyond any stretch of the imagination.

[earth mom]

221. I knew the score during the primaries. I tried to warn people & was called every name in the book

just for connecting the dots.

But the kicker is that I would have been happy to have been proven wrong.

I do agree with you that Obama could have been the greatest, most transformational president this country has ever seen if only Obama had only wanted to be.

Instead, Obama has shown that his loyalties lie not with the people who put him in office, but the corporations who put up the big bucks for his campaign and who now own him.

[DeSwiss]

173. Well, it's a good thing that he doesn't care whether or not....

...he's a one-term President. Because he looks like he's doing and saying everything in his power to become just that.

- K&R

[Mithreal]

201. He's shoring support with the powers and money.

Just needed us to get elected. Incumbency has its privileges.

[EFerrari]

176. The Chamber of Commerce President. I get it. n/t

[Wardoc]

184. REMEMBER THIS UNION BUSTING SHIT the next time the cheerleaders chime how "great" Obama has been...

and how proud they are of him and how we should all empty out our wallets and purses for his campaign and run to the voting booth for him.

FUCK THAT.

No vote or money from me in 2012. :mad: :mad: :mad: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[Jakes Progress]

185. Stupid. Brainless. Immoral. Backward. Cowardly. Unimaginative.

Other adjectives occur to me, but these all apply.

They apply to the administration on this issue and to the poor suckers who eat the neocon lies and spit the out in their pathetic replies.

The first two things that should occur to any thinking person is that A) This all relies on test scores and B) Firing everyone is a sign that you don't know what to do. A better solution would be getting someone who does know what to do and backing them. There are many wise education people who actually have taught and know how this stuff works. Arne never taught. Arne has no idea how to teach. Obama is a fool to trust such a scam artist. If he isn't a fool, then he is complicit. I don't know which is worse.

If george bush or john mccain had tried this, DU would be up in arms, screaming for heads. This could never happen with a republican president. A republican president would definitely want this, but democrats would crush him. How low we have fallen to be the ones to carry out bill bennet's and ronnie reagan's dreams.

[Bluebear]

187. 'How low we have fallen to be the ones to carry out bill bennet's and ronnie reagan's dreams'

You said a mouthful.

[apimomfan2]

191. I don't think 0's too concerned about "losing" in 2012.

0's just doing what THEY appointed him to do: shoving us further down the road the US was already on. If you're looking for the "rationality" of actively dismantling our public education system and Union busting, you don't have to look farther than Doug Coe and the Dominionist Cult "The Fellowship" (a.k.a. "The Family," or the "Christian Mafia"). Dismantling public education is 1 of the 7 goals.

edited for spelling

[Bluebear]

192. Please post more often.

We need your voice.

[tranche]

197. The voice of a lunatic conspiracist?

I had a feeling about you.

[Mithreal]

202. How is that a "conspiracy theory?" It's well documented.

Douglas Coe
The Stealth Persuader: Many people think Congress is the host of the gala annual National Prayer Breakfast, which takes place this week. It is not. The breakfast is organized by 33 members of Congress who belong to a well-connected but secretive Christian group called the Fellowship Foundation, which is run by Douglas Coe. Coe, 76, has been called the "stealth Billy Graham." He specializes in the spiritual struggles of the powerful.

Several members of Congress live in rooms rented in a town house owned by a foundation affiliated with the group. Coe and his associates sometimes travel (on their own dime) with congressional members abroad and—according to investigations by the Los Angeles Times and Harper's—have played backstage roles in such diplomatic coups as the 1976 Camp David accords. Yet Coe also befriends dictators. "He would still hold out hope that these people could be redeemed and try to work through them to help the people over whom they have authority," says Richard Carver, president of the Fellowship's board of directors. Some skeptical Evangelicals criticize Coe's indiscriminate alliances and his downplaying of Jesus' divinity in favor of his earthly teachings—which allows Coe to pray with Muslim and Buddhist leaders. But few turn down an opportunity to confer with him.

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/4.html

[Bluebear]

198. sorry, whoever just replied to me, you're on ignore.

Please hold and the next available party will get back to you.

[bigwillq]

204. I don't agree with Obama (nt)

[alarimer]

205. I am really starting to hate this guy.

Every single decision has been either a disappointment or an outrage.

Complete corporate piece of shit.

[aungsungsuchi2]

208. obama needs moderation in order to keep his job...

...

[Jefferson23]

211. The GOP like Arnie, and why wouldn't they....he makes statements

just as asinine as they do.

Arne Duncan: Hurricane Katrina Was The 'Best Thing' For New Orleans Schools


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/arne-duncan-hurricane-kat_n_442684.html


Federal complaint: Filipino teachers held in 'servitude'


BATON ROUGE — It has been more than two years since Ingrid Cruz aced a middle-of-the-night video interview in Manila, borrowed $10,000 from her parents and flew halfway around the world to take a job here teaching middle school science.
She was seeking that most American of dreams: a new life, and opportunities she couldn't approach back home. But along the way, Cruz says she has endured intimidation, humiliation, extortion and a long, painful separation from her young daughters.

Cruz is one of more than 300 teachers imported to Louisiana from the Philippines since 2007, a group of educators who say collectively they paid millions of dollars in cash to a Filipino recruiting firm, PARS International Placement Agency, and its sister company, Los Angeles-based Universal Placement International Inc.

Cases like those of Cruz and others prompted the American Federation of Teachers and its state affiliate, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, to file a complaint on Sept. 30 with the state Workforce Commission and attorney general. On Oct. 20, AFT filed a lengthier complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor. The unions allege the companies kept the teachers in "virtual servitude" by holding onto their U.S. work visas unless they kept paying inflated fees, commissions and rents.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-10-27-filipino-teachers_N.htm

[earth mom]

217. Let's see Obama's DU buddies try to make this shit smell like roses.

But they can't. :puke:

[bavereid]

219. That's great, fire the only people willing to put up with the losers.

I have tried and tried to give Obama the benefit of the doubt; but this coupled with the comments about the stupid cops has really let any faith I had in this administration go right out the window.
Lets take an unhinged and realistic look at the education system. This particular school in Rhode Island is in a lower class, crime infested area. A considerable amount of these kids come from losers and will more than likely end up being losers. Valuing education comes from the HOME not from your high school teachers. Probably half or more of the kids that go there will end up dropping out, pregnant or in jail. They could care less about getting an education and eventually matriculating to college. Unless it involves sucking pell grant money from the government. I am not trying to be classist but it is the ugly truth. By the time kids from certain backgrounds get to high school they have already established or not established values toward education. The teachers cannot force them to learn. There were probably a few jaded teachers who did not give a crap anymore but you cannot tell me everyone was not doing their job in the entire school. Lets look at all the roles they have to play in addition to teacher-babysitter, bodyguard, police officer, counselor, and parent-to kids who could care less.
Education is NOT meant for every person in the United States because not everyone has the capacity to get it. This is why we have ditch diggers and burger flippers. In other words there will be some people left behind because they will never get it. Instead of trying to ensure these people who will always fail in school pass to "boost" their ego lets try offering them some decent jobs with health care and other benefits that do not require an education such as anything in manufacturing. The industry politicians sold to the cheap labor overseas served a variety of functions; one being to provide jobs to those people who would never succeed in college and barely make through high school. I teach at a community college and witness every semester people taking money from the government to go to school that will NEVER graduate with a degree because they cannot even read or write a sentence.
The tendency to blame the administrators and teachers because of failure is ridiculous. Education is part the school system but also a large part from home. If the home element is not there the school system is not entirely responsible if a kid fails.