any updates on the Crossroads Commission on Education ?

does vicad cover their meetings ?

Here is an alternative

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/weblo...

Matt Ocker.
I have to asked you . What do you mean by “Those can do. Those can’t, teach”.

Lampost.

Me too. When I went to bed this morning, I had to sing it. LOL

Gonna have that song in my head all day now!

Lampost.

Ain't it

Now THAT was funny!!!

LOL

Justamom said,

“I will take passion and action over a piece of paper anyday”

I think I should quote or least repeat Chris Rock’s joke about Bush and him being a “C” student at Yale.

Matt Ocker's theme song should be " We dont' need no education.......teachers leave those kids alone".

"The commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Victoria College Student Center. It is open to the public."

A lot of people who may want to contribute to the discussion are tied up at work, such as yours truly. I'm betting there won't be a lot of folks outside of the predetermined group at this conference.

I think one of the first things Mrs. Morrison (and all other elected officials at the state level) needs to look at is what the TAKS testing has caused. ie...teachers supposedly only teaching to the test, teachers being held responsible for the students grades when the parents have done little or nothing to hold up their end of their students education, class sizes should be reduced especially in low socio-economic areas where you know the students are coming to school with issues and learning deficits to start with.

I agree with an earlier poster....you want to know how to solve some of the problems in today's education system....go to the teachers in the trenches, not the specialist who haven't been in the classroom in the last 10 years except for the walk throughs and when they go in to tell teachers everything that they are doing wrong.

We act as if college is the end all be all... but a few of these local business owners started their businesses with the help of a mentor and not because of a college degree. I can think of a few who got started because of a father-in-law, a dad, or an uncle for whom they worked when they were young. You learn the trade and go off on your own... Why don't we rely on that more? I guess we do it's just not mainstream. (just vent-thinking)

The smartest person I know never went to college but she started her own business. More importantly, it was a passion or a hobby that she turned into a family business - even her children are involved. I guess you could say that she had on the job training. Instead of going to college to get a degree she just did what she wanted to do! Total opposite of me. LOL

If Princess Di can change the face of Europe, after dropping out of high school at 16, I think Matt has a good shot at Victoria. I will take passion and action over a piece of paper anyday.

Are there any Reps for any taxing entities here that don't live with the boundries of the areas they represent?

Matt strikes me as the type of person who understands the difference between "education" and "learning." While some might feel they have completed their education no one is ever finished learning. =P

"Maybe you can stop some of this taxation without representation"

Wow!! Another gem!

Does Rep. Morrison not live within the boundries of the district she represents?

Maybe it's time to finish up that schooling there MattOcker.

"This is as insulting as the UHV downward expansion panel, or commission, or committee, or what ever they called it. Every one of these people were chosen because their solutions are predictable. No new ideas will come from this."

Interesting take from someone who has not finished their education.

Mr. Cavazos, You are on top of it. Thanks! If allowed please do a followup write up. Important issue.

The commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Victoria College Student Center. It is open to the public.

this group is like the PTO at MHS. Its on paper to satisfy TEA but the selected people there can't even get enough to show up. The root cause the commission will figure out is the same one that was there 12-15 years ago.

Please make your minutes open to all. PLease show your agenda, your attendees. Show your action items. Lets grade you. Its for the kids and to raise the bar of local education.

When/where is the meeting Tuesday? No need to hide 'eh. Best of luck but let us know your outcomes. Public is invited right? Inform.

My concern about the Crossroads Commission on Education is the people selected to be on the committee. We are trying to figure out why these students move away and don't graduate from school yet we have not one student represented on the committee. I realize Bob Moore is on the committee but he isn't in the trenches with the teachers that hear and see what the students needs are to keep their interest in school. Teachers from elementary through high school also need to be involved on this committee. Many of them have made suggestions as to what will help keep students in school and have fallen on deaf ears. What about the minorities? You have only one hispanic and one black on this committee. More blue collar industry owners need to be on the committee to better understand what VISD needs to be doing to build a better work force. My other question is Jan Jacobs making a profit off of being on this committee or is she really in it for the good of the students? Let us be real about this!

onestar.

I LOVE YOU. You had the best solution here.

Mockingbird said "If one had started from zero resources and found a means to succeed in life will see better what road blocks stood in front of them as young people coming up in the world. This type of person would better represent those who need representation."

You are assuming that "because these people are middle class or have done well for themselves, that must have had it easy getting to where they are. I see people all the time work hard to get to were they are and if they make money and do well because of their hard work, well, I say good for them. They should not be criticized for it. I commend them on volunteering their time to help the community.

No, I think you've pretty much proven my point.

More Matt Ocker anger bubbles up. It's going to be a long, hard eight months Matt.

Matt Ocker.

I see your point now?

Matt Ocker.

Wouldn't it be wise to talk about family memebers. Family members should off limits.

I think one recomendation would be to pass a law preventing the universities and colleges from increasing the tution and fees without the Texas legislature's permission.

Oh....wait I forgot we use to have such a law until Morrision author the bill to allow colleges to increase tution as high as they like. She traded her bill ( and the college kids of Texas)for the chairmanhip of the house education committee Now that really helps the students. Helps them not to go to college unless they are rich or it helps them go deep into debt to get to college.

Crossroads area? I though the Crossroads area were Victoria, Dewitt, Lavaca, Jackson, Goliad, Gonzales, etc?

That would be almost as bad, even if it would be a good thing,if researchers found a cure for cancer.

Think about it, no more MD Anderson and other cancer centers $10,000 a day beds,a whole lot of researchers, doctors, nurses, support staff, radiologists not to mention a ton of money lost by the pharmaceutical company s that make chemo drugs.

Good grief, billions of dollars lost a year, the medical industry would have its very own recession. their stock prices would plummet, layoffs would be rampant.

It makes me think that just maybe a researcher has already found the cure.... but the industry can't tell anyone because the whole industry would disappear if they did.

Just a thought, why would the powers that be want every student and every school to perform well?

If that happened, a isd could not say they needed more money to fix a problem, they would actually have to agree to less funding and a smaller staff. That is counter-productive to their job security.

To succeed in public education means that administrators worked themselves out of a paycheck.

Check this out:
Learning to Change-Changing to Learn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tahTKd...

Everyone is so busy trying to find WHO to blame that we forget about the WHAT. Maybe it's not the fault of people like parents, teachers, boards, or students; maybe it's the fault of the system or the way society views learning or proof of learning. Look at how narrow our focus of 'success' is. You must conform and perform early and well on state mandated tests to be a success. Every child develops at different rates and yet if he isn't a good early performer we label, suggest drugging, and eventually punish and press until some falsely believe they can't learn or drop out. There are other ways to express learning or understanding besides a test score. A job well done, a student written and produced movie, a power point presentation, building something, actually DOING... There are more types of learners and thinkers out there who don't thrive with typical methods and tests. You know something is wrong when whole industries pop up in the wake of our tests. Ok, maybe people are to blame. We don't protest or stand up for our children enough. We should demand an approach to learning that isn't heavy handed and that considers a child's emotional and physiological development. Childhood stress is contributed to adult depression. Stress works against learning and memory. Are your children stressed? Should learning be stressful? Just thoughts.

Just going off on my favorite vent. =P

VBB.

Not all parents of at raisk students are the same. Here you go again on painting things with board brush. You need to wear the shoes of the next man.

I say they start to hold parents accountable...When did the teachers and staff become the parents? Get rid of the Homeless/Kids Connection Center which parents don't take advantage of! Homelessness is an excuse for another hand out. The parents are so busy claiming their "rights" that they forget they are also the role models for the student. Many parents are quick to complain about a teacher but could not tell you the name of the teacher until the child mentions it in conversation. If parents are entitled to receive Social Security Disability benefits for their kids they should be REQUIRED to attend ARD meetings and SSI needs to know if they are not doing their part as parents so the benefits can be denied! Sometimes you just have to ask someone with common sense who sees what goes on firsthand...Like the VISD Board Members forgetting about several things they did not plan for when they built the two new elementary schools!!...VISD has too many chiefs at Admin. Bldg and not enough Indians! Lets do a survey and see how many people there with a fancy title have ever been a teacher or administrator on a campus before their promotion or M.Ed or PHD...That will answer questions right there!!

Let's start with the parents of the "at risk" children & go from there. Your kid drops out...you lose the benefits you recieve from that kid. Your kid is truant, you lose $$. Hit them where it hurts & at the same time teach them how important an education is to their children then maybe we can get somewhere. Bringing in all new teachers isn't going to solve the underlying, major propblem...parents & kids not caring about thei education.

Hey Big, I agree that some teachers are the problem. However, there are some really good, dedicated ones there. The problem is that teaching has gotten such a bad rap and the pay is so low that most of the really good ones go elsewhere after a short time. Then you get the ones that shouldn't have even received a degree and really can't do anything else. They wind up babysitting the kids and grooming them for the TAKS test and the kids get bored and are not challenged. Then their behavior goes to heck and we wonder why Johnny can't read. My opinion anyway.

First off get a new school board, new teachers are a must.The majority of the teachers can not even do the homework they want our kids to do, my son was given homework and then they said his work was done wrong because it did not match their answers, their answer key was proven wrong. My daughter was told to do a poster an a subject, which she did very well, she turned it in on time and was given a zero because the teacher was so dumb that she sent it off to be placed on exhibit in a display case and said she never received it. Think Teachers Think

I hate to admit that I agree with some of the folks who posted here, but I don't think forming another "blue ribbon" panel or committee is going to do much, if any, good. Problems in public education have been studied to death. "We" need more teachers, new buildings, etc. etc. ad nauseum. I can already just about quote the findings of the commitee. By the way, didn't the city council just approve a huge sum of money to promote economic development in the city by marketing what a great place Victoria is? Well, never mind.

I hate "no pass no play" because there are gifted athletes who are not academically inclined and I bet those types make up a percentage of your drop out rate. They would be better served in school instead of out of school. Oh, sorry, I went off on a cosine - see how terrible I was at school?

We don't have a secular college preparatory academy here. Maybe they could help get one started! Or, allowing high school students who are ready for college level work started with college instead of forcing them to wait two years. How about putting more vocational ed classes in high schools so that students can graduate with more hands on real life skills. That might even help the drop-out rate.

Maybe they will each mentor a student?

This is something Matt Ocker and I can agree about. This commission is highly suspected. All it is a politcal front for the rich Republican country club types and the Victoria Chamber of Commerce.

I couldn't help but notice an old familiar name on that list: Jan Jacobs. Hilarious. I hope I saved some of the memos I received from her during her tenure in administration. I may want to share them with the commission. Or here.

1) Repeal HB3015

2) Rid gangs with Scared Straight programs in funeral homes

3) Carrot & Stick method in curling Drop outs.

You do not need a commission to that one out Mrs Morrison