Holly1

Where is your input?

KA1230.

Thank you.

I agree, Writein. Thumbs up from me.

BUMP !!!!!!!!

This is worth repeating again.

This is worth repeating.

I told you so.

Texas ranks 49th in national verbal SAT scores and 46th in national math SAT scores. Still, Rick Perry says: “Regardless of the dollar amounts, I am not prepared to sell control of our state's education system for any price. It could very well lead to the ‘dumbing down’ of the rigorous standards we’ve worked so hard to... enact over the past several years."

Clifford.

Thank you. More discipline is needed.

There are plenty of problems with todays youth. And that has nothing to do with color. It is about environment. First of all these parents need to quit medicating thier child and start resing them and disciplining them at an early age.
If the child does'nt have the opportunity to get ahead that child will be left behind. Should a child not have the same chance as a child whose parents pay for the education ? Usually the cycle is continuous. People that can afford to send thier kid to school should not look at a child that did not have the same chance without examining the entire situation as to why that child didn't have that chance to attend college. That does not make that parent who cant send thier kid to school a bad parent, what is says is that parent didnt have the same opportunity . And that probably was not by choice but propably due to the same circumcstance that they faced as a child. Every child should have the same opportunity to attend school, college, as child that is comming from a six figure income household or is at the poverty level.

VBB.

Let me say this as well. Let America keep care of America FIRST !!!!!!!!!

We are a "global" nation, so of course what other countries are doing should be of utmost importance to us. You are globally incorrect.

disclaimer....this post contains sarcasm.

Let me also add. We should be focusing on America, not on what India or China is doing.

Mike.

Students in India and in China are more dedicated because they are in living in poverty and less freedom.

Writein

I've thought long and hard about responding to comments that were obviously written in anger.

You started off by saying I stepped into it; I guess because I pointed out Mr. Duncan's resume. If you really knew what you were talking about; you would have known that Mr. Duncan is supporting the outstanding charter schools in Washington, DC and New Orleans… He has taken on the Teachers Union because they will not hold the poor teacher’s accountable… He certainly is not a friend of the teacher’s union.Was he a good choice? I don't know but I will have to see if he succeeds or fails.

China and India do not have smarter students, just more dedicated ones. Those countries are concentrating on math and science. I really can’t make the connection between education and how much money we borrow from Asia.

I guess I would have to stretch my imagination to blame the death of a single child on the CEO of a school district.

I don't really care whether you are Democrat or Republican because it has nothing to do with this subject or being a blind loyalist.

Mike.

You have now stepped in it. Arne Duncan is not qualified to lead education in America. Even mentioning Chicago school district is a joke. If Secretary Duncan had turned around the schools in Chicago, then Derrion Albert would be alive today. All what Duncan is caring about is the Teacher Unions and expanding the school year for what? Because China and India have “smarter” students? Maybe if we would actually educated children than playing politics and barrowing money from China and India, there wouldn’t be an issue.

Second, VISD is a “rural/suburban” school district. Guess what, Mike. They have “big city” issues as well. Drop outs, gangs, etc. Someone like a Joe Clark would have clean up some of the corruption in American education.

You also said that I am coming back to “liberal/conservative.” Yes I squarely put blame at the root of the problem. Liberalism and conservatism. California is a liberal state governed by teacher unions and other leftist groups. Georgia, a deep southern conservative, governed by the Christian Right. No matter what policies they enacted it always leads to the same conclusion……….failure.

Last just because I am a Democrat, that doesn’t mean I should blindly follow the President and the Education Secretary on what I call elitist policy. Since you bought race up, you also forgot about the drop out rates in West Virginia, hardly a state with many minorities.

J, they didn't earn the money nor pat it in....so therefore it was never theirs. EIC is NOT a constitutional right, it is income redistribution PERIOD. If they can't keep their kids on the right track & in school they shouldn't get it (I don't think they should anyways).

Written

I don’t see why you always come back to liberal/conservative i.e. California does indeed have the largest number of drop-out rate (722,000) but it is a large state but it has a 14% dropout rate whereas Georgia has a 22%..Ideology did not play a part in either state…What’s common? Data show, this dropout crisis is disproportionately affecting America's communities of color,"

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/05/drop...

Arne Duncan, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and was CEO of Chicago Public schools, so he is well qualified but that does not mean that Joe Clark is not qualified.....Mr. Clark is 72 years old, so he might not have wanted a job that requires a lot of traveling...Besides he was known for his disciplinary methods, so you'd think we could apply the same standards he used in the inner cities, to most of the schools in the USA?…Maybe but I think the education secretary was chosen to consolidate our methods of teaching and implement new ones.

But to each their own ;even if it is a misinterpretation of the 4th & 14th amendment.

One is about search & seizure & the other is to protect liberties and granting citizenship.

Writein...I KNOW what the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments ARE. I asked HOW VBB's comments VIOLATED them. The exresident also asked the same thing. So far there has been no answer.

VBB.

Using taxation to punish people is wrong. Flat out wrong. You are talking as if people on Government Assistance are all in the “hood” or lazy bums.

geez....amy = may......top = to

So sorry, please forgive.

My 4th & 14th are already being violated....they amy as well join in the fray since it was not "theirs" top begin with. I am talking about GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE & EIC neither of which the people did ANYTHING to earn, except breathe & breed. Doesn't fly J....next!

I am surprise that this blog is getting attention. I hope the members of the so-called “commission” read this as well.

Mike.
If California, a liberal progressive state, would had cared more about children and graduations instead of worrying about banning certain types of drinks; they wouldn’t be in the problem they are in.
My view is that the Morrison Commission is nothing more than a political covering of one’s @$$. The State Rep (Geanie W. Morrison) was in charge of education in the Texas House. The chickens have now come home to roost. Her hometown and district are suffering from high drop out rate, layoffs, and area gangs. This is maybe why there is a “Civil War” in the local Republican Party.

As far as the Obama Administration, I strongly disagree with the approach by President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan on Education. Sec. Duncun is the wrong choice for the job. Why wasn’t someone like Joe Louis Clark (“Lean on Me“).

Waywardwind.

Here is the 4th Amendment.
“ The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”.

14th Amendemnt.
“ Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”.

exresident...N.P, sometimes it's difficult for me to communicate what I am thinking as I only type with 2 fingers, so I am thinking faster than I can type it out.

Writtein
By summoning me to this blog, I assume you wanted my input.

It seems to be a well written and thought out blog of all the problems of education as a whole but doesn’t the commission need to localize the problem? I know we have the common problems but the commission won't have the power to change state or federal laws will it?

I would start with representation; i.e. wouldn’t it be reasonable to put teachers on the commission, representing the different levels of education such as elementary, junior high and high school. I wouldn't mind a parent being on the commission? My point, you solve problems with input from those that see the problems on a day to day basis. Of course you need leaders on the commissions that can give answers as to why we can or cannot accept some suggestions. A little diversity wouldn’t hurt.

After seating the commission, I would let them bring up their suggestions for discussion.

Now for some constructive criticism. I didn't know that money, proper nutrition, and blaming the parents were liberal concepts. I thought it was common knowledge that good teachers are underpaid, some schools are in need of computers and other learning tools, and good nutrition is fundamental to learning…Parents are not supposed to be part of the equation?

I read an article in Sunday's Austin American-Statesman that disagrees with your plan to scrap "No Child left behind.” The Obama administration wants to rewrite the legislation to replace the law's pass-fail school grading system with one that would measure individual student academic growth, and judge schools based not on test scores alone but also with such indicators as pupil attendance, graduation rates, and learning climate. I went beyond the scope of the Morrison commission but I wanted to emphasize that you cannot throw out the baby with the bathwater, just because you might think it's liberal or conservative. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan said "in their effort to meet requirement for passing grades, many states began dumbing down standards, and teachers were focusing on test preparation rather than encouraging class work."

I think the problem of discipline, learning, and application starts at the elementary level and progresses to high school.

**** The article came from the Austin-American Statesman via the New York Times but it was not meant to represent an ideology but merely quoting an administrative source.******

Writein...Your comment to VBB: "What you are proposing is against the 4th and 14th amendments of the Constitution" requires some explanation. I never claimed to be a Constitutional scholor, but I am resonably familier with the document. What did VBB say that in any way violates either the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendments?

Exresident...no left wing here...I got 2 right arms.

What I meant by tax exepmtion is the people who earn EIC for their many kids & recieve 1000x what they pay in through the year back in February. I guess I should have been more clear, sorry. I don't think EIC is written into the constitution.

"The first thing to stop this is hitting people where it hurts....$$. If your kid drops out, you lose any government money you may get, be it welfare or tax deductions, same thing for truancy etc. Make parents responsible for their kids first & the rest will fall in line. If you quit school, no government benefits for you"

VBB.

What you are proposing is against the 4th and 14th amendments of the Constitution. How come you scream and protest over Health Care, but propose an action that hinders someone, rather than help.

That was the reason I put my child in private school.

I thought so VBB, but I didn't want to assume. Now I understand why a few of you have claimed that the TAKS helped remedy this. But, really, it shouldn't have existed in the first place?

Rebecca, when the schools can't fail kids or give them bad grades because of their socioeconomic situation, whether their parents graduated from school & if they had siblings fail in the past. If a child who fits 1 or more of these markers fails a test, the teacher must allow the student to keep retaking the test until they achieve a passing grade. They are also not expected to work at grade level, they get their own lesson plans. IMO, that is enabling them to fail & is more damaging to their self esteem.

BigJ, I was poor once but with hard work & determination, things are okay right now. My husband & I also work my arses off to keep it that way.

Like I said, every school district of any size have programs that allow the kids to go at their own pace, most require mandatory attendance of 1-2 hrs a day. Victoria, I believe, has a program like this. If little Johnny needs to work to support the family he could still take advantage of this program. If a kid doesn't graduate or get their GED, vocational schools are closed to them as well. Maybe mom & dad will make sure little Johnny has the opprotunity to finish school & have a childhood if they were punished for him not graduating.

You see BigJ, I have been thinking about this & the government already uses this tactic on other things like forcing people to quit smoking by taxing them to death, forcing us to wear seat belts by making it a crime not to, now with health insurance, fining those that don't get it....maybe this carrot & stick will work with kids & school too. Nah...probably not though, look how many votes they would lose. Being poor has its priveledges these days.

writein - I concur with your idea of "scared straight" programs at funeral homes, with one addition: VBB is correct about the neatly clean presentation of bodies at funeral homes, and while this may scare a few (after all, not many like dead bodies), I don't think it goes far enough.

How about a trip or two for the thugs to the county morgue? There, the bodies have not yet been cleaned up to be presented in the best possible light. They are in a state mostly unadulterated since the time of death. Let the young men and women watch an autopsy on a gunshot or stabbing victim, let them see the holes in the organs, let them see the shattered skulls and an aorta or two ripped apart by bullets. Let them go to the "bed of roses" room, where unclaimed bodies linger for months, let them become familiar with the true smell of death, the decomposition that occurs over time, the results of a life on the streets.

THEN let them think about it. I don't expect it will have an impact on everyone, but those that get it will never be the same.

The Texas Education Code requires that public schools meet 180 days per year; public school students must attend 170 days/year. This applies to public schools only.

TexasISD General News
Texas spends $7,561 per pupil

$42 per student per day.

National average $9,138 per pupil

Useing the same 180 days...

$50 per student per day. $8 difference.

Memorial HS is a Class 5A school that serves the needs of 3500+ students.

$147,000 + a day total at Memorial high, and there are still drop outs.

Tsk, tsk

All VISD is worried about is attendance, that $42 a day adds up.

I really like the idea of more hands-on, concrete learning, and vocational ed. Maybe for some types of students there should be a focus on only the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic. I agree with VBB when she talked about ability grouping; that sounds like common sense efficiency. VBB, can you explain more about self esteem over learning?

Legion357.

Thank you for adding on my point. People, like VBB, need to put on the next man's shoes. Things happen in life. Unexpected changes in life should not be an excuse to put place blame on the parent.

You have to help people, not hinder them.

Flounder.

Fair enough.

On the punishing the parents thing, good point Bj.

About 10 years ago, I knew a single father,his wife took off so he was raising his middle school aged son.

He had to be at work at 7 am, so every morning he would get up, wake his son up, make breakfast, make sure his son was dressed for school and leave the house at 6:30 am or so.

He received a letter from VISD and the city on the same day, telling him he had to appear in court because of his sons truancy.

It turned out that his son would wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast and as soon as his father left for work, go back to bed.

Sometimes a parent does all they can and it is still not enough. What's the guy suppose to do? Hire someone to make sure his son leaves for school at 8 am?

I would like to think Observer, Legion, Flounder, and Code for their input. WWW, the person who wrote this is the same person.

VBB.

Your whole approach is wrong, dead wrong. That type of thinking leads to the problems we have today. You can not paint things with wide brush. Students drop out for several reasons, not because of a 2D concept.

Next how can you punish a parent on their taxes, when Bob dropped out for helping out the family, but his little brothers and sisters are still there?

Unlike you VBB, I am young enough to know how is like. You are in different economic level. It is time for you to put on the poor person's shoes, than pointing your finger from above.

Good post, writein. While all six make sense, if I had to pick the one that would do more for the problem than the other five, it would be #3. Bring back Vocational Education for all those students who have no interest in college and would like to learn a trade. And STOP indoctrinating students with the idea that a college education is the only acceptable course after graduation. While I have met many impressively intelligent college graduates, two of the most intelligent people I have known were an auto mechanic and an electrician. No sheepskin required.

I can't argue with anything except maybe #5, to a degree.

Like VBB commented, I don't think a funeral home would "scare them straight", they would probably be laughing and cutting up, thinking it was funny.

On the other hand, watch some of the program "The first 48", about the first 48 hours after a murder is committed. It never fails to amazed me that the suspects are all tough when they commit the crime, but act like scared little boys and girls once they are in the police interview room.

I guess the reality of the thug/gangbanger life hits home when they realize that a large portion of their life is going to be spent in prison. That because someone looked at them wrong or that they where dissed, means that they go into prison at 18 or so, and won't walk free until they are well over 40 at a minimum. Was it worth it?

I seriously doubt spending the night in a cold funeral home will scare the gang members straight! Most funeral homes have central air & heat & the bodies are not kept there until after they have been embalmed & dressed up. I guess all the sprays of flowers will terrify the gang members. The gang members these days have seen up close & personal the horrors of violence, do you not watch Gang Nation? They take pride in the crimes they commit, they know the consequences of their decision to join, they seem to have no issue with dying. You cannot scare someone with mortality when they are already aware they aren't immortal & accept it.

The downward spiral of education began many decades ago when they put self esteem above actual learning. When they integrated all the students instead of seperating them by level of achievement. Thats when the dumbing down started as the teachers had to teach to the lowest level of competence. Let the parents deal with their childrens self esteem & let the teachers teach. Also to hold the parents blameless is ludacris. The number 1 factor in a child learning or not is their parents. When parents either don't care or want their child to have special treatment, that right there sets the tone. If parents don't have respect of education & educators, the kids will follow suit & they won't respect it either. It seems too many kids start school thinking they are already defeated. The first thing to stop this is hitting people where it hurts....$$. If your kid drops out, you lose any government money you may get, be it welfare or tax deductions, same thing for truancy etc. Make parents responsible for their kids first & the rest will fall in line. If you quit school, no government benefits for you. Every school district I am aware of have programs that allow the kids to graduate at their own pace so there really is no excuse to not graduate or get your GED.

We are throwing money at a problem that cannot be fixed by the powers that be. The only people that can fix the education system are the little people. Gotta start from the bottom up.

"An Alternative to The Morrison Education Commission.
By Writein in In the know
March 12, 2010"

It's a pretty good article. I'm thinkin' though, shouldn't there be some quotation marks and notices of attribution? That is, unless there are TWO Writeins on this forum. I've seen stuff Writein has composed. This hardly seems to be from the same person.

"Education should be the key to freedom from poverty, oppression, hunger, suppression, and even ignorance. It should not be a key to. Our education system should be for everyone, not just for the well-to-do. A time for a New Education for the 21st century."

Absolutely 100% agree, good post! However let us also not forget some of the poorest children (in terms of education not wealth) suffer primarily because their parents begin the closed minded indoctrination well before they enter the classroom.

Your above paragraph should be equally applied to teachers and parents alike for they, together, truly make what we call "education".

Amen, Rebecca Amen.

It might just be me but I don't care what liberals or conservatives think. I would hope that when people imagine what is best for children and our society that they don't force those ideas through an ideological sieve.

Lets see how they like this.