It's pretty darn sad when high school teachers are far more educated about how our political system works than the social studies teachers who are supposed to be teaching them...
I simply have too much to say about this...................so I'll leave it at this: If that passes as public education in that state - that state is screwed from top to bottom.
She should be fired for being stupid. Biased, and totally not having control of the classroom.
The screaming from her? Pathetic.
Her knowledge of "facts" is about as comprehensive as my cat's knowledge of how to build an airplane.
Can't "slander" a president? Wrong. "People got arrested for saying bad things about Bush?" Wrong.
"A candidate can be slandered, but a president can't?" Wrong.
And further more - the whole thing started off with Romney bullying someone, and the student said "Didn't O bully a girl?"............Hey, "teacher"..........it's in O's book - in his OWN words.
That teacher is a disgrace to knowledge, to teachers, to public education, and to herself.
This is a teacher, who is supposed to ..... oh I don't know ...... teach facts about the government in a social studies class . ........ who is using it for a blatant propaganda resource instead. From reports I have seen, she has tenure.
This is one reason why I hate tenure. There is no way that this woman should continue as a teacher, but she almost certainly will. She was suspended, with pay, but what can they do to her? She has tenure.
In almost any other job in the world, if you show up and do a crappy job, you can get fired. As a teacher, you can show up and teach kids that the world is flat, that 6+15 = 1 1/2, or any other flat out lies, and still keep your job as long as you have tenure.
If we want to start looking at what is wrong with the education system in this world, tenure would be a mighty fine place to start.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: If that passes as public education in that state - that state is screwed from top to bottom.
It doesn't, that's why it's national news... if you look up the kids story, there are two kids in this class that have been at odds with the teacher all year over political issues...
I think the woman should be given a test on American History, civics, etc.. stuff that most students, let alone teachers, should know... and see how she does....
The other thing I hate is that there are 1000 good teachers out there for every one like this.. but this one gets on youtube, Fox News, etc... makes the whole profession look bad.
Typical of teachers everywhere. I asked a HS teacher about the war of 1812,his response;"there was a war in 1812? must a been against the French" And yes,he is a history teacher,tenured and now double dipping.
And for anybody who doesn't know and just wants to write this off as Salisbury NC being some rural hick town, its actually a suburb of Charlotte.
A) Salisbury is hick. B) Charlotte is a nice city.. still hick! C) Yes, teachers and college professors can act like that! Now atleast in high school, there is a method to have that teacher dealt with. In College, thats like pulling teeth. D) The only reason fox even picks this story up is because the teacher was supporting Obama. Let that teacher have been backing Romney, no story!!
K-12 teachers aren't guaranteed permanent employment. They are given a due process clause which gets confused as tenure.
Part of the problem is how we're educating future teachers in teacher education programs. Certain states also allow for those with no background in education to become a teacher. I think it's a bit unfair that this teacher becomes the stereotype for all teachers across the nation.
E. If the teacher had been backing Romney ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN and others would've had it front page, top news story, first article, etc.............and somehow "racism" would've come into play. Plus, the teacher would've been fired.
Well these days it seems as though teachers don't care about kids and their education. And are only there for the paycheck. Not just in NC but all over the USA it seems.
Quote: Well these days it seems as though teachers don't care about kids and their education. And are only there for the paycheck. Not just in NC but all over the USA it seems.
As a teacher, I am sorry you feel this way. I work my ass off trying to give the students a top notch education.
Quote: Well you should since you get that big "paycheck"
I know it's sarcasm, but my salary is $26,500. I'm rich! I work for a public school in Pennsylvania.
You must be a first year teacher. That, or PA isn't as nice to teachers as Ohio. I know the avg. pay for teachers in our school district is quite north of that - as in, avg wise, about $22,000 to $25,000 more. And thats an average. First year teachers don't make as much - but it accelerates fairly quickly. At least here it does.
The starting wage isn't much different than any other 4 year degreed student. The retirement is sweet though - plus, raises are automatic.
Quote: Well you should since you get that big "paycheck"
I know it's sarcasm, but my salary is $26,500. I'm rich! I work for a public school in Pennsylvania.
You must be a first year teacher. That, or PA isn't as nice to teachers as Ohio. I know the avg. pay for teachers in our school district is quite north of that - as in, avg wise, about $22,000 to $25,000 more. And thats an average. First year teachers don't make as much - but it accelerates fairly quickly. At least here it does.
The starting wage isn't much different than any other 4 year degreed student. The retirement is sweet though - plus, raises are automatic.
The raise at the school district I am employed by is a flat $1500 per year. I had to work for 4 years as a substitute before getting a full time job. Substitute pay in my area is $75 a day and I was lucky to make 10K throughout the year as a sub. The Pennsylvania retirement is excellent thought and is the tradeoff to the low starting salary.
Back in the early 70's, I took a H.S. Civics class from a man named Wayne Brown. It was at the height of the civic unrest regarding the Viet Nam Conflict, civil rights movement, 'Women's Lib,' the beginnings of the gay pride movement, etc. Tumultuous times, they was. Huntley/Brinkley (NBC in our house, yo) news was displaying riots and unrest on the daily tip. Kids were seeing much, feeling much, thinking much. Luckily for us, at least one year of Civics was a State requirement. We all groaned when we saw it on our schedules, but I'll tell you this, Dawgs: it was one of the best, most beneficial classes I ever took in 19 years of Organized Education.
This was a year-long course. On Day One, Mr. B (a youngish, 'hip' teacher with longer hair, a Frank Zappa moustache, and loud, unbuttoned shirts) told us that we'd learn the back-story of America's history, and find parallels to modern times for perspective....and he was true to his word. He humanized the old "powdered wig guys," fleshed out historical figures in modern-day language that we could realte to, and turned dry historical facts and numbers into relevance for us all. I remember many things about that class even today: the endless spirited debates, the realization (at the tender age of 15-16) that America has been wrestling with some of the same concepts since its inception, that my P.O.V. however heartfelt and sincere, would be subject to inense scrutiny and disagreement.
The thing I remeber best about that class was how Wayne Brown ran the classroom. He was a lecturer during the informative section of class, then acted as moderator as the intra-class discussion took off. If a kid had salient points to make but was being ganged up upon, Wayne would calmly take control of the class, re-frame the outnumbered kid's points to challenge the pack's assertions, give the kid a second chance to expand upon his points, then invite new voices to offer their POV's.
As I think back, I realize how lucky I was to have him as a teacher. He encouraged independant thought, exercizing one's right to express an opinion, and he challenged each of us to back our opinions with data that supported it. Many was the time he'd say: "That's what you THINK... but is it something you can DEFEND? You still have the floor- but make your point- fast!" He forced us to think before speaking, lay out a reasoned argument, and support it with data... or you'd be left to the wolves after your time ran out.
Many was the time I weighed in with gusto... but just as often, I'd stay my hand in mid-raise... because I know I couldn't support my argument if the heat got turned up. (To this day, that training is why you only see my posts in a handful of the more controversial politically-charged subjects that arise in this forum. Wayne trained me well.)
Our class may have been spirited, but it was always orderly. Wayne never asserted his own beliefs on us, but never shied away from a question when he was 'put to the question.' Over that year, we learned that a person could simultaneously carry Liberal AND Conservative views, depending upon the issue at hand... and not be in a state of internal conflict about it. We learned that Centrists were not 'sellouts to both causes,' but thoughtful citizens who took their rights to self-determination seriously. We discovered from his teaching, in fact most people swing on a pendulum from left to right... and that a nuanced intellect of openness, self-awareness and reason could at once hold forth an assertion, while allwoing for an equally well-reasoned dissenting voice to have equal validity.
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This teacher seems to be the absolute antithesis of Wayne Brown... and it's a real shame that this school district's kids have been subjected to (at the very least) this particular scene. On this day, those kids deserved much better than what they got. I have no history with this school system, this woman or her class, so I can't automatically assume that she's this bad every day. BUT having said that... this was pretty freakkin' lame.
As I listened to this, I couldn't help but wonder how Mr. B would have handled it. Most likely, he'd have answered the kid's question honestly, regarding Obama's bullying of a classmate, then started up a class conversation like: "Bullying- and Super Pac's... Does The Biggest, Loudest Voice Always Win?" -or some such thought-provoking tangent. It's just how his mind seemed to work.
For certain, the ensuing discussion would have occupied a higher plane of discourse than this travesty.
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With all the talk about bad teachers, abuse of tenure, and the failings of Public Education, I can resolutely say this: My first stint in college was in the Ed field, and we were not trained to 'hold court' like this. I'm in DC's camp regarding teachers... for every one of these, there are hundreds, if not thousands who passionately give what they can to their profession... and manage to educate, inspire, challenge and uplift our next generation of citizens. Examples such as these are the exception that proves the rule. You know them- The Good Ones, like:
Alice Sortland Elizabeth Neely Peter Howard Bert Blair Bob Reese Alice Jenkins Bob Mix R. Lee Friese... [this list is tragically incomplete. Insert your own here... and if you're too old to remember their names, consult my good friend Deep Threat for his... his memories are much fresher-]
And then, there are teachers like Wayne Brown... who not only satisfy the requirements of my previous list, but also teach a budding citizen not only the joys and responsibilities of citizenship, but also tie them together with the mandate that they remain plugged-in, informed.... and always thinking for themselves.
The teacher went about if in the completely wrong way. If she wanted the discussion to end, then she should have just asked for it to cease. Instead, she was trying to defend her political beliefs in the matter and tried to cease the debate by stating that it is disrespectful to the President to say anything bad about him, which is a very weak argument considering that in the political structure of the Presidency, the President is not immune to opposition. He is not a god, nor is he King. The kids were actually correct when they said that "if you are to bring up dirt on one side, the other side is also open to it."
"Don't be burdened by regrets or make your failures an obsession or become embittered or possessed by ruined hopes"
Quote: And for anybody who doesn't know and just wants to write this off as Salisbury NC being some rural hick town, its actually a suburb of Charlotte...
Salisbury is not a suburb of Charlotte. It is almost an hour drive away.
No comment on the video, I couldn't force myself to watch/listen to more then 15 seconds.
Don't blame the clown for acting like a clown. Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.
Quote: Well these days it seems as though teachers don't care about kids and their education. And are only there for the paycheck. Not just in NC but all over the USA it seems.
As a teacher, I am sorry you feel this way. I work my ass off trying to give the students a top notch education.
My wife is a teacher as well and I think it's sad so many people think our teachers are horrible... the public school system as a whole makes it difficult for teachers to be good teachers IMO and then you get stories like this nut job who goes off on a political issue spewing things that aren't true.... any good teacher will tell you that you have to maintain order in a class room.... obviously she has no idea how to do that.
Quote: Salisbury is not a suburb of Charlotte. It is almost an hour drive away.
A significant number of people in Rowan county commute and most of them either go to the Charlotte area or Greensboro area since it's about halfway in between.
It's 50 minutes from Salisbury to downtown Charlotte, in under 30 you can be to the suburbs to the north to things like UNC Charlotte, Concord, etc...
It's an outer suburb... probably not yet a bedroom community, but its getting there.
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