Sparky speaks

Louie, this clip from FDR should accompany this article...

You never know when genius will strike. Here's a little Wisconsin protest humor I read somewhere... A unionized public employee, a tea party activist and a CEO are sitting at a table with a plate of a dozen cookies in the middle of it. The CEO takes 11 of the cookies, turns to the tea partier and says, "Watch out for that union guy... he wants a piece of your cookie!

Beady Eye, The Roller...

Not as cute as the dog...so I've updated my avatar and the screen name. Thanks,Doug

I have posted "my words" multiple times in this thread. I use the articles and videos as a way of expanding the base of information, usually representing my take on the subject, for others to read if they desire to go that extra mile. Rather than hoping they might come across it somewhere, I figure, I'll bring it directly to them. Isn't that what a good teacher(minus the personal bias)is supposed to do? A few of you sound like my students when I hand out a reading assignment..."Do we have to read the whole thing?" If you want to learn something and have something to support your essay, yeah, i

Napster, here's an article that poses the question; Should Public Workers Make Concessions? I agree that they shouldn't. How's that? Does that restore your equilibrium? Social Crisis in America: Should Public Workers Make Concessions? by Shamus Cooke As workers all over the U.S. become inspired by the massive demonstrations in Wisconsin, a dangerous idea is being voiced by some working-class allies that could unravel it all. The threat lies in the following argument: to protect the bargaining rights of unions, state and city workers must be prepared to make concessions over wages, ben

I left out the table of contents, the index and the footnotes for brevity's sake.

Have you read Diane Ravitch's book and her assessment of the Bill Gates initiative? To put it mildly, the woman who supported NCLB has had an epiphany and has turned 180 degrees against the privatization of our public school system and the attempts of Gates and others to apply business techniques and methods to teaching kids. If you haven't you should give it a look. She addresses your concerns. By the way, I got to hear her speak in New Haven before Christmas. She was awesome. This should give you a taste...(spoiler alert, you don't have to read it if you don't want to) Ravitch answers Ga

You kids today, you just don't like to read. If someone gets something from it fine. If you can't be bothered, don't read it. I've written several posts in this thread dealing with tenure, unions, custodians, experienced teachers versus new teachers, administrators, sweatshops and the like. I've also posted several articles and videos I believe add some important perspective to the narrative. I find the technique of copy and paste easier and quicker than me digesting the whole article for you and then sitting at my keyboard giving you my great interpretation of it, which will only create a pis

This senseless bickering is what is dividing the very people who should be united in their opposition to those who do us harm through their destructive economic policies that are on display in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

There is a day crew and a night crew at the high school where I teach. The day crew takes care of shoveling snow, cutting the grass, lining the playing fields, cleaning up vomit and other spills, unclogging toilets and urinals, cleaning up the cafe after lunch so it can be used for study hall, setting up chairs in the gym for what ever reason, accepting deliveries at the loading dock and many other duties as circumstances merit. The night crew cleans the rooms, washes the boards, empties the trash, polishes the floors, cleans the rest rooms, works the sports events, cleans up after the adul

From March 2010... Why Teachers Unions Matter by Shamus Cooke Nowadays a newspaper cannot be opened — or a TV turned on — without one being subjected to anti-teacher misinformation. The anti-teacher hysteria looks diverse on the surface, but underneath, this public controversy seeks to dislodge teachers unions: the right-wing trashes teachers’ unions outright, while the “liberal” media takes a more subtle, sophisticated approach, blaming the state of public education on “bad teachers” who must be fired and replaced. Both styles are the same in essence. The bi-partisan goal is t

If you think what’s happening in Egypt won’t happen within the United States, you’ve been watching too much TV. The statistics speak for themselves. In previous Revolution Roundups, before we were knocked offline, we featured mass protests by the people of Ireland, Italy, Britain, Austria, Greece, France and Portugal, as the Global Insurrection contagion spread throughout Europe. And now, as we have seen over the past month, North African and Middle Eastern nations have joined the movement as the people of Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Morocco, Gabon, Mauritania, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, Palestine,

I would guess that the teachers unions in CT and the Northeast are probably the most powerful in the nation. But at the same time, the state requirements to become a teacher and to remain a teacher are pretty stringent as well. I've seen teachers removed also. It is not pretty but what tough things are? I would guess in many places in the country, especially down south, the unions are not that powerful and removing teachers is that much easier. I may be wrong and someone can correct me on that. I can only speak from my experience. As LouieB has stated, unions don't protect or prevent incompete

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. That's what administrators are supposed to do if they are concerned about the educational success of their school. I would expect if you are contemplating becoming an administrator, you would be aware that you would have to deal with "incompetent" staff somewhere along the line and be equipped to handle it when the time comes. Don't blame tenure or seniority for administrators who don't want to take the time and effort to follow the simple procedures when trying to remove an under-performing staff member. They have secretaries and assistant

I'm sorry but here's another interesting take on all this. There might be a pop quiz on this one... Overcoming Divide and Conquer Strategies: 99.9% of the US Population Should Support the Public Unions’ Fight Against Occupying Economic Imperialists By David DeGraw, AmpedStatus Report There is a rule of war that many people are failing to understand: “Do not fight the last war.” In The 33 Strategies of War, Robert Greene calls this “The Guerrilla-War-Of-The-Mind Strategy:” “What most often weighs you down and brings you misery is the past, in the form of unnecessary attachments, r

Just came across this article. If this is true, Governor Walker's claims seem to be based on a lie... The Wisconsin Lie Exposed – Taxpayers Actually Contribute Nothing To Public Employee Pensions Pulitzer Prize winning tax reporter, David Cay Johnston, has written a brilliant piece for tax.com exposing the truth about who really pays for the pension and benefits for public employees in Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker says he wants state workers covered by collective bargaining agreements to “contribute more” to their pension and health insurance plans. Accepting Gov. Walker’ s assertion

Couldn't have said it better myself...

Louie, As you and especially your wife know, there are due process procedures to remove the incompetent teacher. All it takes is an administrator to follow the terms of the contract and it can be done. That they don't, is not my concern or worry. I think part of the solution is to weed out the incompetent administrators, and I've seen a few. They would rather remove you "at will" as you so accurately stated than to have to fill out the paperwork and follow the procedures to do it right. They can't be bothered. But let me state, if I had the power to remove any of the more than 80 staff memb

Voices from the grave...

Louie, Well, I can tell you that many teachers who are close to or are at retirement age, or have the service time in, are not retiring. The price of picking up medical insurance for oneself and your spouse, if you have one, takes a big chunk out of your pension if you are not old enough to qualify for medicaid yet. Most, also see a day when their pension funds will be raided by state governments looking to plug budget shortfalls so they are willing to put retirement off. I still have a few years to go so I don't think about it much, but I have learned a lot from older colleagues. Some of th

Thanks...

Become A Teacher? 10 Examples That Show Why Becoming A Teacher Is A Dead End In This Economy Today budget cutters are on the rampage from coast to coast and often one of their first targets is public school teachers. What we have witnessed recently in Wisconsin is just one example of this. The truth is that you do not want to become a teacher if you want to have financial security in America today. Teacher salaries are being slashed from sea to shining sea. But to a certain extent the teachers that are having their wages cut are the fortunate ones. There are thousands upon thousands of teach

There are other tax issues that only my accountant can explain that have put me over certain thresholds causing me to lose the college tuition tax credits that I would have had for the cost of putting three kids through college as well. I went back into coaching a couple of years ago and every dime I made extra I had to pay back to Uncle Sam at tax time. I would have made more money coaching for free. Now I enjoy the free time each spring. Hey, it's only worthless fiat money created out of thin air by the Federal Reserve... Next post I'll provide you all with my blood type and colonoscopy r

Tax tables are tax tables...sorry Meanwhile: Main Street Movement Erupts as Thousands Across Country Protest War on the Middle Class Inspired by the events in Wisconsin, thousands of Americans all over the country are taking action to battle legislation that would attack their labor rights, defund their schools, threaten their health and safety, and decimate the American middle class. Here are just some of the places across the nation that are taking part in this new “Main Street Movement” to defend and rebuild the American middle class: - GEORGIA: Hundreds of workers demonstrated outsid