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Ed Secretary

Ed Secretary

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by: shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15 OP 
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 2:25pm  
My FB feed has been filled up with hate for DeVos today.  Oddly...or maybe coincidentally...enough, it seems to be only my teacher friends that are ranting about this pick.  Is anyone else really bothered by it?  I've read everything from "she has no clue because she was never a teacher" to "teachers only hate her because she's a threat to their union".  I'm sure the truth lays somewhere in between.  I'm not advocating blowing up the entire education system, but is our system really that great that it couldn't use a fresh perspective?  There's a saying about doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.Depending on what resource you choose, the ranking numbers are a bit all over the place as to where the US lands in education.  One thing that is consistent is that we're outside of the top 10, and in some studies as low as 25th, across the globe in reading, math, and science.  How can a nation with so much wealth educate our populace so poorly?  The only study I could find that ranked the US high was one indicating we were #2...in ignorance to the world around us.  Upon reconsideration, maybe there is merit to just blowing the entire thing up and starting over. 4951
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BooBear Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 2:38pm  
Our schools teach to the lowest common denominator in class. Parents complain if it's hard for their babies, minimum standards are the goal, we teach with a regional/local mindset instead of global, almost any idiot can become a teacher.
 
Fix those things and its a start.
 
4951
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nycoil Active Indicator LED Icon 18
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 2:43pm  
another thing that the feds need to be rid of - education needs to be controlled by the  states, not dc 4951
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ET Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 2:47pm  
I tend to like blowing things up and starting again. I can't say if this is the right candidate for that or not. 4951
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gigem09 Active Indicator LED Icon 7
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 2:49pm  
As someone in education I am a bit worried that she has no public education experience and may not understand what really goes on in these schools
and the barriers students, teachers, administrators, and parents face. With that said, I am not against a new perspective and hope that she is able to do great things. 4951
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mulmye Active Indicator LED Icon 5
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 2:51pm  
My FB feed has been filled up with hate for DeVos today.  Oddly...or maybe coincidentally...enough, it seems to be only my teacher friends that are ranting about this pick.  Is anyone else really bothered by it?  I've read everything from "she has no clue because she was never a teacher" to "teachers only hate her because she's a threat to their union".  I'm sure the truth lays somewhere in between.  I'm not advocating blowing up the entire education system, but is our system really that great that it couldn't use a fresh perspective?  There's a saying about doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.Depending on what resource you choose, the ranking numbers are a bit all over the place as to where the US lands in education.  One thing that is consistent is that we're outside of the top 10, and in some studies as low as 25th, across the globe in reading, math, and science.  How can a nation with so much wealth educate our populace so poorly?  The only study I could find that ranked the US high was one indicating we were #2...in ignorance to the world around us.  Upon reconsideration, maybe there is merit to just blowing the entire thing up and starting over.
@shodan66: Look at how Ms. Devos' plans have worked out in Indiana and Michigan.Ihavemy own modest proposals for "school choice" which she and Dan Patrick push. If students from Aldine ISD can enroll at KHS with the vouchers that Aldine ISD gives them, I am all for it. After the stated purpose of voucher programs is to allow the student to go from an underperforming school to a better one. The differences between Kingwood High are visible to the naked eye and verified easily through metrics.  Public to public is fine.If the student is taking the voucher from public to private, no unless the private is better than any public within 25 miles of the student's home.  Being better to be determined through metrics.  The parent should agree to reimburse the school system for the cost of any courses not completed or passed. Charter schools subjected to the same quality control standards as the mainstream public schools and the parent agreeing to reimburse the school system for any courses the student fails to complete and pass. 4951
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BooBear Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 2:55pm  
Vouchers are something I don't necessarily understand the practicality of them. How would that work? 4951
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mulmye Active Indicator LED Icon 5
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:08pm  
Our schools teach to the lowest common denominator in class. Parents complain if it's hard for their babies, minimum standards are the goal, we teach with a regional/local mindset instead of global, almost any idiot can become a teacher. Fix those things and its a start.
@BooBear: Almost any idiot can be certified as a teacher is likely true but that is because of several factors.  Remuneration for teachers is not attractive initially nor in the long run.  Math and science majors can make more money in other fields.  Many teachers do not take education courses.  They become certified as teachers with a Mickey Mouse course.Education's issues can not be resolved with simple solutions like those proposed by Ms. DeVos.
 
 
4951
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podunk Active Indicator LED Icon 8
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:16pm  
Vouchers are useless for a lot of areas just bc of transportation issues and actual options. I see it mostly being used for schools to recruit. 4951
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ProblemAgain Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:18pm  
she has been an advocate for dismantling public education for decades, what vouchers do is gut the public school systems by taking the funds away and transferring them to privte schools.  that works out great of you are in the economic demographic who can afford private schools for your children because it essentially subsidizes your child or children in private school. for most people tho what it does is degrade the public schools their kids go to by cutting the available funds to pay teachers, run programs that teach music and the like and pay for all the costs associated with actually serving up public education.  devos has zero knowledge of the laws governing education and the legalities involved. she proved that by her performance before the senate committee.  for all the whining about the federal governments involvement in schools, local authorities still seem to have their hand out for disbursements from the federal funds for education. those funds allow a decent education for those kids from small towns  without access to resources that cities have. and the federal requirements might be a good thing when you look at the performances of some schools. yes, they need to improve performance but you are not going to do that if you cant afford teachers, books or classrooms sufficient to the task 4951
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shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15 OP 
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:18pm  
Education's issues can not be resolved with simple solutions like those proposed by Ms. DeVos.

@mulmye: I don't know nearly enough to disagree.  I do know that what we've done thus far hasn't really gotten us anywhere.    4951
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shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15 OP 
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:23pm  
you are not going to do that if you cant afford teachers, books or classrooms sufficient to the task

@ProblemAgain:
 
 
We're already spending half again as much per student than the average for developed countries and yet we continue to be outperformed.  I'm not saying we need to slash or decrease funding, but it would seem obvious to the laymen that somewhere along the line the funds already invested are not being utilized correctly or in the right areas.   4951
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BooBear Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:23pm  
Remuneration for teachers is not attractive initially nor in the long run. 
 
@mulmye:
 
I know its not a popular opinion but I gotta call BS on this. First, teachers are NOT overly qualified, 2nd, if you go by hours worked and turn that into hourly? Its not bad. How many other professions have a 2 month break in summer, couple of weeks over christmas, spring break, thanksgiving, days off are innumerable.
The pay is not a surprise for anyone going into that field. Another thing I hear teachers complain about is spending their own money on supplies. I believe a lot of that is a choice that some make to offer more to the students but not necessarily needed. Or time spent after school grading papers, etc..most people do that.
 
I just dont think its a pay and definitely not a time issue. If you cannot afford to live on the pay offered, choose another profession. If you are going into with the hopes of getting rich, youre an idiot and shouldn't be teaching our kids anyway. 4951
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ProblemAgain Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:33pm  

- - - - - - - -
>> you are not going to do that if you cant afford teachers, books or classrooms sufficient to the task
 
@ProblemAgain:
 
 
We're already spending half again as much per student than the average for developed countries and yet we continue to be outperformed.  I'm not saying we need to slash or decrease funding, but it would seem obvious to the laymen that somewhere along the line the funds already invested are not being utilized correctly or in the right areas.  

@shodan66:
 
 
look at the why we are spending that amount of money.one reason is courts have ruled that every child is entitled to an eduction (remember 'no child left behind'?) in some cases this leads to essentially a personal attendant /teacher for some children..that expense gets baked into the mix and averaged out among the other students. and other countries have different pay scales for teachers.  some can do that because teachers can count on the state health care thru their country's national healthcare. and let's not forget all the administrators who collect substantial paychecks. in some cases the administrators are a larger expense than the teachers.  you actually have to dig into the numbers to ascertain the differences. example...HOUSTON - As school districts around the country are making major cuts, the Houston Independent School District is paying out. The school board voted unanimously Thursday night to give Superintendent Dr. Terry Grier a $116,673.33 bonus on top of his $300,000 base salary.Dec 11, 2014 4951
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Retired_Engineer Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:34pm  
Our schools teach to the lowest common denominator in class. Parents complain if it's hard for their babies, minimum standards are the goal, we teach with a regional/local mindset instead of global, almost any idiot can become a teacher.
 
Fix those things and its a start.

@BooBear:  That's only a small part of the problem.  Bureaucrats and politicians have forced teachers NOT to teach EXCEPT to prepare for the standardized testing (on which the school gets graded).  They also refuse to let teachers fail students that deserve failing.  They also blame the teachers if the student wants to drop out of school because the school gets paid by the number of butts in seats.I hear about it almost every day that my son comes home.  He really wants to teach the kids, but if a student chooses not to participate in class, not do homework, not take tests, the school administrators force the teachers to allow that to happen and still pass the student on to the next grade and eventually graduate.  Again, it's all about butts in seats and moving them through the system, which all boils down to MONEY.  The focus needs to be on EDUCATION.As to some of the teachers, unfortunately, you are correct.  The young ones grew up under the same poor educational systems that they now work in and shouldn't be teaching anyone anything.
 
 
4951
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shodan66 Active Indicator LED Icon 15 OP 
~ 7 years ago   Feb 7, '17 3:34pm  
I know its not a popular opinion

@BooBear:
 
 
I've never understood why the teaching profession is such a sacred cow, either.  I can appreciate that they are molding minds.  I'm thankful that some people feel a calling to teach.  I've never understood how someone can go into education purposely and then complain about the hours or the pay.  My ex was a teacher for many years and she didn't work nearly as many hours as my corporate job required.  Of course she wasn't paid nearly as much, so it's a trade.  It's an honorable profession, it's just not sacred.   4951
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