What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]

[Area 10]

"If you are scared of Muslims then you should also be scared of household furniture and toddlers".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omar-alnatour/muslims-are-not-terrorist_b_8718000.html

[yugi]

I fundamentally disagree with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.

Glad to see the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals would not block the ruling that halted Trump’s muslim ban. The unanimous ruling said the government had not proved the terror threat justified the ban. Duh.

Trump is going to react badly to this. He already is.

That South Park announcement is hilarious.

[yugi]

…
 Secretary of Education is pretty much a do-nothing post. Why all the fervor?
 …
 

 The US has many of the top education institutions in the world. But at the same time the basic education for everyone is pretty worrying. Take a peek how it compares on a world scale. 
 
 I would think a solid education system is a key competitive advantage for a nation.
 
 And makes a nation a safer place faced with the new recruiting tactics of bad hombres.

[PonoBill]

It is, and we don't have one. But that doesn't seem to have much to do with this issue. My curiosity has to do with the nature of the position. K though 12 education is largely a local function, state and city funded--the feds fund less than ten percent. The feds have some regulatory powers but other than some esoteric union interests, the direction from the top doesn't have a huge amount of power.

I thought at first the battle was about charter schools, but that doesn't make much sense--again, a largely local issue--not something that should drive a federal level propaganda war. 

I don't understand what the core issues are that could be driving the democrats to chose this as a battleground. I keep coming back to union interests, but I don't understand what the unions consider the threat to be.

[yugi]

That was then:
(Pure awesomeness: there’s a story about the lead up to that event that went down on the shores I paddle past on a regular basis. One that has become an example of brilliant emotional intelligence in negotiation.)

http://youtu.be/GCO9BYCGNeY


This is now:
(Not sure this is going to become a shining example of negotiated entente. So far it’s headed the other direction.)

http://youtu.be/_RSF-xVsGGk

[Admin]

I don't understand what the core issues are that could be driving the democrats to chose this as a battleground.

You see, you smart guys are always looking for smart answers.

This is simple politics.  You have a billionaire (maybe) heir appointing a billionaire (definitely) heiress with zero credentials.  Perfection.  Want to take back some seats?  These are great voting points.  Look who filled filled the swamp.  Just say the word Billionaire aloud in your best Bernie accent a few times.  That should do it.

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

The idea around charter schools is to take a huge pile of public money, federal, state and local, and to make it private. They were originally suggested by Al Shanker — yes, that Al Shanker — as “laboratories of innovation.” Unfortunately they've become part of a system of privatizing public monies.

I could go on and on about why charters and Betsy Devos's strategies are bad for public schools, especially because they take funds from needy schools. That's the biggest issue. As well, most charters are run by people who aren't experienced educators. There isn't much innovation going on there. Education is not a field for amateurs. It's a complicated subject requiring expertise. I'm a mid-career teacher, and I'm still learning so much about my field.

What Betsy DeVos seems oblivious to is how to educate kids in poverty. A public school in an impoverished neighborhood is often one of the only stable elements in that community. It may have many problems, but it is doing its best to solve it. If you want to help the kids in the school, well help the school. Very simple. Stop subjecting low-income schools to budget cuts and belt-tightening, and give those teachers what they need. Kids in poverty require a lot of resources to educate. Judging a school of this nature as “failing” these days means that the school has been failed.

[southwesterly]

 Trump is good at knowing his target audience.

 Frickin' morans.

[Admin]

Hah!  He mispelled Gouda. 

[SUP Leave]

I am pretty interested in your inputs regarding DeVos -  I. Spoonbill. I have been arguing with my wife each morning about the SecEd.

My wife is a school counselor in an elementary school with free and reduced lunch over 50% (poor district). It is the district my kids go to as well. I agree with you that in a poor area, the school provides so much of not only stability, but many general services for the folks there. I have had a conversation with our superintendent (he and I had been drinking a bit, sitting in the back booth of a dark bar talking sports and politics) and I told him that his performance in his job had control over the value of my and everyone in the district's home values. It was shocking to see how it processed in his mind.

He said to me: "Why should I have that much power? My job is education."  I said "You have the talent, tenacity, and vision to have this much power, but you are hamstrung by the politics of your business." The fact is the unions place in the teachers and public service sector need's to be reduced or abolished. I have to go to lots of teacher parties, and this statement has not won me much favor with my wife's co-workers (or my wife). I always hear the argument that most teachers are hard working, dedicated, using their own money and so on. I totally agree, but there is a percentage say 10% that are spawned out, mailing it in, or just aren't good. While that is a small percentage of the overall group, they are not seeing 10% of the students. They are seeing 25% of the students, which is enough to make a moderately performing district a failing district.

Betsy DeVos is a secondary cabinet member, who basically can state overall policy but who has fairly dull teeth. The melt-down over her seems completely unjustified. Everyone is making noise about lack of qualifications, but what qualifications do you want her to have? If she is an expert at the ins-and outs of education, then her opinion is going to be slanted towards the status quo, or even worse some other hare-brained scheme. I hope her hare brained scheme is reduction of the fed's fingers on our education. The states have and should retain the most power over education. IMO the fed needs to de-regulate its grip over schools/states further. Education is local - allow the states to determine if school choice is required and where the money is best spent for the education of the kids. The fed should ensure the state's rights for this, but never make it a mandate.

Beyond that, pushing for Right to Work in each state (by each state) is the next step. Put power in  the hands of administrators. Right now I see principals in schools as basically babysitters for adults (teachers and support staff), when they should be leaders of adults with a common goal. Beyond that, I think that teacher certification should NOT be a requirement to get a job as a teacher. Why reduce the pool of qualified individuals due to a regulation? Make the regulation that they must have a certification within 5 years of taking the job. I think some people are natural educators, even if their degree is in something like psychology or physics.  Do the same for Administration- find quality administrators first, then worry about certifications.

[Bean]

Trump is good at knowing his target audience.

 Frickin' morans.

I suppose being a moran is better than being an ignoranus...

[lucabrasi]

Trump is good at knowing his target audience.

 Frickin' morans.

I suppose being a moran is better than being an ignoranus...

 Ha. Can you imagine being that guy now......or others out there with their pants down like this.
I bet he just hates it when someone goes "hey......where have I seen you..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Kh7nLplWo

[Tom]

I think the melt down over DeVos is not solely about her lack of qualifications, but it is that coupled with the way she bought her way into the cabinet position.  Trump said he'd drain the swamp, but her appointment illustrates how someone with no qualifications with enough money can get a cabinet  position within a crooked administration.

There would be the same uproar over any other cabinet position if it was also so blatantly bought.

[tautologies]

Everyone is making noise about lack of qualifications, but what qualifications do you want her to have? If she is an expert at the ins-and outs of education, then her opinion is going to be slanted towards the status quo, or even worse some other hare-brained scheme. I hope her hare brained scheme is reduction of the fed's fingers on our education. The states have and should retain the most power over education. IMO the fed needs to de-regulate its grip over schools/states further. Education is local - allow the states to determine if school choice is required and where the money is best spent for the education of the kids. The fed should ensure the state's rights for this, but never make it a mandate.

This is such a backward argument, and it holds no truth. What do you do for a living? Do you think someone with no credentials or experience can come in off the street and solve the most complex issues you face? If you do then the value you bring is extremely limited.

Fact is that she needs to solve extremely complex issues, and you do not do that well by having no experience. It just doesn't work that way. You need expertise. The ide that you will be for status quo just because you have expertise makes no sense, and I would like to see you back it up. Status quo or not is not a function of experience. I what I think you might be alluding to is that people can be stuck in a context of "this is how we have done it for as long as I can remember and it will not change"....but that is not at all a function of experience, it is a function of personality and problem solving approach. Plenty of people with a lot of experience can be creative and propose solution that are good.

So you prefer the individual states solve the problems by themselves? Why would they do a better job? This isn't a function of locally responsive. The cultures aren't so different that education needs a completely different methodology.

Beyond that, pushing for Right to Work in each state (by each state) is the next step. Put power in  the hands of administrators. Right now I see principals in schools as basically babysitters for adults (teachers and support staff), when they should be leaders of adults with a common goal. Beyond that, I think that teacher certification should NOT be a requirement to get a job as a teacher. Why reduce the pool of qualified individuals due to a regulation? Make the regulation that they must have a certification within 5 years of taking the job. I think some people are natural educators, even if their degree is in something like psychology or physics.  Do the same for Administration- find quality administrators first, then worry about certifications.

WHAT? Holy smokes, I think you are probably the best proof why not some random person should not come in and lead an organization like this. By letting any person with no skill in educating teach you are undoing 100 years of humanity getting better and more efficient at teaching.

[Bean]

Trump is good at knowing his target audience.

 Frickin' morans.

I suppose being a moran is better than being an ignoranus...

 Ha. Can you imagine being that guy now......or others out there with their pants down like this.
I bet he just hates it when someone goes "hey......where have I seen you..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Kh7nLplWo

BB rules!