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Betsy DeVos

I mean there have probably been some procedural votes and proclamations that were easier
 
Between the qualifications, her support for common core, and the campaign contributions, I have no idea how any conservatives can support this pick. It's as blindly partisan as it gets.
 
Between the qualifications, her support for common core, and the campaign contributions, I have no idea how any conservatives can support this pick. It's as blindly partisan as it gets.

Can? You mean "can't" right?
 
I seriously can't get over it. I predicted Trump would win, so I get to say whatever I want. It's just amazing to me that someone could support her as a candidate. It makes it impossible to trust anything you say in support of Trump, because your support of her in this role reveals you are incapable of criticizing Trump.
 
Conservative politicians are who we thought they were.
 
Tap out all you like. When you blame "teachers' unions" as some sort of monolithic evil, I'd think you would, you know, have facts to back up that point.

Teachers' unions are a problem in some states. They aren't in all states. That's why suggesting that teachers' unions are the universal reason things can't get better doesn't carry much weight.

And why are you so pissed off when people ask you questions? If you have a point, shouldn't it be able to withstand a little scrutiny?

I'm not pissed. I am just saying why mktake your point instead of the questions you already kno the answer to? It's patronizing.
 
I'm not pissed. I am just saying why mktake your point instead of the questions you already kno the answer to? It's patronizing.

I'm trying to understand your position. If you aren't interested in that, i can't help you.

As an aside, if you call somebody patronizing for asking you a question, it makes you sound like a whiny bitch. I don't think you are one, so take that for what its worth.
 
I'm not talking about the politicians. They are scared of Trump. I'm talking about the conservatives in REAL America.

They just want the commielibs to be angry. They probably think DeVos Academy is going to open up in their one stop light town and save their children from their evil neighbors with a college education...er...teachers.
 
I am ELD teacher in an area that is in the top ten for SES stratification. 20 blocks to the north and in the same district are two of the best public schools in the state of Colorado. The only time my students sniff that area is for summer school. My classes average 40 students ranging in language level within the limited english proficiency category according to WIDA (a bullshit consortium based out Madison). The issue is severely complex and is not really about money for the school per se. We could use more of it considering our HVAC has been broken for years, and my classroom reaches temperature of 100* at times. The HVAC is one of many similar issues. Additionally, I spend close to 1000 on my classroom per year. In short, more funding would help. However, the issue is really the additional services that my community needs but does not have. We have had 5 suicides this year, many students dont have access to health care, many students are homeless, etc. These issues put a toll on our students and their families and impacts student performance more than anything else. In short, you cannot fix a failing school in a low SES community until you provide community support by way of services like clinics, food banks and the like. However, even with all of these things sometimes you cannot fix pride and poverty. My school should qualify for Title 1 funding, but we do not to the degree we should because our families are too prideful to fill out a free and/or reduced lunch form. Additionally, since we are not part of DPS and we are tied to two high performing schools within our district we lose funding and access to academics support (university and the like). In short, there needs to be investments in communities as a whole before many underperforming schools will be fixed. Hence, the conclusion that just throwing money at underperforming schools (and not addressing larger community needs) begets no gains.

Edit: not fixing typos from phone typing /rant
 
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I'm not pissed. I am just saying why mktake your point instead of the questions you already kno the answer to? It's patronizing.

You're welcome to respond to the substantive posts on this thread, too.
 
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Here is a good piece breaking down the problems with school choice:
https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/the-essential-selfishness-of-school-choice/

[h=1]The Essential Selfishness of School Choice[/h]
Say your friend Sheila invites you over to her house.
Sheila has just made a fresh pumpkin pie.
She offers you a slice.
You politely refuse, but she insists. She hands you the knife so you can take as big a piece as you like.
You start to cut and then ask, “Does it matter where I cut from?”
Sheila says, “No. Take whatever you want.”
You don’t like crust, so you cut a perfect triangle piece from the middle of the pie.
Sheila’s face reddens.
This wasn’t exactly what she meant, but what is she going to do? You took your slice, and now the rest of the pie is ruined. No one else can take a whole piece. Your choice has limited everyone else’s.
That’s what school choice does to public education.
It privileges the choice of some and limits the choices of others.
Advocates say parents should be able to choose the school their children attend.
And parents today do have many choices. About 90% send their kids to traditional public schools. Others home school, pay for private schools or opt for charter or voucher schools.
The problem comes with these last two options. In both cases, tax money meant to help all children is siphoned off for just one child. In the case of vouchers, tax money goes to pay part of the tuition at a private or parochial school. In the case of charters, we’re diverting tax money to a school that’s public in name but privately run.
That means less money for traditional public schools and more money for privately run institutions. That’s really what school choice is – a way to further privatize public schools.
 
Here is a good piece breaking down the problems with school choice:
https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/the-essential-selfishness-of-school-choice/

[h=1]The Essential Selfishness of School Choice[/h]

Why is the education establishment so afraid of being accountable to the stakeholders? Why fight the only meaningful leverage afforded to the people the system exists serve? In what other facet of our society--other than the DMV or the Bureau of Prisons---- does the end user get absolutely no choice? The fear is not confidence inspiring.
 
Why is the education establishment so afraid of being accountable to the stakeholders? Why fight the only meaningful leverage afforded to the people the system exists serve? In what other facet of our society--other than the DMV or the Bureau of Prisons---- does the end user get absolutely no choice? The fear is not confidence inspiring.

Ironically it's only the public schools that are held accountable when federal funding is involved. I don't know many people who are anti-choice or voucher or whatever but just want them held to the same standards.
 
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