Our local alternative news paper (the City Paper) did a really good article about the School Board elections that are upcoming. For once I feel pretty well informed about all of the things I'll be voting for come election day.
Also I was surprised at how none of our candidates fit neatly into "Republican" or "Democrat" party lines. I like it. Local politics, you give me hope.
I'm gonna say this and I know I'm still gonna get railed for it. In my mind there is NO excuse not to vote. Most are weak of course, but not even Miss Sandra should deter you. If they don't have the places open on the 6th then make sure they're having a make up day. If you do not vote you are what is wrong with this country!
Actually, if you vote without understanding anything that you're voting for and just vote party lines, you're just as bad. Last election, I only voted in things I was informed in because of that reason.
Also my wife has an excellent excuse for not voting - her voter registration wasn't processed because she put it in the same envelope as mine to save on postage.
... She gets a pass, but get her registration in for 2014. But I've told my Canadian friend to go vote before so like I said, in my mind there's no excuse.
... She gets a pass, but get her registration in for 2014. But I've told my Canadian friend to go vote before so like I said, in my mind there's no excuse.
Yeah, that's because you're an ass. We've established that.
... She gets a pass, but get her registration in for 2014. But I've told my Canadian friend to go vote before so like I said, in my mind there's no excuse.
Yeah, that's because you're an ass. We've established that.
I'm adamant about people exercising their rights. If that makes me an ass so what?
What about people who harass voters at polling places, and other such shenanigans (link is HuffPo, sorry for being lazy). If you really want votes to matter, think about supporting this.
So yesterday was my day to research state candidates and such - I didn't want to be one of those lazy voters who goes across-the-board democratic or republican without researching each candidate. I ended up going all democratic even after my research anyway, but that aside...
Looked into House of Representatives candidates from district 16 in NY, three candidates - democratic, republican, and a green party candidate. Democrat, agreed with on all major issues. Republican, equated Obama's plan to a "socialist agenda" and insisted upon life starting upon conception, among other points I also disagree upon.
The green party candidate, however, Joseph Diaferia, is definitely worth looking into, if only for the part where he promises to "investigate and/or expose a host of government programs and historic events hitherto concealed from the American public," primarily with regards to 9/11. Fun stuff.
Considering our school board has been vehement about NOT implementing charter OR neighborhood school I dunno if they're not snake oil or if the huckster isn't convincing enough. Has the local conservative talk show host sold on the idea, and she does better research than me (I've been trying to find transcripts of her talking about charter and neighborhood schools).
Charter schools are up on every conservative's list of ways to improve the school system. Frankly, given how much they hate public school teachers and teachers' unions and how many charter schools often treat their teachers worse than standard schools do, I take the pro-charter proclamations with a very large grain of salt.
That said, having a few as laboratories or acting as magnet schools may not be a bad idea, but they can only be one part of an overall improvement package in an educational district and can't be viewed as a magic pill that cures all. In fact, any district implementing charter schools also needs to be prepared to deal with the very real possibility that they will perform worse than the traditional schools did and would therefore need to be tossed aside as a possibly useful, but failed, experiment.
Considering our school board has been vehement about NOT implementing charter OR neighborhood school I dunno if they're not snake oil or if the huckster isn't convincing enough. Has the local conservative talk show host sold on the idea, and she does better research than me (I've been trying to find transcripts of her talking about charter and neighborhood schools).
Charter schools are up on every conservative's list of ways to improve the school system. Frankly, given how much they hate public school teachers and teachers' unions and how many charter schools often treat their teachers worse than standard schools do, I take the pro-charter proclamations with a very large grain of salt.
That said, having a few as laboratories or acting as magnet schools may not be a bad idea, but they can only be one part of an overall improvement package in an educational district and can't be viewed as a magic pill that cures all. In fact, any district implementing charter schools also needs to be prepared to deal with the very real possibility that they will perform worse than the traditional schools did and would therefore need to be tossed aside as a possibly useful, but failed, experiment.
Thanks for taking the time to explain all of this. I really feel like I'm learning something about the woes and possible solutions to our Education system. Right now, I'm feeling that it's fairly hopeless due to our cultural emphasis on sports and physical accomplishment over academic achievement regardless of how "good" the school is.
Thanks for taking the time to explain all of this. I really feel like I'm learning something about the woes and possible solutions to our Education system. Right now, I'm feeling that it's fairly hopeless due to our cultural emphasis on sports and physical accomplishment over academic achievement regardless of how "good" the school is.
To be honest, part of it also has to do with parental responsibility and influence on the students themselves. Now, I understand that, unfortunately, my parents are unable to spend time with their kids going over their homework due to the nature of the jobs or have the financial means to provide them with educationally stimulating activities and materials at home. I get that, and it sucks and the educational system should do more to help out kids in those sorts of situations. However, I have personally seen the situation where a kid got sent home with a report card with all Fs on it and he returns with it crumpled up and signed by the parent with no other comment, I consider that a serious problem. If my kid came home with a report card like that, the first thing I'd do is try to schedule some sort of parent/teacher conference to figure out what the hell went wrong and what can be done about it. A parent who cares about his/her kid's academic performance would try to find some way to get to the bottom of the situation and address it, and a caring and decent teacher would find some way to accommodate the parent's work schedule for the conference. This kid's parents obviously did not seem to care.
To be honest, part of it also has to do with parental responsibility and influence on the students themselves. Now, I understand that, unfortunately, my parents are unable to spend time with their kids going over their homework due to the nature of the jobs or have the financial means to provide them with educationally stimulating activities and materials at home. I get that, and it sucks and the educational system should do more to help out kids in those sorts of situations. However, I have personally seen the situation where a kid got sent home with a report card with all Fs on it and he returns with it crumpled up and signed by the parent with no other comment, I consider that a serious problem. If my kid came home with a report card like that, the first thing I'd do is try to schedule some sort of parent/teacher conference to figure out what the hell went wrong and what can be done about it. A parent who cares about his/her kid's academic performance would try to find some way to get to the bottom of the situation and address it, and a caring and decent teacher would find some way to accommodate the parent's work schedule for the conference. This kid's parents obviously did not seem to care.
I don't know the answer to that problem. Government can't solve that problem particularly well. Maybe the answer is to look deeper and see why that sort of antipathy exists?
I don't know the answer to that problem. Government can't solve that problem particularly well. Maybe the answer is to look deeper and see why that sort of antipathy exists?
Exactly. I don't know of any sort of policy that could do anything about that sort of antipathy. Maybe we could declare that sort of antipathy a form of child neglect and take children away from parents who seem to feel that way about their child's education, but something inside me feels very uncomfortable about that form of action. I mean, I get that not everyone's cut out to be a Nobel prize winning nuclear physicist, but as Scrym have said, "Being a plumber does not suck," and there is no excuse for that sort of literal utter failure in school. I'm okay with a kid making an honest effort and scraping by with Cs. However, that sort of report card is a sign of no effort at all from either the kid or the parents.
Exactly. I don't know of any sort of policy that could do anything about that sort of antipathy. Maybe we could declare that sort of antipathy a form of child neglect and take children away from parents who seem to feel that way about their child's education, but something inside me feels very uncomfortable about that form of action. I mean, I get that not everyone's cut out to be a Nobel prize winning nuclear physicist, but as Scrym have said, "Being a plumber does not suck," and there is no excuse for that sort of literal utter failure in school. I'm okay with a kid making an honest effort and scraping by with Cs. However, that sort of report card is a sign of no effort at all from either the kid or the parents.
Taking kids away from the parents just opens up SO MANY other cans of worms. You can't guarantee that that would be a good thing for the kid. Really, the only true answer is one that we don't have. It's gonna take a lot of thoughtful, rational discussion to determine why these things happen. Are the parents not caring because they had kids and never wanted them? Why did that happen? What can we do (as a society) to help keep that from happening?
Is it simply that the parents are too tired from Working Too Much At The Mill? What can we do to help that not be a problem?
It's hard questions, and not easily compressible into a sound byte. So I'm not sure we'll ever really fix it.
So when all the rich people finally have all the moneys, society crumbles, and chaos rules America, we can point and laugh at the stupid podunk republicans (the not-rich ones) crying for help because their moneys were taken/used up and there are no government programs to help them anymore, and say "Ha ha, told you so!" ? Yeah I kinda want that, too. :-P If only I could live in a bubble and not be affected by all that stuff. (Canada?)
No, because when it comes to expansion of government and presidential powers, Obama is just as bad (if not worse) than his predecessors. The differences between Obama and Romney's economic plans are negligible in action and most social issues will be decided in the courts (although the next president will get some supreme court noms which is probably a huge downside if Romney wins). The corruption in the system has been festering, but those who would take action are laying on the laurels because a D is in the White House.
However, if Romney wins the silent civil liberties/anti-war crowd will wake up from their slumber. Obama has been killing citizens and expanding the drone program (and fighting several proxy wars in the Middle East). Now, if a Republican had done these actions, the liberals would out in force, but because it's Obama, they rationalize it away because Obama is a benevolent "dictator" in their eyes. However, they don't see the long term erosion of our government system and the expansion of tyrannical presidential powers that have been on the rise since Reagan.
Furthermore, it's possible that if Obama loses there will be a dramatic reform of the Democratic party away from the lip-service politics they play for the middle and working classes and actually become the party that represents them.
While I see your point, the only reason you have given is "so it rallies the opposition", and if you want someone to win who you are opposed to, that's just not a good idea. While Obama has his flaws, Romney will be far, far worse (particularly since the foreign policy strategy he pursues is apparently "what Obama did" and you are vehemently opposed to that) and the fact that Romney would get to make several Supreme Court appointments during his term should scare the bejeezus out of you.
Also, while the Democrats could use a reform, the Republicans definitely need one to kick out the religious right and the Tea Party freak show, and that is definitely not going to happen if they are being rewarded.
Comments
Also I was surprised at how none of our candidates fit neatly into "Republican" or "Democrat" party lines. I like it. Local politics, you give me hope.
I don't care who you vote for, GO VOTE!
Also my wife has an excellent excuse for not voting - her voter registration wasn't processed because she put it in the same envelope as mine to save on postage.
GLOBAL WARMING IS A HOAX. ROMNEY IS AN HONEST MAN. INDUSTRY MAGNATES HAVE ALL OUR BEST INTERESTS AT HEART.
Looked into House of Representatives candidates from district 16 in NY, three candidates - democratic, republican, and a green party candidate. Democrat, agreed with on all major issues. Republican, equated Obama's plan to a "socialist agenda" and insisted upon life starting upon conception, among other points I also disagree upon.
The green party candidate, however, Joseph Diaferia, is definitely worth looking into, if only for the part where he promises to "investigate and/or expose a host of government programs and historic events hitherto concealed from the American public," primarily with regards to 9/11. Fun stuff.
That said, having a few as laboratories or acting as magnet schools may not be a bad idea, but they can only be one part of an overall improvement package in an educational district and can't be viewed as a magic pill that cures all. In fact, any district implementing charter schools also needs to be prepared to deal with the very real possibility that they will perform worse than the traditional schools did and would therefore need to be tossed aside as a possibly useful, but failed, experiment.
Edit: Yay. I'm a favorite.
Is it simply that the parents are too tired from Working Too Much At The Mill? What can we do to help that not be a problem?
It's hard questions, and not easily compressible into a sound byte. So I'm not sure we'll ever really fix it.
However, if Romney wins the silent civil liberties/anti-war crowd will wake up from their slumber. Obama has been killing citizens and expanding the drone program (and fighting several proxy wars in the Middle East). Now, if a Republican had done these actions, the liberals would out in force, but because it's Obama, they rationalize it away because Obama is a benevolent "dictator" in their eyes. However, they don't see the long term erosion of our government system and the expansion of tyrannical presidential powers that have been on the rise since Reagan.
Furthermore, it's possible that if Obama loses there will be a dramatic reform of the Democratic party away from the lip-service politics they play for the middle and working classes and actually become the party that represents them.
At least, that's the hope.
Also, while the Democrats could use a reform, the Republicans definitely need one to kick out the religious right and the Tea Party freak show, and that is definitely not going to happen if they are being rewarded.