The city of Huntsville has announced over 150 teachers are being terminated as the economy struggles...and Madison County is doing better than the rest of the state. Crowded class rooms are in your child's future.
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I imagine this is the jobs Obama saved (for one year) now going away.
The April deficit is over $82 billion and the White House budget director says we're quickly heading down the same road as Greece.
Washington needs to learn the first rule of holes: when you're in one, STOP DIGGING!
Washington needs to learn the first rule of holes: when you're in one, STOP DIGGING!
Got a text from a teacher friend in Mississippi tonight and they are laying off dozens just from Baldwin County.......great job Obama! Schools can't have enough teachers to give our kids a decent education -- change we can believe in?
I agree that things are in a mess, but truthfully, it didn't start with Obama...it will define his presidency, but this deficit started with Bush...all heck will break loose in classrooms...too many kids for one teacher..uncontrolable
how about 70 being nonrenewed in Lauderdale co? i hope most are hired back. It is a bad situation.
What do you wanna bet no football coaches or programs are scrapped?
quote:Got a text from a teacher friend in Mississippi tonight and they are laying off dozens just from Baldwin County.......great job Obama!
Oh please. The teacher situation in all sates have nothing to do with Obama (who inherited this mess, remember?).
In Alabama, you can blame the people YOU elected to office who continue to place education at the bottom . . .OK, perhaps in the middle of the list. Until education is a top priority in this state, we will continue to lose teachers in this horrible manner.
quote:What do you wanna bet no football coaches or programs are scrapped?
Why would you cut a program that is self-supporting and brings so much to the schools? That's like wondering why we don't cut lunch programs.
The first finger needs to be pointed to the AEA. They have manhandled the legislature and pushed thru junk bills in the past, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of most Alabamians. I for one will not support any bill that raises the taxes further for the benefit of the AEA, as long as Paul Hubbard sits in Montgomery and basically runs the state legislature. They did this to themselves. It was just last year that we had reports of a teacher who was still on the payroll, sitting in jail for a felony. As long as things like this go on, how can they expect a sympathetic public.
The honesty of the situation is that the teachers, like the doctors and the rest of the country, are going to be expected to do more with less for less reimbursement.
And yes, Obama is just as much to blame as George Bush. His "stimulus" plan was nothing more than a temporary band-aid, and now that it is being ripped off, it is going to hurt a little. Look for more taxes......
The honesty of the situation is that the teachers, like the doctors and the rest of the country, are going to be expected to do more with less for less reimbursement.
And yes, Obama is just as much to blame as George Bush. His "stimulus" plan was nothing more than a temporary band-aid, and now that it is being ripped off, it is going to hurt a little. Look for more taxes......
quote:Originally posted by Sofa King:quote:Got a text from a teacher friend in Mississippi tonight and they are laying off dozens just from Baldwin County.......great job Obama!
Oh please. The teacher situation in all sates have nothing to do with Obama (who inherited this mess, remember?).
In Alabama, you can blame the people YOU elected to office who continue to place education at the bottom . . .OK, perhaps in the middle of the list. Until education is a top priority in this state, we will continue to lose teachers in this horrible manner.
It's not Obama's fault he inherited this mess, God started the whole thing, but Obama will fix it, just give him time and your money.
quote:The first finger needs to be pointed to the AEA.
Amen, bro.
hmmm...wonder why tennessee and georgia don't have the same problem, or as big of one. and this is not new. my college teachers in 2001 said that if you want a teaching job you ain't gonna find it here.
and i think they should raise sales tax 1 cent to go to education. i mean think about it, you spend 100 dollars at the grocery store and your total will go up all of ONE dollar, yet most people would raise hell if someone wanted to raise sales tax 1 cent. but apparently education for our children isnt that important to some people. "oh no i won't be able to afford cigarettes"
How about 1 board of education per county. How about cutting useless admin positions at the board of eduction. How about getting rid of bad teachers. How about stop bowing to the AEA.
This problem is easily fixable.
This problem is easily fixable.
quote:Originally posted by barbaros45:
I agree that things are in a mess, but truthfully, it didn't start with Obama...it will define his presidency, but this deficit started with Bush...all heck will break loose in classrooms...too many kids for one teacher..uncontrolable
I knew it was Bushes fault...
You are correct about the teacher overload thing but the children are the ultimate victims. I guess kids take the big hit because they don't vote.
Alabama will suffer an added economic hit from the BP oil well disaster, causing loses to tourism, fishing and allied business. The loss of tax revenue will cause even deeper cuts in educational funding revenues.
Hey Sofa King,
You evidently have bought into the prevailing philosophy that the primary purpose of Alabama's public school system is to function as a farm team for the Alabama and Auburn football programs, which in turn act as farm teams for the NFL. Ever wonder why Alabama is consistently near, or at, the bottom in national education surveys? Yeah...Roll Tide and War Eagle!
You evidently have bought into the prevailing philosophy that the primary purpose of Alabama's public school system is to function as a farm team for the Alabama and Auburn football programs, which in turn act as farm teams for the NFL. Ever wonder why Alabama is consistently near, or at, the bottom in national education surveys? Yeah...Roll Tide and War Eagle!
quote:Originally posted by thomaswayne0907:
and i think they should raise sales tax 1 cent to go to education. i mean think about it, you spend 100 dollars at the grocery store and your total will go up all of ONE dollar, yet most people would raise hell if someone wanted to raise sales tax 1 cent. but apparently education for our children isnt that important to some people. "oh no i won't be able to afford cigarettes"
You alluded to the correct solution in your prior post to this one, Ga and Tn have a lottery to pay for education. The people of Ala don't think as much of the education of their children as do the people of these states because they VOTED not to have an education lottery. So, now we come to your next post, raise a tax, any tax to make up the difference. I say NO , NO, NO. We had a chance to pay for this by volunteers, we turned it down, now don't come whining to conscript our money to make the difference.
Suck it up, and live with the problem that most people voted against.
On the other hand, since the churches opposed the education lottery so much, lets let them make up the difference from the collection plates.
I second this!
quote:Originally posted by teyates:
The first finger needs to be pointed to the AEA. They have manhandled the legislature and pushed thru junk bills in the past, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of most Alabamians. I for one will not support any bill that raises the taxes further for the benefit of the AEA, as long as Paul Hubbard sits in Montgomery and basically runs the state legislature. They did this to themselves. It was just last year that we had reports of a teacher who was still on the payroll, sitting in jail for a felony. As long as things like this go on, how can they expect a sympathetic public.
The honesty of the situation is that the teachers, like the doctors and the rest of the country, are going to be expected to do more with less for less reimbursement.
And yes, Obama is just as much to blame as George Bush. His "stimulus" plan was nothing more than a temporary band-aid, and now that it is being ripped off, it is going to hurt a little. Look for more taxes......
Alabama lottery would have saved jobs but our elected officials and that knucklehead Riley dont think the people of Alabama have enough sense to even Vote for ourselves.
quote:Originally posted by justice:
Alabama lottery would have saved jobs but our elected officials and that knucklehead Riley dont think the people of Alabama have enough sense to even Vote for ourselves.
Apparently they don't.
quote:Originally posted by Sofa King:quote:What do you wanna bet no football coaches or programs are scrapped?
Why would you cut a program that is self-supporting and brings so much to the schools? That's like wondering why we don't cut lunch programs.
Why in the world would you want your children to read, write, and 'rithmatic as long as you have a winning team?
1 cent sales tax my foot......if you handed Boob Riley 100 billion and said lets fix the schools he would say that just isnt enough....we need higher taxes.
They should put teachers on some kind of progressive contracts 1 year for the 1st 2 - 3 years and 2 year after that....this lifetime crap is what kills.
I know there are teachers that care but a lot of them dont once they are locked in.
They should put teachers on some kind of progressive contracts 1 year for the 1st 2 - 3 years and 2 year after that....this lifetime crap is what kills.
I know there are teachers that care but a lot of them dont once they are locked in.
While we are at it, let us also look at how much money the AEA and Paul Hubbard handed to people running for re-election in the primaries. I have yet to confirm it in print, but have been told that they donated at least $3500 to a local Democratic candidate running for office.
Why would this be necessary if they did not have an agenda?
Why would this be necessary if they did not have an agenda?
The State Dep't of Eucation is responsible for much wasted tax money in AL They travel over the state doing nothing most of the time but running up per diem bills. People who have not entered an elemenatry classroom since they were in the 6th grade suddenly appear and tell the teacher what to do. The persons employed by the state but required by the federal government are the worst offenders. In 2004 it took four people two days to check out an ESL program with 11 students. Ridiculous!
quote:Got a text from a teacher friend in Mississippi tonight and they are laying off dozens just from Baldwin County.......great job Obama!
Eastside, this is NOT Obama's fault. This crap started a long, long time ago and exploded in the BUSH presidency. Obama is just the janitor in this giant mess.
quote:Originally posted by daybeggar:
Hey Sofa King,
You evidently have bought into the prevailing philosophy that the primary purpose of Alabama's public school system is to function as a farm team for the Alabama and Auburn football programs, which in turn act as farm teams for the NFL.
What the heck are you talking about?
The primary function of Alabama schools is to provide them with a well-rounded education and prepare them for the future. To do so requires level funding, a commitment from the state, the abolishment of the AEA and excellent athletic programs.
We voted to renew our mil tax. the idiot teabaggers in madison convinced the voters there to vote against renewal. it was not a new tax. it was a renewal of an existing one which benefited the schools by funding education.
another example of the teabaggers cutting off their noses to spite their face.
another example of the teabaggers cutting off their noses to spite their face.
quote:Originally posted by dd75:
We voted to renew our mil tax. the idiot teabaggers in madison convinced the voters there to vote against renewal. it was not a new tax. it was a renewal of an existing one which benefited the schools by funding education.
another example of the teabaggers cutting off their noses to spite their face.
I'm for sure not a teabagger, but I have vowed to vote against, and actively oppose ANY more property taxes , GET THIS, THE PEOPLE OF ALABAMA DO NOT WANT THEIR KIDS TO GET A GOOD EDUCATION PERIOD.
As proof I offer, they voted AGAINST an education lottery, and posed so much opposition to the state airing a speech from the President encouraging kids to stay in school and apply themselves, that for the most part, it was not shown to the kids in Alabama. These two things alone show me that the people of Al want their kids to be as dumb as they are.
The one thing that some of you do not understand is that throwing money at a problem does not necessarily fix it. Raising taxes and increasing millage will not contribute one iota to the education of an Alabama child, though it may pad the pockets of a corrupt Union leader or some of thier administration.
People are tired of the same old mantra of "we need more money for schools", "we need more money for defense", "we need more money for public parks, and the arts, and to study the problem of bovine flatulence".
Throwing money at something when the system is broke will not fix it.
Will increasing a class size from 20 to 22 children make a huge difference in what is taught, or what is learned? IMO, it starts at home, and it is a child with a good attitude who wants to learn and will be respectful to the teaschers that will make a whole helluva lot more difference than another million dollars collected for Montgomery.
People are tired of the same old mantra of "we need more money for schools", "we need more money for defense", "we need more money for public parks, and the arts, and to study the problem of bovine flatulence".
Throwing money at something when the system is broke will not fix it.
Will increasing a class size from 20 to 22 children make a huge difference in what is taught, or what is learned? IMO, it starts at home, and it is a child with a good attitude who wants to learn and will be respectful to the teaschers that will make a whole helluva lot more difference than another million dollars collected for Montgomery.
quote:Originally posted by teyates:
The one thing that some of you do not understand is that throwing money at a problem does not necessarily fix it. Raising taxes and increasing millage will not contribute one iota to the education of an Alabama child, though it may pad the pockets of a corrupt Union leader or some of thier administration.
People are tired of the same old mantra of "we need more money for schools", "we need more money for defense", "we need more money for public parks, and the arts, and to study the problem of bovine flatulence".
Throwing money at something when the system is broke will not fix it.
Will increasing a class size from 20 to 22 children make a huge difference in what is taught, or what is learned? IMO, it starts at home, and it is a child with a good attitude who wants to learn and will be respectful to the teaschers that will make a whole helluva lot more difference than another million dollars collected for Montgomery.
Well said.
quote:Originally posted by teyates:
The one thing that some of you do not understand is that throwing money at a problem does not necessarily fix it. Raising taxes and increasing millage will not contribute one iota to the education of an Alabama child, though it may pad the pockets of a corrupt Union leader or some of thier administration.
Hornswaggle.
The absolute fact is this: Public schools are what you'd call "socialized" education just like our socialized roads and socialized medical care. They are funded by tax dollars. Take away dollars and you take away education.
Yes I will agree that there is a limit to this. Washington DC has one of the highest per-student expenditures in the nation at over 20k per kid yet they are one of the lowest performing schools in the nation. Alabama has one of the least funded systems in the nation besides Mississippi yet despite that we are about average in performance overall. We are far above average in most of north Alabama.
The fact is that class size (especially in the early grades but admittedly not so much in the higher ones) have a tremendous effect on student performance. schools operate on a razor thin budgets with the vast majority of the tab going to teacher salaries. when funding is cut, you cannot cut food. You cannot cut administration (could the system really do without a principal, his assistants and a superintendent?) so the only place left to cut is generally going to be teachers.
so schools in Alabama must desperately try to cut teachers in areas where it will not matter as much and that just has to be an impossible task. it must be like deciding which child to sacrifice.
quote:
Will increasing a class size from 20 to 22 children make a huge difference in what is taught, or what is learned?
In the higher grades, no. in the lowers ones, absolutely. this has been conclusively proven numerous times. Take a look at this for example: http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/ClassSize/academic.html
quote:IMO, it starts at home, and it is a child with a good attitude who wants to learn and will be respectful to the teachers that will make a whole helluva lot more difference than another million dollars collected for Montgomery.
I absolutely 100% agree. But the very sad fact is that vast numbers of parents just don't care and can't be made to care. Other factors include large numbers of kids who don't even speak English and special education kids. That leaves it to the schools to fix these broken children. so what do you propose, simply forget about those kids?
the tea party idiots here in the Shoals nearly defeated a renewal of a tax that was specifically for schools. Had they succeed, the shoals would be in the same sad shape as Madison. They were successful in Madison with predictable results. Now the same people that voted down the tax are calling for the resignation of the superintendent over there because she had to do what she had to do. Its madness.
quote:the tea party idiots here in the Shoals nearly defeated a renewal of a tax that was specifically for schools. Had they succeed, the shoals would be in the same sad shape as Madison. They were successful in Madison with predictable results. Now the same people that voted down the tax are calling for the resignation of the superintendent over there because she had to do what she had to do. Its madness.
I have had no involvement with any Tea Party activity, so I don't know if what you're saying is even true, but it is telling that you believe people voting to keep the money they've earned qualifies those people as "idiots." I don't care where they money goes. It's not yours and you are wrong if you believe you are more qualified than another person to tell them how their money should be spent.
quote:Originally posted by dolemitejb:quote:the tea party idiots here in the Shoals nearly defeated a renewal of a tax that was specifically for schools. Had they succeed, the shoals would be in the same sad shape as Madison. They were successful in Madison with predictable results. Now the same people that voted down the tax are calling for the resignation of the superintendent over there because she had to do what she had to do. Its madness.
I have had no involvement with any Tea Party activity, so I don't know if what you're saying is even true, but it is telling that you believe people voting to keep the money they've earned qualifies those people as "idiots." I don't care where they money goes. It's not yours and you are wrong if you believe you are more qualified than another person to tell them how their money should be spent.
I trust that you have/would send your child to a private school and university.
quote:I trust that you have/would send your child to a private school and university.
That's a weak argument. The state steals money from peoples' paychecks to create "public goods." Opposing that does not mandate a boycott of the public goods, especially considering people now have less of their own money with which to make their own choices.
On top of this add up all the "sales of cookie dough and candles" we have to endure during the year. The endless list of "soap, toilet paper, etc" that the students are asked to bring to school, not for the public restrroms but for the teacher's rooms. I do not mind them having these things, and we certainly need them to prevent the spread of disease, but some of us end up sending these items, then have a teacher who takes little or no real interest in teaching, but would much rather assign a ton of homework and expect the child to learn it on their own. Real teaching involves more than just assigning homework, taking it up, and then grading a test. Actually take seom time to do a little teaching and make some explanations to the students on HOW to arraive at their answers. MOST of the teachers do this, but I have seen quite a few in the public schools who are doing nothing more than biding their time and holding out the 20 years till retirement.
This thread though is not about the quality of the teachers, it is about the fact that if the state would use the money they have more effectively and quit throwing it around willy-nilly they would be in much better shape financially.
This thread though is not about the quality of the teachers, it is about the fact that if the state would use the money they have more effectively and quit throwing it around willy-nilly they would be in much better shape financially.
quote:Originally posted by dolemitejb:quote:I trust that you have/would send your child to a private school and university.
That's a weak argument. The state steals money from peoples' paychecks to create "public goods." Opposing that does not mandate a boycott of the public goods, especially considering people now have less of their own money with which to make their own choices.
Your argument is circular. you must love god and country, as long as someone else is paying for it. I suppose you also pass the plate along as others tithe.
the same folks who do not want to support the mil tax are the same ones who are anti lottery due to moral reasons while they drive there gas sucking luxury suv's to be seen at church on sunday and defend bp for polluting the gulf as just the cost of doing business.
Why is it that "teaching" is the only profession that gets the "bad rap" of having people in that career to are "holding out" or "biding their time" till retirement? That is about as old of an argument as "schools need more money." Every profession has people like that.
And how about we stop fighting and pointing fingers at "teachers who don't do their jobs" and "parents who don't care" and just focus on what is best for kids. Teachers blame parents. Parents blame teachers. People who are neither parents nor teachers think they have the answer. It's a neverending story.
The truth is, everyone is a little bit right and a lot more wrong about it. When the two sides come together and get their egos out the way, maybe a solution will come. Until then, it's the same old, same old....
And how about we stop fighting and pointing fingers at "teachers who don't do their jobs" and "parents who don't care" and just focus on what is best for kids. Teachers blame parents. Parents blame teachers. People who are neither parents nor teachers think they have the answer. It's a neverending story.
The truth is, everyone is a little bit right and a lot more wrong about it. When the two sides come together and get their egos out the way, maybe a solution will come. Until then, it's the same old, same old....
quote:Your argument is circular. you must love god and country, as long as someone else is paying for it. I suppose you also pass the plate along as others tithe.
the same folks who do not want to support the mil tax are the same ones who are anti lottery due to moral reasons while they drive there gas sucking luxury suv's to be seen at church on sunday and defend bp for polluting the gulf as just the cost of doing business.
I have no idea what you're talking about, and no, there is nothing circular about my argument. Another poster called those who voted against a tax increase "idiots." I pointed out the problem with his statement, and you concluded I must never send my children to public schools.
I don't drive an SUV, haven't defended BP, support legal gambling, and (regretably) don't go to church on Sunday. So again, I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm against people stealing my paycheck because they think they can spend it better than I can. It's a simple idea.