Education thread

[JTA]

I don't know if this belongs in "Education" or wingnuttery, or just Texas stupidity, but here goes ...San Antonio - effin' San Antonio!" school district bans sunscreen for kids and considers it a "medicine" that the kids "might eat."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/06/08/te ... picks=true

I was in elementary school right about the time overbearing idiot parents and school administrators met the critical mass required to implement stupidity.

Like school students everywhere for all eternity all the way back to the time of cave-men, we had to carry books around with us to class. Our particular podunk school didn't have lockers, so we had to carry maybe three books tops. Well some little sissy kid cried to mom and pops that his back hurt from carrying around books in his backpack. So did a few other kids. I clearly remember mine never hurting. Well, this caused an uproar amongst the well-to-do overbearing parents.

"This is bullshit! My little precious snowflake comes home with his back hurting because he is forced to carry books around in his backpack at your concentration camp! This needs to stop!"

School decided something had to get done because they didn't want Jane-Soccer-Mom to sue them for causing their kid to become a wheel chair bound invalid. And what did they do? Well seeing as how backpacks are heavy and hurting kids backs, starting next week, kids are no longer prohibited to carry books in their backpacks. They either have to buy those backpacks with wheels on them, or carry them by in their hands.

I was in seventh grade when this happened. For the next few semesters I had to now lug 3+ text books around by hand instead of in my backpack. This wasa huge pain in the ass and just made things worse. I shit you not. This is a 100% true story.

How's that logic for you?

[O Really]

That's the logic that comes from those who gave us "no tolerance" policies that don't know the difference in a picture of a gun and a real gun.

[Mr.B]

"How's that logic for you?"

Beginnings of "affluenza" disease....?

[Wneglia]

More Spelling Fails

[neoplacebo]

A recent email from the boss:

"EpiPens: Avg cost of the penis $350 each, or $550 a kit for 2..."

No word on the cost of rental or what one does with two of them.

I'd say a $150 discount on a set is probably a good deal. Epipenis is rather hard to come by, and just wait until this fall when the MegaEpipenis makes its debut; it'll blow away the regular Epipenis.

[neoplacebo]

I forgot to mention that when I went to school, nobody had backpacks. Everybody carried their own books, except the really good looking girls. I can remember getting aches from carrying books and other stuff.

[Mr.B]

[Wneglia]

North Carolina teachers leaving for the Lone Star State

The GOP strategy is clear, they want our kids to grow up dumb and Republican.

They should come to South Carolina. Much higher pay and a lot closer than Texas (although Columbia and Houston are pretty much equal on the heat-misery scale)

[Wneglia]

Hypocrisy 101

No wonder NC doesn't have enough money for regular teachers.

[JTA]

From Public Schools First NC:

An article in the National Journal, "School is Over for the Summer. So is the Era of Majority White U.S. Public Schools" notes that public school demographics will soon reflect a broader demographic trend.

In the coming school year, students formerly considered to be racial or ethnic minorities--Black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian--will now form a majority in our nation's public schools...

Neither House Bill1061, "Replace Common Core to Meet NC's Needs," or its Senate counterpart, "Senate Bill 812, "Maintain State Authority Over Academic Standards," passed this week. Although a conference report was adopted for SB 812, Common Core State Standards will not be impacted for the 2014-15 school year.

Changes to child care subsidy eligibility may shut out some low-income families

My friend is a teacher. He busted a couple of fifth and sixth graders drunk on tequila in school. SIXTH GRADERS! That's ~11 years old! I'm not really going anywhere with this, but just thought it was F'ed up.

[Boatrocker]

Every time the SC school system makes me wanna bang my head on the wall, I pause and remind myself that, at least, it ain't NC.
On a related note, my wife works for Sealed Air in Greenville, which has announced that the whole nine yards, save for some mfg facilities, is relocating to Charlotte by 2016. One of the selling points presented to employees by corporate was the superior school system in NC, and Charlotte in particular. My oldest daughter, who taught elementary school for 12 years, thought that was funny as shit. She knows people from HS and college who have taken jobs other than teaching to get the hell out of NC.

[O Really]

At least part of the problem with legislatures - including but not limited to NC - is that they only try to compare to those closest by, particularly if those close by are worse in whatever is being discussed. "NC has higher gas taxes than SC, TN, or VA" "Student performance is better than SC, GA, whatever." "NC has the (whatever) in the Southeast." Why isn't the comparison against the best there is? If the best student performance in the nation is, for example, MN, why aren't they doing what MN does? Maybe at one time many decades ago, people were less mobile, but now it's a national, as well as global demographic.

[JTA]

Every time the SC school system makes me wanna bang my head on the wall, I pause and remind myself that, at least, it ain't NC.
On a related note, my wife works for Sealed Air in Greenville, which has announced that the whole nine yards, save for some mfg facilities, is relocating to Charlotte by 2016. One of the selling points presented to employees by corporate was the superior school system in NC, and Charlotte in particular. My oldest daughter, who taught elementary school for 12 years, thought that was funny as shit. She knows people from HS and college who have taken jobs other than teaching to get the hell out of NC.

That sucks. So that means you and your wife would have to pack up and move to Charlotte if she wanted to keep her job? This is something that's always been in the back of my mind with my company. I don't think I'd be willing to just pack up and leave. Especially once you've laid down roots, have family and friends living in the area.

[Boatrocker]

Every time the SC school system makes me wanna bang my head on the wall, I pause and remind myself that, at least, it ain't NC.
On a related note, my wife works for Sealed Air in Greenville, which has announced that the whole nine yards, save for some mfg facilities, is relocating to Charlotte by 2016. One of the selling points presented to employees by corporate was the superior school system in NC, and Charlotte in particular. My oldest daughter, who taught elementary school for 12 years, thought that was funny as shit. She knows people from HS and college who have taken jobs other than teaching to get the hell out of NC.

That sucks. So that means you and your wife would have to pack up and move to Charlotte if she wanted to keep her job? This is something that's always been in the back of my mind with my company. I don't think I'd be willing to just pack up and leave. Especially once you've laid down roots, have family and friends living in the area.

True, but we ain't going. I expect she'll have to move on quicker than she's thinking she will, but it's her business. Our kids and their spouses and all our grandkids are here in Greenville County, so we ain't moving. Anyhow, in spite of local news reports about moving "employees," it's jobs they are moving, not people. Only a few will be invited to move with their jobs. Most(?) positions will be filled with folks that require training, even if the present job holder wants to move at their own expense. SA is offering very little real information to employees, yet.

[JTA]

Every time the SC school system makes me wanna bang my head on the wall, I pause and remind myself that, at least, it ain't NC.
On a related note, my wife works for Sealed Air in Greenville, which has announced that the whole nine yards, save for some mfg facilities, is relocating to Charlotte by 2016. One of the selling points presented to employees by corporate was the superior school system in NC, and Charlotte in particular. My oldest daughter, who taught elementary school for 12 years, thought that was funny as shit. She knows people from HS and college who have taken jobs other than teaching to get the hell out of NC.

That sucks. So that means you and your wife would have to pack up and move to Charlotte if she wanted to keep her job? This is something that's always been in the back of my mind with my company. I don't think I'd be willing to just pack up and leave. Especially once you've laid down roots, have family and friends living in the area.

True, but we ain't going. I expect she'll have to move on quicker than she's thinking she will, but it's her business. Our kids and their spouses and all our grandkids are here in Greenville County, so we ain't moving. Anyhow, in spite of local news reports about moving "employees," it's jobs they are moving, not people. Only a few will be invited to move with their jobs. Most(?) positions will be filled with folks that require training, even if the present job holder wants to move at their own expense. SA is offering very little real information to employees, yet.

Best of luck to your wife.

I guess that's why they call it human "resources", after all.

[Boatrocker]

Thanks. We'll be fine. Just tryin to hang on another 9+ years till I can retire.

[Mr.B]

It's obvious how Vrede uses free time....posting here and searching the web for petitions to pass around..
(petitions are as worthless as a fart in a whirlwind)

[O Really]

The yay-hoos are always saying more money doesn't mean better schools. Maybe not, but the highest spending states seem to have the best schools... http://www.businessinsider.com/states-w ... ems-2014-8

I think one might say that high spending doesn't necessarily buy better education, but low spending without doubt buys poor education.

[O Really]

Each year when the US New and World Report comes out with its "Best High Schools" list, it is very obvious that people in the US know how to produce good students from excellent schools. Problem is, though, you have to get down to at least #61 on the list before you find anything resembling a "real" public high school - as distinguished from the various magnets, etc. Then you go another 20 or so down the list to find Rye High School in NY. But one thing stands out in both Walt Whitman and Rye - they have hardly any economically disadvantaged students. So (duh) the challenge of the public schools isn't to do a good job teaching the AP kids, it's teaching the ones with a hard-knock life. So clearly the Republicans are on the right track to reduce funding for aides, supplies, lunches and outreach -not to mention downgrading teachers in general. All things that make it more difficult to teach the ones most in need of learning skills and more likely the economic disadvantage will continue generationally. But then that's the idea, isn't it? To make the "failing schools" into a self-fulfilling fact?

[neoplacebo]

I think that's what Moffitt means in his "times sure are different now" ad. He, and his daddy, long for the good old days.