Black Education / Schools : New Movie will Put Spotlight on our Failing Public Education System

[Clyde C Coger Jr]

In bold lets me know that either you have not watched "Waiting For Superman" or you did not watch it with an open mind, AND you do not realize the severity of the problem.

In short:

One of the biggest issues is that that they have made it virtually impossible to fire bad or inadequate teachers, and for some reason these teachers end up in the Inner Cities ruining our children's future. Why? It is simply not in the Union's interest to fire teachers because it would reduce their(Union's) income, by way of Union Dues. The documentary and the movie highlight the heartbreak and despair that our kids face because of this, and how poor parents stand by powerless and in many cases unaware of the problem.

Anyone with an open mind and a real concern for African American kids should really just take the time to watch the documentary "Waiting For Superman."

If it makes you feel any better, the documentary was made by a liberal director, who one day questioned himself why he drives by several public schools to take his kids to a private school. He started digging into what is going in public schools, in particular in the Inner Cities.

P.S. I have nothing against Unions per se, but if their rules adversely affect us, we must do something about it.

In the Spirit of Sankofa,




... All I'm saying Aluku, is that the we must do something about it, falls squarely on the shoulders of Teachers to run for positions in their respective unions to eradicate those that stand solely for the idea of what's not best for the students.

Otherwise, you frame the issue as though the unions are separate and apart from the body of Teachers that pay union dues. Elections must be challenged by those Teachers that stand for what's best for the students, especially in the inner cities.

Here's the consequence:

Far too many administrators have their own personal agendas and unions care very little about the students. However, getting rid of
unions would probably make things even worse than they are now.

The solution again rests with the Teachers to take charge of their unions by participating in the election of offices and officers; it can be done (been there done that).



Peace In,

 

[Aluku]

In the Spirit of Sankofa,




... All I'm saying Aluku, is that the we must do something about it, falls squarely on the shoulders of Teachers to run for positions in their respective unions to eradicate those that stand solely for the idea of what's not best for the students.

Otherwise, you frame the issue as though the unions are separate and apart from the body of Teachers that pay union dues. Elections must be challenged by those Teachers that stand for what's best for the students, especially in the inner cities.

Here's the consequence:



The solution again rests with the Teachers to take charge of their unions by participating in the election of offices and officers; it can be done (been there done that).



Peace In,

Riiiiight. So teachers are going to BITE the hand that feeds them...

No the responsibility rests on US! These are our future generations, who as thing stand now are doomed to failure, with HS Diploma in hand which they got through clever lowering of standards by public schools, who are ill prepared for any meaningful career or future and cycle spirals downward.

The teachers who really want to make a difference leave the teacher's union and go to work in Charter schools & private schools, because they can't do anything in TU controlled environment. Oh and btw the Teacher's Unions do everything in their power to fight against charter schools.

 

[Clyde C Coger Jr]

Riiiiight. So teachers are going to BITE the hand that feeds them...

No the responsibility rests on US! These are our future generations, who as thing stand now are doomed to failure, with HS Diploma in hand which they got through clever lowering of standards by public schools, who are ill prepared for any meaningful career or future and cycle spirals downward.

The teachers who really want to make a difference leave the teacher's union and go to work in Charter schools & private schools, because they can't do anything in TU controlled environment. Oh and btw the Teacher's Unions do everything in their power to fight against charter schools.

In the Spirit of Sankofa,




... You seemed to have found a worthwhile cause, even to die for, Aluku, a good thing; in the meantime, the rest of us can only vote for Mr. Obama over Romney. In my understanding, the Republicans are for cutting education, while the Obama Administration, along with fellow Democrats, is for reforming education.

Good luck on generating grassroots to fight for Teacher causes, from the outside, against Unions...



Peace In,

 

[Queenie]

Bro. Aluku,

I've watched the soundbite, probably won't pay to go see the movie because I don't need a movie to define my reality, especially not to see a white woman portrayed as THE parent that leads other parents to take action on behalf of their children.

Also, I'm not going to debate about the Teacher's Unions and the role they play in the current condition of our public education system. I'll leave that to others who know more about those issues than I do.

But, I'm curious as to what you think is a tangible solution to the problem as you see it. What, exactly, can Black people do to bring down a Union with a long history that is obviously entrenched in the system, despite the fact that you perceive them as a huge problem relative to the AA community.

And finally, I would like to comment on this statement you have made:

The documentary and the movie highlight the heartbreak and despair that our kids face because of this, and how poor parents stand by powerless and in many cases unaware of the problem.

What exactly, does poverty have to do with intelligence and one's ability to figure out when a problem exists as a threat to your children? Why would being "poor" stop you or render you powerless to do something...anything....on your children's behalf? Why are you NOT assigning some responsibility to the PARENTS in this situation? Are they SHEEP or parents? Can they talk? Can they think? Yeah, they may be POOR but so what? That's not the issue in this thread. Let's NOT enable passive parenting among our people!

 

[Aluku]

In the Spirit of Sankofa,




... You seemed to have found a worthwhile cause, even to die for, Aluku, a good thing; in the meantime, the rest of us can only vote for Mr. Obama over Romney. In my understanding, the Republicans are for cutting education, while the Obama Administration, along with fellow Democrats, is for reforming education.

Good luck on generating grassroots to fight for Teacher causes, from the outside, against Unions...



Peace In,

Your vote doesn't preclude you from fighting for a very worthy cause.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Teachers unions have been the Democratic Party's foot soldiers for more than half a century, providing not only generous financial backing but an army of volunteers in return for support of their entrenched power in the nation's public schools.

But this relationship is fraying, and the deterioration was evident Monday as Democrats gathered here for their national convention.
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/03/nation/la-na-education-dems-20120904