The 99% Declaration » 12. Emergency Reform of Public Education

- Video Chat
- Like This Page
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Back to Top
- Settings

##

# 12. Emergency Reform of Public Education

Grievances Add comments
Dec 082011

Emergency Reform of Public Education. The public education system in the United States is a resounding failure. New educational goals to train the American people to perform jobs in a 21st century economy, particularly in the areas of technology, infrastructure repair, language/communication, water, land and resource conservation, technologies to provide food and housing to the world’s homeless, prevention and treatment of diseases like malaria, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS, lower respiratory infections/tuberculosis, and green energy must be mandated as a curriculum for national security. These targeted reforms must be accomplished by taking into consideration the redundancy caused by technology and the inexpensive cost of labor in China, India and other developing countries. No expense should be spared to recruit scientists and other professionals from all over the world to teach our students to be competitive in a rapidly changing global economy. Bonuses must be granted for merit performance and enticing the very best people to teach our children and replacing those teachers who are ineffective in the classroom. Our teachers work tirelessly and they are the key component to an American renaissance. Teachers must be paid a competitive salary commensurate with salaries in the private sector because without highly-skilled teachers, there will never again be a highly-skilled workforce in the United States.

“If a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be.”-Thomas Jefferson, January 6, 1816.

“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories. And to render them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree.” -Thomas Jefferson, 1782. (Notes on the State of Virginia)

VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
please wait...
Rating: 7.5/10 (13 votes cast)
VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
Rating: +11 (from 13 votes)
12. Emergency Reform of Public Education, 7.5 out of 10 based on 13 ratings

- Post to Facebook
- Post to Twitter
- Add to LinkedIn
- Post to Delicious
- Post to StumbleUpon
- Send via Gmail
- Send via E-mail program
- Print with PrintFriendly
- Add to Tumblr

Get Shareaholic for Firefox
0

### 21 Responses to “12. Emergency Reform of Public Education”

1. flaja says:
   2012/01/25 at 1:15 pm

   Part of America’s PRIDE Ten-Squared plan.

   Article 7
   Establish and maintain a national public education system as the bulwark of America’s republican form of government and international economic competitiveness
   A. National Education Standards and Testing, NEST
   1. Congress will charter The National Education Standards and Testing Corporation, a non-profit organization with the authority to:
   a. Establish a national curriculum and testing standards for grades Kindergarten through twelve;
   b. Establish national standards for teacher qualifications and education- and
   c. Produce and otherwise designate nationally standardized textbooks and curriculum materials for use in NEST schools.
   2. NEST Schools
   a. Establishment
   In accordance with the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution whereby the several states are required to give the citizens thereof equal protection of the laws the parents/legal guardians for students who attend public schools may, in a manner prescribed by Congress, assume management of any public school in which their children are enrolled whenever the graduation rate thereof is less than the graduation rate of the public schools within their respective state or otherwise whenever the students of the school fail to score seventy percent or higher on a nationally standardized exam for language arts and mathematics, which the Congress may designate.
   b. Each NEST school shall be obligated to:
   (1) Have within each calendar year not less than two hundred days of instruction;
   (2) Have eighty percent of its students score at least eighty percent on each of the exams established by the National Education Standards and Testing Corporation;
   (3) Make all of its facilities available to the general public during non-school hours providing that such access does not disrupt the operation of the school;
   (4) Prominently display the flag of the United States in all of its classrooms and places of instruction and in all offices and common areas;
   (5) Require all students, instructional staff, administrative staff and employees to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States on each day of every academic term prior to beginning classes;
   (6) Acknowledge the Star-Spangled Banner as the national anthem of the United States not less than once in each week of every academic term;
   (7) Observe a one-minute moment of silence on each day of every academic term prior to beginning classes;
   (8) Hire instructional and administrative staff that comply with the qualifications that are established by the National Education Standards and Testing Corporation;
   (9) Use such textbooks and curriculum materials that are produced or designated by the National Education Standards and Testing Corporation;
   (10) Issue a report to the parents or legal guardians of each student enrolled at the end of each academic term, and such report shall note the student’s grade for all subjects according to the percentage of the learning objectives and requirements, which the student has attained- and
   (11) Provide abstinence only sex education to all students prior to completion of the seventh grade or before they have attained the age of fourteen years.
   c. No NEST school may
   (1) Provide or otherwise distribute any birth control devise or substance to any student or any other person;
   (2) Subject any student to advertising for any product or service that is offered for sale at a profit to any NEST student or to the general public;
   (3) Prohibit any enrolled student from practicing religion or displaying any religious symbol providing that such practice and display does not disrupt the operation of the school as determined by the concurrence of two-thirds of the school’s board of directors- or
   (4) Sell or otherwise distribute any food product that does not comply with the nutritional requirements established by the United States Department of Agriculture.
   d. Federal Obligation
   Congress shall for each calendar year appropriate to each NEST school $1000 for each student enrolled therein to enable the school to hire instructional staff and procure textbooks and other curriculum materials from the National Education Standards and Testing Corporation.
   e. The Parents and legal guardians of student who are enrolled in a NEST school shall constitute the board of directors for that school and shall have the power to:
   (1) Conduct lotteries under the regulation of Congress in order to raise revenue to provide for the maintenance of their school facility; to procure textbooks and other curriculum materials that are produced or designated by the National Education Standards and Testing Corporation; to compensate instructors and administrative staff that comply with the requirements established by the National Education Standards and Testing Corporation and otherwise provide for the operation of the school;
   (2) Direct the school to establish religious displays with the concurrence of two-thirds of its members;
   (3) Implement disciplinary standards and procedures for students, instructors and administrative staff with the concurrence of two-thirds of its members- and
   (4) Appropriate revenue provided by the federal government as in the case of revenue obtained from lotteries.
   f. Accreditation
   The Congress shall accredit all NEST schools and thereby require all public colleges and universities and all other colleges and universities that enroll students who receive taxpayer funded financial aid to enroll students that graduate from a NEST school with full faith and credit for the student’s respective diplomas and degrees that have been granted by a NEST school.
   g. Parental Rights
   The parents and guardians of any student enrolled in a NEST school shall have the power to request an alternative activity or assignment for their child should they choose to exempt their child from any requirement of the NEST curriculum or from any NEST school activity for religious reasons.
   B. End all current taxpayer funded college aid and subsidy programs over the next eight years.
   C. Integrate public library systems with the libraries of NEST schools to improve service and reduce costs.
   D. Abolish teacher’s unions for any and all schools, colleges and universities that are funded by tax money or enroll students that receive taxpayer funded financial aid.
   E. Establish a national public college program within the university systems of the several states for NEST school graduates with standardized degree requirements, curriculum, textbooks, instructor qualifications and student testing.
   F. Establish a vocational training program for all students who are not enrolled in a NEST school after the ninth grade or otherwise after the age of fourteen years.
   G. Immediately abolish tenure for all instructors in schools, colleges and universities that are funded with tax money or which enroll students who receive taxpayer funded financial aid.
   H. Eliminate all taxpayer funded subsidies and aid to any adult who does not have a high school diploma or its equivalent within two years of initially receiving benefits after the age of eighteen years.
   I. Eliminate all federal funding for any public school that does not administer the exams that are established by the National Education Standards and Testing Administration.
   J. Reduce federal funding for public schools by $10 per student per academic day whenever an enrolled student’s parent or legal guardian is not a member of the school’s Parent-Teacher Association.

   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
   Log in to Reply
2. pfolman says:
   2012/01/21 at 4:27 pm

   Further train current teachers . Also, the constant attacks on teachers by right wingers and the media’s compliance in such attacks need to stop !

   This country’s actions are her own worst enemy.

   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)
   Log in to Reply
3. pfolman says:
   2012/01/21 at 4:25 pm

   In addition, teacher education should be based on a Master’s Degree not a Bachelor Degree.
   A Master’s Degree is a minimum standard in most other countries, and where it is a Bachelor’s it’s one of a higher standard than in the US.

   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: -2 (from 2 votes)
   Log in to Reply
4. pclark44224 says:
   2012/01/06 at 11:08 pm

   I think the most beneficial action that can happen right now is to get the federal government out of the education process.

   There is no one size fits all solution to this problem. Some regions may want year-round schools. Others may want a separation of vocational and college prep paths at the high school level (see below). Others may want to end compulsory education at 16. Still others may want to go completely private with their education. Some may want to eliminates sports, some may want to focus on particular fields or curricula. And each region should be allowed to find a system that works for its needs.

   We need to get out of the idea that we need one system that will work well for everyone, because that’s never going to happen, and instead not just allow, but encourage new approaches and designs for education systems.

   Education is probably one of the biggest draws to a region and so is ripe for competitive advancement. If a system works well it will be copied and improved. If it doesn’t it will be adapted as required. The individual students would benefit directly from this and as a result so would society as a whole.

   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
   Log in to Reply
   - kforthun says:
     2012/01/08 at 3:46 am

     I disagree, but I hear what you are trying to say.

     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     please wait...
     Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)
     Log in to Reply
   - amber says:
     2012/01/08 at 9:10 pm

     The Federal Government is basically absent when it comes to Public Education now. It’s time for a different approach. This country is so large there is no cohesiveness between the districts and requirments. The Federal Government needs to fund a structural upgrade to fix this problem. Our schools have not caught up with the 21st Century. My children will be competing with a GLOBAL job market. The government needs to be held accountable by funding schools to specifically make the structural changes to prepare them for this.

     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     please wait...
     Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)
     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     Rating: 0 (from 2 votes)
     Log in to Reply
5. amber says:
   2012/01/04 at 5:13 pm

   There should be mandatory transformation to year round school status for schools that are not performing well. Education, race, and class in the parental population of a school is a indicator on whether a school will be a high performing school. During the long summer affluent parents can afford to pay for their child to continue learning in science camp, college prep courses ect. while working class and low income parents must settle for Playstation or an overcrowded parks and recreation day camp to keep their children occupied during the long summer break. Studies have proven that the year round school closes that gap. I have a personal example. I was fortunate to be able to send my children to a year round school while living in a working class neighborhood. The school has a large minority and ESL population and their high state test scores are the same as the affluent predominately white long summer break school they go to now.

   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
   Log in to Reply
   - zarepheth says:
     2012/01/04 at 8:21 pm

     The reason for summer break is that many years ago most of our country was involved in agriculture and needed students and maybe teachers to assist in the fields. Though the portion of our nation’s population directly involved in agriculture as shrunk, there is still 2%-3% of the population who need their children, especially high school age children, to help on the farm during the summer.

     Though we should allow agricultural districts to have a summer break from school, year-round schooling would probably benefit most children and their families.

     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     please wait...
     Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
     Log in to Reply
     - amber says:
       2012/01/08 at 9:16 pm

       If schools in those regions need the long summer break for agricultural reasons and are also underperforming there could always be a waiver for hardship cases. I am a believer in flexability, but , I also think if something is proven to work we should be taking that avenue. I think parents and teachers are eady to see this gap close. I’ve seen already first hand that it works. I am only suggesting the change over be required of schools that are not performing to national standards.

       VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
       please wait...
       Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
       VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
       Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
       Log in to Reply
6. amber says:
   2012/01/04 at 4:56 pm

   I found this website that has some indept discussions on the Federal issues related to public school education. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/12/rethinking_education_governance.html

   I for starters there needs to be nationwide push to update the public school infastructures across the continent. My children have attended public schools in both affluent and working class areas. If you walk into either office to register a student everything is still handle by paper. I still get robo calls as opposed to emails for school and district updates. My sons new school wouldn’t have recieved his state test scores had I not had a copy of them. There should be a national cohesiveness between every school district. How can we expect our children to be competative in the 21st if schools have not joined the 21st century.

   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)
   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: 0 (from 2 votes)
   Log in to Reply
   - kforthun says:
     2012/01/08 at 3:41 am

     I like the your comment and ideas. I have seen, read, researched and studied the HUGE gap in technology (and other things) as it pertains to ‘teachers expectation’ and ‘children’s resources’. Poverty, is usually this issue here. If parents live in poverty they may not get email and some may not get a robo call. It would make sense for schools who use things such as ‘robo calls’ to provide information and resources for telephone assistance programs. There is a new program cable companies are providing for kid’s that qualify for free lunch, that gives $10 a month internet access and $150 computer. I wonder if a reform to public education were to happen could it be more accessible to parents (as parent availability seems to be a big gripe).

     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     please wait...
     Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
     Log in to Reply
7. kforthun says:
   2011/12/20 at 11:54 pm

   I would like to see some social skills training, I took a ‘listening’ class in college, depressing I had to get that training when I was already 20. Creativity is what helps humanity progress, and I don’t see anything pertaining to this in the grievance.

   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
   VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
   Log in to Reply
8. Paula Klonfas says:
   2011/12/18 at 8:37 pm

   In other countries, people tend to see education as something valuable and necessary for a rich and full life. Parents elsewhere want their children to have real knowledge and understanding of the world, not to just know the minimum needed to be employable. Why have American aspirations sunk so low?

   In other countries, people aren’t afraid to admit that, whether intellectually or temperamentally, not everybody’s cut out for college—and that being a tradesman is as respectable and valuable to society as being an accountant or a scientist. In Germany, at the end of middle school, students choose between two paths, one academic and the other vocational. Academically oriented children go on to high school and college, and the others to trade school where, by the age of 18 or 19, they’ve not only learned enough math and science to be employable, they’re actually prepared to start earning a living in a well-paid trade.

   In other countries, children have long had to study at least two foreign languages. Those societies recognize that it’s a shrinking world and they’ll have to work with people from other cultures. Another important reason to study foreign languages is that learning a second language increases the brain’s neural network and so increases one’s intellectual flexibility, creativity, and thinking ability in general. This has been shown in study after study, and it’s being ignored to our detriment. People everywhere recognize the ability to speak several languages as a sign of advanced intellect. Only in America, however, is it also ridiculed as an unacceptable “elitism”.

   In other countries, schools are for academics, not for sports or clubs. Everybody has gym classes in school but, if students want to participate in baseball, gymnastics, or other interests, that’s for them to pursue outside of school. The result is that nobody’s confused about what school is for or what the child’s first priority should be.

   Chinese and Japanese children are often noted for their intellectual superiority. It’s not really that they’re smarter than our children, it’s that their culture demands that they take school seriously, Their children know there’d be hell to pay if they didn’t pay attention in class, absolutely behave, do their homework, and strive to do their very best. Our children would excel, too, if their parents communicated the same expectations.

   As far as some of the issues raised above, I think tenure protection should be maintained because, in order to help children learn to think deeply about things, teachers sometimes need to provoke them by presenting material or opinions they (the teachers) may or may not actually believe in themselves. Depending on the political winds of the day, that may leave them open to attack by the administration or by parents. The tenure system was created because that kind of provocation is part of effective teaching, and teachers deserve to be protected from political retaliation.

   Bad teachers, however, do not deserve protection, and can be gotten rid of in fairly short order with good observation and documentation by school administration. If a school keeps a bad teacher year after year, don’t blame the union; blame the principal. Good teachers don’t want bad teachers around, and resent it when principals won’t do their job and get rid of them.

   Merit pay for teachers is unfair because it holds teachers responsible for things out of their control, like each student’s home life, emotional state, hunger level, hours of sleep, homework routine, self-discipline, parental discipline, and previous social promotion, to name just a few. Every teacher gets the occasional student or two who’s just too lazy, too unorganized, too undisciplined, and/or too mentally or emotionally challenged to study and learn what they need to. Even excellent teachers can’t perform miracles. So-called “merit” pay serves only to impose a game of Hot Potato into what should be collegial cooperation among teachers to provide what each child needs to learn.

   IF PROVIDING A GOOD EDUCATION ever becomes really important to our society, we’ll start by admitting to ourselves that we can’t get it done on the cheap. We’ll go back to relatively small, neighborhood schools, so there’s a sense of community where everybody is known by—and accountable to—everybody else. We’ll hire only qualified, professional teachers, we’ll pay them well, and we’ll show them the respect they deserve for using their skills and intellect to benefit the next one or two generations instead of just themselves. We’ll keep classes small so that children can get the individualized attention they need. We’ll schedule classes for maximizing learning, as opposed to minimizing expense, and we’ll make sure that textbooks are current and supplies readily available.

   We’ll also hire enough support personnel to provide social-work and psychological services as needed to the children, including what’s necessary to ensure a reasonably supportive home life. Of course, when our society starts requiring every employer to pay a living wage that allows every family to live in a decent home and enjoy freedom from hunger and desperation, schools won’t be expected to make up for so many societal ills, and such ancillary services will gradually become unnecessary.

   VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
   VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
   Log in to Reply
   - amber says:
     2012/01/04 at 5:23 pm

     I agree they should bring back the “technical high school” to prepare students for the working world. I do not think, however, we can determine whether a 7th or 8th grader is college bound. College prep courses should be at all high schools to be flexible in their change of path. I think about my own rocky childhood thru junior high bouncing around foster homes and with extended family. My teachers would sometimes suggest that I be in a gifted class and sometime suggest I needed to be in remedial class. I shiver to think what path I would choose when I was wondering where I was going to live next. My life stabilized in high school and my 10th grade counselor had to jump through hoops to convince me that I could be college bound. I took her advice and I must say my college experience is what changed my life path for the better.

     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     please wait...
     Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
     Log in to Reply
   - pclark44224 says:
     2012/01/06 at 10:49 pm

     I also support the notion of technical/vocational high schools. Not every job needs a college degree, but all jobs need experience. If those students that were more inclined to a trade than an academic field were allowed to complete a program that involved less in terms of college preparatory education (which they aren’t inclined to use) but rather an apprentice program in the trade they’re pursuing the student would be much better prepared for the job market when they reach adulthood.

     An added benefit would be that colleges and college prep schools would become less crowded and would remove the distractions from those that don’t want to be there in the first place. I can think of very few things more detrimental to a school environment than a population that doesn’t want to learn.

     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     please wait...
     Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
     VN:F [1.9.13_1145]
     Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
     Log in to Reply
9. progressivist says:
   2011/12/18 at 4:29 pm

   The whole problem with universities today is that they have become little more than high-priced trade schools. What we need is a mix of apprenticeships, trade schools, and universities, such as exists in other first-world countries. We need integrated education because we do not use skills in isolation; math blends into music, physics blends into economics, and so on. We need a fundamental change in thinking and teaching methods, and we need to get beyond the education=jobs paradigm. Instead, companies need a mix of skilled hands and big thinkers to be competitive in the decades to come, and that requires people educated in those so-called “worthless” degrees.

   VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
   please wait...
   Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)
   VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
   Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
   Log in to Reply
10. Jean Netherton says:
    2011/12/18 at 1:45 pm

    Tenured teachers can be fired, but it is difficult. That is what makes tenure so attractive. But to change the system to an arbitrary merit system may not be the answer either.

    Mandating new goals should come from a group as suggested by Bill O’Donnell (…incredibly qualified subcommittee consisting of educators, developmental psychologists, social workers, sociologists, and any other people of relevant expertise…) instead of bureaucrats.

    Pay commensurate with experience.

    Support from a national level for local initiatives instead of requiring local support for national initiatives.

    End ‘The Test’ and save millions.

    Bring back the humanities in K-12 education.

    Education reform needs to be done. A lot of it.

    VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
    please wait...
    Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
    VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
    Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
    Log in to Reply
11. Johnny Pianka says:
    2011/12/17 at 3:19 pm

    I think that every student in america should be treated individually with an emphasis on teaching them what they need to know to be what they want to be when they enter the working world. i propose that all schools from middle up should be college campus style schools with students coming to classes they need in the respective field they are interested in. I believe that the curriculum can be customized in such a way that they could learn the math and science and humanities of their chosen interest in a way that will teach them the requirements of passing the basic knowledge required for passing state and federal basic exams as well as giving them the in depth knowledge of the things required for them to succeed in their chosen field. I think every child should have an education counselor that can find out what they are interested in and steer them to the classes they need to achieve that goal who can also intereract with the parents and inform them of their kids progress. The teachers would have to develop curriculums based on what the students sign up for and teach those students accordingly in a college like setting. the kids would only go to those classes that applied to them. i think all education should be publicly funded using education vouchers that would be paid out upon completion of said classes. the herd em in and teach them all the same doesnt work and kids wont go to school if they are not interested in it this would ensure that all kids could be educated at home and campuses and money would not be wasted on absenteeism

    VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
    please wait...
    Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
    VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
    Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
    Log in to Reply
    - Nathan D says:
      2011/12/20 at 2:55 pm

      I agree that most students will learn what they are interested in more easily than that in which they are not interested. But there is more to it than just a student’s interest.

      Whether a student is interested or not, some things they need to learn – the basics of reading, writing, math, and how our society works. Often times, even in the fields of a student’s interest, specific courses are not interesting and the students need to learn and understand the materials before they can learn and understand what that in which they are truly interested.

      Also, students have differing abilities. Some students learn very quickly, others not so fast. In addition to areas of interest, some students may have natural talent in one are but not another and a different student’s talents will be the opposite of the first student. Students sometimes have talents in areas where they have no interest and interest in areas where they have no talent. School counselors, along with parents, need to help the students recognize their native strengths and weaknesses and adjust their education to provide a minimum of capability in their weaknesses while helping them find a way to merge their strengths and interests.

      In addition to differences in interests and talents, students also differ in their learning styles. Some students do well learning from books, others from lectures, others from hands-on experience. Adjusting class formats may help otherwise struggling students, but at the expense of students who learned better in the previous format.

      As Paula Klonfas says above, we also need to recognize that some people are just not very good at academics and we should find a way to enable them to be useful, productive citizens, without demanding they receive advanced education.

      One more thing: all the differences I listed for students also apply to instructors. It is important to match students with instructors and topics so that the teachers can effectively teach, the students effectively learn, and everyone come out ahead. Because smaller schools may not have teachers and topics that match all their students (or students that match all their teachers) our public education system may have to provide transportation and lodging for students with unique needs.

      VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
      please wait...
      Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
      VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
      Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
      Log in to Reply
12. Amber says:
    2011/12/17 at 5:29 am

    Teachers are being paid private sector salaries … that is the problem. Private sector employees are underpaid compared to public sector employees. I agree with this “quote” That I originally came across while working as an AmeriCorps member in inner city schools. I absolutley agree with it. Pay them babysitter pay:

    “Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year. It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do – babysit. We can get that for less than minimum wage.

    That’s right. Let’s give them $3 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan– that equals 6 1/2 hours).

    Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day…maybe 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.

    However, remember they only work 180 days a year. I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

    LET’S SEE…That’s $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on. My calculator needs new batteries.)

    What about those special education teachers and the ones with master’s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.

    Wait a minute — there’s something wrong here. ” Author Uknown
    Nothing is wrong. I totally agree. Babysitter pay for teachers.

    VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
    please wait...
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)
    VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
    Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
    Log in to Reply
13. Bill O'Donnell says:
    2011/12/11 at 12:41 pm

    There also needs to be a comprehensive plan for how we can work to reform the manner in which children are educated. The current model of our primary and secondary school systems was built to prepare a workforce for an industrializing world, and it had changed very little since. The manner in which we educate people today is not entirely conducive to the way we learn and has produced generations of people who think in an industrial, utilitarian, hierarchical fashion.

    It fosters a structured sort of thinking (A student, B student, C student) that has the potential to caste individuals rather than embracing them as contributors to the success of the whole. Certain classes are required throughout a student’s career while others only deemed elective (English, Math, and Science, vs. Foreign languages, the arts, and vocational or trades classes) and many school systems teach in leveled classes that can be very difficult to transcend (A student may not be able to take a level 1 sophomore math class because he was told to take a level 2 class freshmen year and doesn’t have the requisite knowledge to keep up). This doesn’t even begin to tackle the issue of differing educations based on regions (A high school student in one town may graduate with AP credit while another two towns over still has trouble reading), and the fact that most US schools lack any sort of cultural education curriculum.

    I’m not an expert on education, but these were some of the problems I’d noticed when I was in high school four years ago and keep noticing since. I also don’t think we should throw the system out completely as it does do some things well, along with the fact that I would have no idea how to begin the process of reforming it.

    If this issue is discussed during the national general assembly, I would recommend that an incredibly qualified subcommittee consisting of educators, developmental psychologists, social workers, sociologists, and any other people of relevant expertise be assembled before any further measures are taken.

    VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
    please wait...
    Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)
    VA:F [1.9.13_1145]
    Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
    Log in to Reply

### Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Would you prefer Michael Pollok, founder of the 99D, stay or resign?
Stay
Resign
Vote View Results
Share This Polldaddy.com
Should an anonymous donor be allowed to demand the resignation of a 99D board member as a condition of providing the match donation?
Yes
No
Vote View Results
Share This Polldaddy.com

Check out what's being said on all the Grievances and help draft the Petition!

1. Elimination of the Corporate State
View & Comment

2. Abrogation of “Citizens United” Case
View & Comment

3. Elimination of All Private Benefits and Perks” to Public Servants
View & Comment

4. Term Limits
View & Comment

5. A Fair Tax Code
View & Comment

6. Healthcare for All
View & Comment

7. Protection of the Planet
View & Comment

8. Federal Debt Reduction
View & Comment

9. Jobs for All Americans
View & Comment

10. Student Loan Debt Relief & Refinancing
View & Comment

11. Ending of Perpetual War for Profit
View & Comment

12. Emergency Reform of Public Education
View & Comment

13. End Outsourcing and Currency Manipulation
View & Comment

14. Banking and Securities Reform
View & Comment

15. Foreclosure Moratorium
View & Comment

16. Ending the Federal Reserve Bank
View & Comment

17. Abolish the Electoral College and Enact Uniform Election Rules
View & Comment

18. Ending the War in Afghanistan and
Care of Veterans
View & Comment

19. No Censorship of the Internet
View & Comment

20. Reinstitution of Civil Rights
View & Comment

21. Ending the “War on Drugs” and
Curtailing the Prison Industrial Complex
View & Comment

Suggest a Grievance
Please check if your idea fits in one of the already suggested grievances above first. If not, please add your comments here.
Other Suggestions/Revisions
Please check if your suggestion/revision fits in any of the grievances above. If not, you may post comments here.

### Vote for Delegates

- Register to Vote for Delegates

### Become A Delegate

- Become a Delegate

### Get Involved

- Volunteer

The 99% Declaration Website by The 99% Working Group, LTD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. |  | Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha