Elk County Forum

Jodi Arias, Cable TV, and a Nation Fascinated by Shiny Objects
Posted: May 8, 2013 in Culture, Featured, Media
Bernard Goldberg.com


Jodi AriasThere are times, not many thankfully, when I get depressed, brought down by the sorry evidence that we live in a country fixated on shiny objects.  This is one of those times.

A jury in Phoenix has found Jodi Arias guilty of first-degree murder.  That's not what gets me down.  What I find so depressing is our collective fascination with trivia, with anything that we can follow without having to actually think.

No one ever heard of Jodi Arias until cable TV made her famous.  No one ever heard of the boyfriend she killed, you know, what's his name. The Arias murder trial tells us nothing about anything bigger than Jodi Arias.  She wasn't famous like O.J. Simpson before she was arrested.  This wasn't Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.  Those trials had implications.  The Arias trial had none.

When it became known that the jury had reached a verdict, cable news went wall-to-wall with Jodi Arias.  It would be 90 minutes before the verdict was announced in court, so anchors and pundits spent the time saying nothing – nothing that mattered anyway.  But this is a small point.  Saying nothing about Jodi Arias gets you more viewers than saying something about the national debt.

But you can't blame cable TV news, not entirely anyway, because television is a business that gives the people what they want.  And if they want Jodi, TV executives will give them Jodi for hours on end.  Hell, if she had been found not guilty they might have even given her a show.

In Phoenix, hundreds of locals dropped whatever they were doing when they heard the verdict would soon be coming down and raced to the courthouse so they could be close by when the verdict, which had no effect on them or their families, was read out loud inside the courtroom.

Why the interest?  Sex. That's it.  The trial was filled with tidbits about the sex life of Ms. Arias and the boyfriend she killed by stabbing him 27 times and cutting his throat.  Sorry, I'm wrong — it was about more than sex.  It was about sex and violence.  Of course if Jodi Arias weighed 350 pounds and had crooked teeth, we wouldn't be nearly as interested (which is another way of saying we wouldn't be interested at all, and neither would cable TV).

The Arias verdict came down on the same day the House held hearings to determine what really happened last September 11 in Benghazi and to try to find out why four Americans were killed at the U.S. consulate there.  Did then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will likely run for president in 2016, make big mistakes that led to their deaths?  Hey, who cares about insignificant crap like that?

Mike Huckabee, the Fox News host, said that the Benghazi hearings would lead to the downfall of Barack Obama, that when the facts came out Mr. Obama would not be able to finish his presidency.  That is nothing but wishful thinking masquerading as political analysis. Americans don't care about Benghazi.  Not all Americans, of course, just most Americans.

But they care about Jodi Arias because shallow people like shiny objects.  That's why they love to follow car chases on TV, even when the culprit is only some doofus who stole a piece of gum from a 7-11.  The chase can go on for hours.  They'll keep watching.  Car chases are more interesting than real news any day.

So is the life and death drama of a woman who dressed up like the librarian in glasses who lets her hair down and goes wild on New Year's Eve.  The national debt is a crisis that may some day take us all down.  But until then, we can have a grand old time following shiny objects.

Link:  http://www.bernardgoldberg.com/jodi-arias-cable-tv-and-a-nation-fascinated-by-shiny-objects/ (http://www.bernardgoldberg.com/jodi-arias-cable-tv-and-a-nation-fascinated-by-shiny-objects/)

Patriot,
Bernie hit the nail on the head with his analysis.  By the way---welcome back to the forum---I was missing you.

And the democrats are saying the republicans are attacking the administration!

What?

Asking questions at a hearing is attacking them?

Really?

Great post... Bernard Goldberg: Mr. Common Sense


Neal Fox - The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America:

(This video is just a brief introduction to a very serious subject.  There are
six books listed at the end which will go much further into the subject.)





Charlotte Iserbyt - The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America:



Interview from 2004.
Charlotte Iserbyt served as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education, during the first Reagan Administration, where she first blew the whistle on a major technology initiative which would control curriculum in America's classrooms. Iserbyt is a former school board director in Camden, Maine and was co-founder and research analyst of Guardians of Education for Maine (GEM) from 1978 to 2000. She has also served in the American Red Cross on Guam and Japan during the Korean War, and in the United States Foreign Service in Belgium and in the Republic of South Africa. Iserbyt is a speaker and writer, best known for her 1985 booklet Back to Basics Reform or OBE: Skinnerian International Curriculum and her 1989 pamphlet Soviets in the Classroom: America's Latest Education Fad which covered the details of the U.S.-Soviet and Carnegie-Soviet Education Agreements which remain in effect to this day. She is a freelance writer and has had articles published in Human Events, The Washington Times, The Bangor Daily News, and included in the record of Congressional hearings.

Warph even the State of Kansas recently admitted they have lowered the educational standards so much over the years.
That kids going off to college don't comprehend what they read and therefore have to take remedial reading courses in college.

Ross, one of the reasons for that is because college has become a big business now. Students are "customers" and colleges will do whatever is needed to keep them there and paying their bills. People have been convinced that all kids should go to college, even if they aren't academically intelligent enough to do so.
When I went to UD the % of kids even trying to apply was much lower than it is now. Even from my own HS graduating class  mostly the only ones who went on to college were the ones for whom it was required.. The wanna be teachers, pre med docs, chemists, engineers and the like. The rest almost all went on for further education, but it was nursing school, business school,culinary school or apprentice programs for plumbers or electricians  Some did go to college who didn't have to but wanted a good general education; friends who were aggies and such. But they all could read or they weren't admitted, period. It is so different now. Kids who just don't have much intelligence have a very hard time because the broom sweeping jobs are gone. You can't make blanket statements though that kids can't read...some do need help, but in my day they would never have been admitted to college in the first place.  They just weren't considered to be college material. I can't speak for Kansas of course, but why do you think your educational standards have been lowered? For what purpose? Don't your kids who are having a hard time  in high school get tutoring or extra help?  If not why not? Their short comings surely aren't found until college. Kids who can't read must not be allowed to graduate high school. It cheapens the diploma for the ones who have done well.
Parents should be beating down the doors for kids to get extra help who need it,not begging for their child to have a social promotion.That just adds a weight around the kid's neck academically and it will be found out eventually. It's fraud.
All the critics and nay sayers can do as they want..it means nothing and helps nobody.

     Nice to have you back, Patriot.

     This reminds me of people watching a house burn , captivated by the flames, just blank stares.

Texas high school sophomore Jeff Bliss told interviewers he had dropped out of school for a year before he realized the value of his education. When he returned to high school in Duncanville, a suburb of Dallas, he landed in teacher Julie Phung's World History class. After Bliss asked a question about an upcoming standardized test, Phung's careless reply prompted him to stand and deliver a blistering indictment of uninvolved teaching and a demand for a better education that's gone viral.

[...]

We've seen recent videos of students in ninth or tenth grade attacking teachers verbally and physically. This incident shows the other side of the story: a bright student who wants to learn and a teacher who either doesn't care, or does not know how to engage and educate. The chances are that Ms. Phung, up until recently, probably did not care, or perhaps had a complete misunderstanding as to the effectiveness of her interactions with students.


[...]

To the credit of Duncanville ISD, superintendent Dr. Alfred Ray told interviewers that Bliss will not be punished, and Ms. Phung has been placed on paid administrative leave while the incident is being investigated.


[...]


(https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/1017262176/jstoss_normal.jpg) John Stossel        ✔ @FBNStossel 
.@Real_Jeff_Bliss Good to see you standing up for your education! Would love to hear more ...
Stossel - 1:30 PM - 9 May 2013


From Dallas News, Jim Mitchell: Jeff Bliss' video rant speaks uncomfortable truths about teachers and students:
The most interesting story in today's paper is Duncanville student Jeff Bliss' impromptu criticism of his high school teacher. The rant/criticism, which has gone viral, speaks some uncomfortable truths about teachers and students.

Let's start with teachers. Bliss said the teacher didn't teach. If we're all honest about this, we know teachers like these exist. In grade school, in high school in college. These are the ones who need to find another profession and are the reason there is so much of an emphasis on getting rid of bad teachers. Students know quality when they see it, Good teachers invest themselves in the material and in the students. Given Bliss' background — he is a guy trying to make up for lost time — I can understand why he's frustrated with a teacher who seems more interested in passing out work than taking the time to actually find out whether students are mastering the material, and if not, why not.

Now on to students. I can't imagine ever challenging a teacher like that. I remember having far more good teachers than bad ones, but I also know that some of the good ones were the most demanding. Yes, I've dealt with unrealistic deadlines for term papers and other class assignments, but I bucked up and hustled the best I could to met those deadlines. It was expected and I tried to meet these expectations. And I did everything I could to learn the material. Not doing so would hurt only one person — me.

 Knowing his past school history I'd like to know what section of history he was in.   Bet it wasn't honors. His attitude stunk and was very disrespectful, no matter what the problem...that's not how to solve something in a classroom setting. He's an adult after all.  Just glad he didn't pull out a gun.
 I'd love to know what question he asked about the upcoming standard test. We were are never allowed to see the tests before hand or answer any questions other than what they would be allowed to use as writing instruments, pen or machine score or regular pencil and the date, time and place it would be given. If he asked about content or specific answers, I  couldn't have answered him either. The whole thing should have been handled outside the classroom in front of a witness. I think he would have been better off going to adult night school...an 18 year old sophomore? HMMMM.
Of course soon all the tests will be by computer.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 24, 2013, 01:53:59 PM
Knowing his past school history I'd like to know what section of history he was in.   Bet it wasn't honors.

There is no way of knowing if he was in honors, so the point is moot.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 24, 2013, 01:53:59 PM
His attitude stunk and was very disrespectful, no matter what the problem...that's not how to slove something in a classroom setting. He's an adult after all.  Just glad he didn't pull out a gun.

Why insert gun violence into the equation, when there was none? Didn't the teacher show disrespect for the whole class by swearing?
His attitude stunk, why because he spoke the truth? It was not him that used profanity, but the teacher that used profanity wasn't it? He returned to school to learn, did the teacher return to school to teach each and every day? Why else would this have even taken place?

The remarks about his age show a lack of knowledge of what happens in school? I graduated at 18. Remember, the time at which a student can start kindergarten is based on their birth month. My twin brother graduated high school at 19. My twin was held back a year in the first grade due to a serious speech problem that was no fault of his own. Many other children are held back for lots of reason. So, where is your compassion for school children wanting to learn?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 24, 2013, 01:53:59 PM

  I'd love to know what question he asked about the upcoming standard test. We were are never allowed to see the tests before hand or answer any questions other than what they would be allowed to use as writing instruments, pen or machine score or regular pencil and the date, time and place it would be given.

Why can't you accept the story for what is there?
It has been reported by the news media plenty of times that a lot of today's teachers teach to the tests. These are not your times. Cheating in major colleges has been reported by the news media as well. But my error, that is not part of the story either is it?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 24, 2013, 01:53:59 PM
If he asked about content or specific answers, I  couldn't have answered him either. The whole thing should have been handled outside the classroom in front of a witness. I think he would have been better off going to adult night school...an 18 year old sophomore? HMMMM.

What even makes you think he asked about test questions?
Why should the whole thing have been handled out of the class room? There were plenty of witnesses a whole class room full and a video. 
Oh, I think, I understand secrecy.

There really is no reason for an 18 year old to go to night school, except perhaps that he shamed the teacher for not teaching.

Read more at: http://eagnews.org/at-least-one-milwaukee-mom-wont-be-sending-her-child-to-school-on-switch-it-up-day/

'MILWAUKEE – Deidri Hernandez's seven-year-old son won't be in school today, after officials at Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Humanities confirmed they're still holding "Switch It Up Day" – a time for students to come dressed as members of the opposite sex.

Hernandez tells EAGnews the day was originally billed as "Gender Bender Day," but Tippecanoe officials made the name change after she called Principal Jeffrey Krupar to complain.

The Milwaukee mother was not impressed.

"I didn't have a problem with the title. I had a problem with the activity taking place," Hernandez says.

She says it's "ridiculous" and "creepy" to ask elementary boys to come to school dressed as girls, and vice versa, and predicts that having students dress as "transvestites" will distract from the learning process.

Hernandez knows of at least one other parent who shares her concerns and plans to hold her child out of class, too.

 Ross, I'm entitled to my opinion.
No, of course the teacher should not have used swear words, but neither should kids and you know they do. Some kids now almost can't talk without them. This kid is 18 as a sophomore, not a senior! and he had quit.
So what was storming out of the room supposed to accomplish? The teacher still had the rest of the class to deal with. As far as what question was asked...you don't know either. I'd like to know just for my own interest.   By the way, I graduated at 17...so what.
Most kids do graduate at 18. He'll be 20 ,if he hasn't messed himself up with his tantrum. Many kids who don't cut it will blame the teacher because it's so easy to do. It appears regular school was not a good fit for him any longer so they should find something that is...even on line courses. The day of traditional classroom setting is about to change anyway, with a lot of self teaching on board and the teacher is there as an adjunct.
I still say he would do better in night school.The whole attitude,teaching style and curriculum is aimed at older folks. The students are there to learn and are not distracted by the rest of the school environment. They certainly are not expected to throw temper tantrums.
So go ahead and be anti teacher.That's exactly how teaching tenure got started. There was always someone who blamed the teacher for their own child's performance and tried to get the teacher fired. Of course there are poor teachers, and it will change from year to year. Every class has it's own challenges.
Some teachers don't do as well with certain kinds of kids. Some teachers know it ,and will have a student moved to another class so there won't be constant clashes.(, sadly,racial problems)

       More than half of the teachers out there are in teaching because they couldn't make the grade and get a bachelors degree in anything difficult, so they settled for one in education.

Prove that statistic please. ??? Most folks who weren't cut out for it find out during student teaching and change majors or only last a couple of years and then leave. It's very hard unless one is very committed. And we here can't stop with just the bachelors we have to go for a masters at least.
I had a major in elementary education and a double minor in art and music....define "difficult" from your point of view. I also was an EMT instructor, took Cardiac Rescue Tech. and was asked to become a Paramedic. I had already chosen my profession so i said no.( If I wanted to do that I could have gone to medical school) I loved teaching and was very good at it.

I was recently asked if I wanted to go back...a serious offer. Sorry, I like being "retired'', such as it is.
A great many of the women who were in my education classes really wanted to teach, but wanted to be flexible enough to travel with their husbands, often DuPont, Hercules ,ICI, Gore, etc.(chemists and engineers and researchers) who were likely to get transferred every few years. Teaching jobs travel well.
As for the men then, they tended to teach math, Chemistry, Biology  Languages or taught college level courses..Keep in mind they were all up for the draft when their 2-S went 1-A. Most of my class did have to go.
And your degree is in what? Oh, physics? Good one.
I doubt you'd last a month in a big school classroom with imperfect kids and imperfect parents. Have you ever even subbed? If it's so easy, you try it. So go ahead, hate me all over again. You have nothing to do with me or my life. You don't know me so ya can't really hurt me. :angel:

Warph don't you know students and parents are imperfect?
And teachers aren't?
That's why we read about so many teachers in the news these days getting fired and go to jail.

I happen to have a cousin who is a retired teacher and she never had an attitude about imperfect parents or children.
And she was an excellent teacher who cared about each and every child, not just the ones that made straight "A's".
Her husband on the other hand in my opinion should have never made it to retirement.

We are fortunate there are some very good teachers out there that pick up the slack for the rest.

Yeah... life goes on.

Ross, why stir the pot?
.We all know that there are bad examples in every occupation. We also live in an age of helicopter parents and parents who will never admit their child is possible of wrong doing...ever. It's always someone else's fault.  Or if their child breaks a rule and is expected to deal with the consequences, the parent defends the child and says the rule was stupid in the first place. I taught with weak teachers, believe me I get it, but even the best teachers are poorly paid compared to the salaries of others who live in the same area, work way more hours than they are paid for and have to deal with things teachers didn't have to before. Teachers have to go to college to even get started as teachers, so they are behind in terms of money before they ever start and are expected to go to con ed and get advanced degrees that may or may not be reflected in their pay.
Do you have any idea how it feels to know a teacher in your school has been arrested for...fill in the blank. It casts a shadow on all of us who then have to live with the fallout. As far as the cross dressing and the bible...that could be a great discussion on it's own considering what men and women wore when the Bible was written.  Twasn't blue jeans and tee shirts But that's the other thread.

We all make our own decisions.
Even though I was a poor student in school and I don't mean disruptive, I made a far better income than any of my teachers.
My learning came through the school of hard knocks, and the best learning was on the job training from old men that worked all their lives and had experience and knowledge that is being lost today to getting supposedly higher education.

Every time I hear about problems at school it appears to find fault with the children and their parents, not the teacher.
Apparently they are to highly educated to be at fault, they never say sorry my mistake.

I have made lots of errors over the years and I have always taken credit for them.

I too have set in the principles and superintendents office both by invitation and because I dropped in. And our visits have always ended well. With the exception of one school district.

I have also seen where principles and superintendents won't accomplish the right and legal actions because of political concerns. Many times they won't fire a coach or teacher that should be fired for political reasons and tell them either you quit or you get fired. Why does the teacher choose to quit instead of getting fire and fighting back? Perhaps because they were wrong and perhaps being fired might end their career dealing with children. Why do you think they quit and move one? Because it is the kids and parents fault?

So just go on and blame the kids and the parents, don't consider teachers and administration that lack the fortitude to do the right thing.

 Ross,I said I get it! and it's not about money is it! It's not hard to make more than your teachers did. ;) read the rest or don't ...your choice.Some is hard hitting so be forewarned.
I won't go on "always" blaming the kids and parents, because I didn't in the first place! But when you get right down to it, isn't the family's job to do whatever is necessary to get for the education for the child that the child needs? Even if it means extra school. tutoring or repeating one or more grades? Sometimes it does take tough love...one of the big problems in inner city schools The kids are tougher than the teachers!
  I never saw a problem with parents who occasionally asked for a child to change teachers because it wasn't a good fit. But it can't be always the teacher, now can it? Twelve years of nothing but poor teachers? Now what is the chance of that happening?  
OK, Dutch Aunt time.
You said you were a poor student...why?   What wasn't happening for you?
You are older, before the time of coddled children. So what was the problem as you see it now? Why weren't you a "good" student?  Lower IQ? Lazy? Refused to do homework? Distracted? Learning disabilities? Eyesight problems? Hearing difficulties? Dyslexic?  Absent? Immature? Unknown medical problem? From a family that didn't value education? Had to work to help support a family?
There had to be one or more reasons. Some times even simple things like a change of seat in the classroom helps.
Now before you flip out, those are legitimate questions that are asked when we are trying to root out a child's academic problems. The questions some times have to be very pointed to get to the real problems and get past the excuses.
Yes, teacher competency is considered..but if one child is the only one having certain problems, and the rest of the class isn't ,that kind of leaves teacher problems out, doesn't it?
Sometimes the subject  seems to be at fault.  A kid might have problems in math or in a particular math section, like geometry, but be a whiz in science and reading. Who knows why? But with extra help they get over the temporary hump and go on to do well.
But ya have to meet the system at least half way and not look for easy excuses. Excuses will not ever help the child get the kind of life they may want someday.They may have to "settle" and then defend it. Or perhaps not. Experience is a good teacher, but some people have to get kicked by nature to finally figure out what it's all about. I have said many times I don't care how a child gets their education, but they do have to have one. It will be more and more necessary,not less and less.
. You do know it's rarely the "good " students who complain about having "bad " teachers . Now I suspect you(or someone else) will blow your top and accuse me of all manner of awful things. Have fun. No apple for this old teacher. :P

By the way,the reason I knew the young man with the long blonde hair had asked a quesetion about the up coming test was because it said so in the third line of the text .I did go back several times and finally figured out what he had asked. I'm sure the teacher didn't have an answer to the question, but smart remarks from either of them wasn't necessary and just gave 24 hour media something to stir up and fill time. One more reason for phone cameras to be controversial. I'd still love to know more about that whole situation and how the rest of the class felt.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 26, 2013, 11:41:54 AM
Ross,I said I get it! and it's not about money is it! It's not hard to make more than your teachers did. ;) read the rest or don't ...your choice.Some is hard hitting so be forewarned.
I won't go on "always" blaming the kids and parents, because I didn't in the first place! But when you get right down to it, isn't the family's job to do whatever is necessary to get for the education for the child that the child needs? Even if it means extra school. tutoring or repeating one or more grades? Sometimes it does take tough love...one of the big problems in inner city schools The kids are tougher than the teachers!
  I never saw a problem with parents who occasionally asked for a child to change teachers because it wasn't a good fit. But it can't be always the teacher, now can it? Twelve years of nothing but poor teachers? Now what is the chance of that happening?  
OK, Dutch Aunt time.
You said you were a poor student...why?   What wasn't happening for you?
You are older, before the time of coddled children. So what was the problem as you see it now? Why weren't you a "good" student?  Lower IQ? Lazy? Refused to do homework? Distracted? Learning disabilities? Eyesight problems? Hearing difficulties? Dyslexic?  Absent? Immature? Unknown medical problem? From a family that didn't value education? Had to work to help support a family?
There had to be one or more reasons. Some times even simple things like a change of seat in the classroom helps.
Now before you flip out, those are legitimate questions that are asked when we are trying to root out a child's academic problems. The questions some times have to be very pointed to get to the real problems and get past the excuses.
Yes, teacher competency is considered..but if one child is the only one having certain problems, and the rest of the class isn't ,that kind of leaves teacher problems out, doesn't it?
Sometimes the subject  seems to be at fault.  A kid might have problems in math or in a particular math section, like geometry, but be a whiz in science and reading. Who knows why? But with extra help they get over the temporary hump and go on to do well.
But ya have to meet the system at least half way and not look for easy excuses. Excuses will not ever help the child get the kind of life they may want someday.They may have to "settle" and then defend it. Or perhaps not. Experience is a good teacher, but some people have to get kicked by nature to finally figure out what it's all about. I have said many times I don't care how a child gets their education, but they do have to have one. It will be more and more necessary,not less and less.
. You do know it's rarely the "good " students who complain about having "bad " teachers . Now I suspect you(or someone else) will blow your top and accuse me of all manner of awful things. Have fun. No apple for this old teacher. :P

By the way,the reason I knew the young man with the long blonde hair had asked a quesetion about the up coming test was because it said so in the third line of the text .I did go back several times and finally figured out what he had asked. I'm sure the teacher didn't have an answer to the question, but smart remarks from either of them wasn't necessary and just gave 24 hour media something to stir up and fill time. One more reason for phone cameras to be controversial. I'd still love to know more about that whole situation and how the rest of the class felt.

Oh but it seems like every time something comes up about education you and the rest of that educational society blame the parents and the children, every time. I'm tickled you may be having a change of attitude in that regard.

No, I won't respond to why I was a bored student and considered myself a bad student except to say I was not a disruptive student. I was too busy day dreaming of better times, of what I was going to do with my life, etc.

Ya ain't gonna offend me no matter how hard you try; I'm just amazed at the stuff you write.

You indicate that teachers are intimidated by an 18 year old sitting in a class wanting to learn, that's what I have read anyway.

And now camera phones are controversial, don't you mean intimidating? It's hard to hide from a video camera isn't it? What's the purpose of putting video camera's on school busses? Why not put them in the class room and monitor the class room as a whole including the teachers teaching techniques and actions?

Didn't the police start using video to protect the officers and to use in court against the defendant? Some of the police didn't like it when civilians started videoing them though did they. What's controversial about documenting something? Apparently one kid in class thought the situation with the teacher swearing at a student was worth documenting. What harm was done by the student using individual thought and recording?

I do understand the code of ethic of sorts that Police stick up for police, Lawyers stick up for lawyers, firemen stick up for fireman, and Teachers stick up for teachers. But ya can't buck a video can you?

Sorry to say you are not an old teacher, you are a retired teacher, a has been just like this old Retired Federal Employee is a has been.

I did a lot of teaching and training as a First Class Petty Officer in the Navy. And that included a lot of 17, 18, 19 year olds and older and never felt intimidated. That is because I knew and understood my subject and provided the importance of learning to the safety of the ship. so that these young men would learn and learn well. The very same way I was trained and taught. Having the importance of the subject stressed along with the subject matter, rather than you gotta be here so you might as well learn. And leadership in the class is very important.

Ross, you don't know the rest of that young man's story any more than I do.  As I said I would have questions as to the rest of the story, both before and after. I do know that here, in rough areas ,teachers can be very much intimidated and threatened,including threatening phone calls.There is often "pay back" from siblings, the student or even older family members.    There is always some "cousin" with partial information who wants to square off with a teacher,or anyone else if they have perceived a slight, when it's actually none of their business. The troubles seem to run in families.
When I was doing 7th grade programs  at Stanton Middle School, which includes a lot of kids bussed from very rough areas in Wilmington,I was warned not to park in a particular parking lot because the kids made a game of "whose teacher's car can we vandalize today." Slashed tires, broken windows, ripped trim, contaminated gas...all a big game.This happened especially after the point of no return in the spring when the kids who were going to fail knew they couldn't possible pass, so they made life miserable for everyone.
As far as cameras in classrooms, they already exist. Some teachers have them to use in self defense, just as cops do. It wouldn't have bothered me.
We have a master teacher program here, which is a very intensive, takes most of a year and eventually leads to an increase in pay. A camera in the classroom, so the examiners can evaluate classroom management, unit presentations, and the students' performance is part of it.
  I'm not trying to offend you, why would you think that? You can't handle straight "teacher talk?''  :angel:
As far as the classroom setting ,what happened to wanting teachers to be armed? That was supposed to settle down the trouble makers.There are always some who don't care if they or anyone else learns anything, they have an entirely different agenda. Some places just want the kids in school so they are just off the streets. We had a problem here many years ago when deseg. busing started with kids getting off the buses from "the Valley" in Wilmington and never even going into the school. They took off through the neighborhoods taking anything they could find,including clothes off the clotheslines. The local police finally got it solved, but in the meantime people were almost afraid to go to work.
I may be retired from full time classroom teaching, but I am still teaching ,keep up with the latest, including Core Curriculum and have classes next week. I stand by being "old."
Ross, I'm about to question your reading ability. How many times have I said I understand that not every teacher is a good one. School is a very unique situation and every student is different. They are a product of all the parts of life that influence their development,some good ,some terrible.The teacher is supposed to respond to all of that with every student and take them from where ever they are on the learning scale as far as they can go in the teaching year. It's especially hard now with wars that don't end and kids whose parents' are away in the military or don't come home. It's very stressful anyway and then add that to the mixture. It's hard. Almost as rewarding as knowing nobody likes going to the dentist.
So when a kid fails, what teacher can we blame, can't be any other reason....and these are the parents who won't come for teachers' conferences and won't answer the phone.
I'm sure you are not like that. I expect you do go to  teacher's conferences and are very involved with your son's school and he knows you are there when and if he needs help. Hope you both enjoy your summer break.

You are right I don't know the rest of the young mans story, nor the rest of the teachers story and neither do you. I do believe, I read where the teacher received discipline and the student didn't. The student with the cellphone camera did not receive any discipline to my knowledge.

My son asked if he could go to summer school, which surprised me.
And of course I said yes. I'm pretty proud of the progress he has accomplished with the aid of certain teachers.
And believe me I let those teachers know. I guess I am just weird.
I probably do spend more time at school than most parents and the most of the Teachers and the Principle/Superintendent have great attitudes.

I'd also like to see our schools improve their standards but that starts with the local school board.
But, I don't think the school board realizes that and their roll in leadership. Except for wanting to build a Taj Mahal.
Instead we have a very intelligent school superintendent that leads the school board with his leadership abilities.

I do believe we have an elected school board and that is the only people that should be sitting on the board.
And the administration should be in the audience just like the teachers and coaches.
The admin in my opinion should be making written reports to the school board and be available to discuss openly what they are doing to improve the educational standards of the school. Sports should be very secondary or less to education.

But they claim they are doing better than some other schools, now I ask you is that something to brag about?

With the lowered standards that the state  talks about, it would seem to me to be pretty easy to become a blue ribbon school. But where is the effort?

Who provides the effort. Who grades the graders. The school board don't ya think?

I stuck up for a School Superintendent when I lived in Texas, he was an excellent disciplinarian a played by all the rules. In other words he was hard as nails when he had to be. I tried to keep him from being fired but I learned of the action to late to do much. He was fired for disciplining a school board members child. Not everyone plays by the rules.

He had no problem landing a new job because he was excellent at what he did.

Who grades the graders? Certainly not the school board,they are too remote from the classroom.
I can't speak for Kansas of course, but here there are teacher evaluators who come unannounced into every class, including tenured teachers, every marking period for several hours, at different times of day, to see how the teacher is doing. That's that person's full time job. They are teachers wiith many years experience and have extra degrees and courses in the evaluation process. Some teachers always hated being evaluated but I didn't.I always figured she was there to help me be even better at what I was doing and welcomed it. I always welcomed new ideas in presenting math to struggling kids because I didn't have a natural feel for finding many ways of presenting the same concept as I did in other subjects.
The thing they did in Maryland that I didn't like, every fourth year they would make us change grades. It was supposed to keep us fresh, but it meant I had to start over again with the collections of "stuff" I always used for teaching props, from bird nests and snake skins to posters, stories, research books and live plants, animals and seashells.

QuoteYou are right

Well drop me dead right here!

However, Ross....in your wisdom...you just turned this similary' State issue into your issues?
Please don't confuse 'there' and here' unless they are simiiliar   (apples/oranges)   
And i MAY be wrong and judgemental!!!!...
or....just mental!  :)

Thank you all to the Veterans...
ready

Ross, the teacher of our recent conversations was not disciplined, she was given "paid administrative leave", which apparently is standard in disputes at that school. More is still coming out.
His mom is a teacher, yet he had quit school. Good for him for wanting to make it right, but I'm still not sure that he's not too old now to be in that class. He could easily have been three years older than some of them and have had totally different expectations.  The teacher has to do what's best for all of them, not just any one of them. Apparently the teacher got someone to cover her class and met with the student and the principal and he did go back to class.... according to FOX NEWS.
If our young fellow thinks he's going to get a lot of "teacher talk, you listen," classes he's sadly mistaken. With technology the way is is, the classroom will soon be a very different place.
As far as "The Packets" he was complaining about ,the teacher may have had no choice. I'm still investigating that. In Core Cirrculum classes the teacher does have a lot of flexibility in how each unit is taught, and what resourses are used as long as they reach the goal of that unit. Not all schools do that. Many are much more structured.

Quote from: readyaimduck on May 27, 2013, 03:43:59 PM
However, Ross....in your wisdom...you just turned this similary' State issue into your issues?
Please don't confuse 'there' and here' unless they are simiiliar   (apples/oranges)   
And i MAY be wrong and judgemental!!!!...
or....just mental!  :)

Wisdom, what ?
Me, naw.
Frustration, yea!
Mental for me, right!
Excuse me, break time -- LOL

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 28, 2013, 10:38:26 AM

If our young fellow thinks he's going to get a lot of "teacher talk, you listen," classes he's sadly mistaken. With technology the way is is, the classroom will soon be a very different place.
As far as "The Packets" he was complaining about ,the teacher may have had no choice. In Core Cirrculum classes the teacher does have a lot of flexibility in how each unit is taught, and what resourses are used as long as they reach the goal of that unit.

     And , thank you for making the kids point and the point of this thread.

   This kid merely challanged this "different place" classroom, not just the teacher. The reason why it resonated with a multitude of kids and parents and went viral. Most just sit on their hands.

I agree Bullwinkle. Where is teaching going? Do we need teachers or just room monitors to make sure the kids are in class and learning from the computer screens?  I'm all for technology, but if we don't need teacher talk then we don't need teachers do we?

I just posted some information that I found very interesting about teaching an teachers credibility that you might find interesting.
I sure hope the Konnected School Board President and the rest of the School Board of Education find interesting and helpful.
It is posted at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.new.html#new 

Keep your eyes open for severe storms this afternoon and stay safe.

It may be that the teacher will be there, but especially in upper grades, the class size may be much larger. In the lower grades ,where kids are still learning how to learn, I hope the classes won't be huge... but electronic teaching will be there even more than now. Much cheaper over the long term, and the screen can't be accused of being lazy, now can it? :D.... Then who will a young man blame? Lab classes will still have labs of course.
 School books as we were used to may vanish in favor of one kind of electronic device or other, easy to update and again cheaper in the long run. No more kids with 10 year old beat up text books.
  .

      And ......... once again the wise and powerful "Oz" takes a thread and makes it about her. The wizard of Oz was a fake and baffled everyone with his BS and so is she.

      Go back to your east coast happenings with your personal crap. Geeeze, as Sruzich would say.

Quote from: Bullwinkle on May 29, 2013, 05:12:13 PM
      And ......... once again the wise and powerful "Oz" takes a thread and makes it about her. The wizard of Oz was a fake and baffled everyone with his BS and so is she.

      Go back to your east coast happenings with your personal crap. Geeeze, as Sruzich would say.

And you call me a hoot? ROFLMAO

 Nope, not about me, but about another successful school that gets it and will open this fall.
  Since Newark Charter is a Blue Ribbon School, ya might wanna pay attention. Ross wants a Blue Ribbon School there so bad he can just taste it.   I wish him well on that; it sure would be nice.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 30, 2013, 09:05:06 AM
Nope, not about me, but about another successful school that gets it and will open this fall.
 Since Newark Charter is a Blue Ribbon School, ya might wanna pay attention. Ross wants a Blue Ribbon School there so bad he can just taste it.   I wish him well on that; it sure would be nice.

No, seriously, I'd just like our school board of education to wake up and pay attention to education as much as sports and construction and spending money on things other than education.

I'd like to see them working in far exceeding the lowered standards of the state rather than just meeting them.

Would you please provide us with a link to the Newark Charter Blue Ribbon announcement ?

Oop's what is this here? Please go and read the whole story, " ya might wanna pay attention."

Special report: Born in hope, Newark charter school now embroiled in controversy

May 05, 2013 at 2:05 PM, updated May 09, 2013 at 7:38 PM
NEWARK — Linda Newton enrolled her 8-year-old son at Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School to shield him from the ills that afflict many of Newark's regular public schools.

She has regretted that decision every day since.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/newark_charter_school_sanford.html

Give me a break.

Oop's is that the right Newark school.
I'm searching deeper.
Perhaps Diane you could provide a link.

Quote from: ROSS on May 30, 2013, 11:15:49 AM
No, seriously, I'd just like our school board of education to wake up and pay attention to education as much as sports and construction and spending money on things other than education.

I'd like to see them working in far exceeding the lowered standards of the state rather than just meeting them.

Would you please provide us with a link to the Newark Charter Blue Ribbon announcement ?

Oop's what is this here? Please go and read the whole story, " ya might wanna pay attention."

Special report: Born in hope, Newark charter school now embroiled in controversy

May 05, 2013 at 2:05 PM, updated May 09, 2013 at 7:38 PM
NEWARK — Linda Newton enrolled her 8-year-old son at Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School to shield him from the ills that afflict many of Newark's regular public schools.

She has regretted that decision every day since.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/newark_charter_school_sanford.html

Give me a break.

Ross, you have your states mixed up.  Your story is about Newark, NJ.  Diane is from Delaware and is talking about the Newark  (Delaware) Charter School which is a Blue Ribbon School. 

Page 5, left column of this document shows that it is:  http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2010/national.pdf (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2010/national.pdf)

Try again.

Quote from: flintauqua on May 30, 2013, 01:46:05 PM
Ross, you have your states mixed up.  Your story is about Newark, NJ.  Diane is from Delaware and is talking about the Newark  (Delaware) Charter School which is a Blue Ribbon School.  

Page 5, left column of this document shows that it is:  http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2010/national.pdf (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2010/national.pdf)

Try again.

What didn't you notice I said:

Quote from: ROSS on May 30, 2013, 11:36:50 AM
Oop's is that the right Newark school.
I'm searching deeper.
Perhaps Diane you could provide a link.

Would you try again that was 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools this is 2013.
I do believe they get graded each and every year.

And I did politely ask Diane for a link.

       Again, a new school has nothing to do with the story about a student questioning the teaching methods he was experiencing.

      Not about you? We have all heard about this school building as nauseum. Wonder who brought it into any conversation?

     Nothing more to say about teaching practices pro or con ? Feel the need to just tell everyone how the east coast is doing?

     There's a thread for that.

Ross, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I should be really pissed that after all these years you still don't know where Delaware is. You can't  figure out the difference beteen Newark New Jersey ,which is pronounced "Newerk" and here  which is pronounced "New Ark," from The new Ark of the covanent.
Not feeling much like pampering you today,I'll ask you to Google Newark Charter School for yourself...it's all there.... or perhaps some other "'nice" person will do it for you.  You can thank Bull for my lack of cooperation. I don't care for the insults. You don't want to read what I say....then don't. Believe me, I don't care. When I post I do not take you into consideration any more than you and Ross do.

       Then perhaps you should take your own advice you have given Jarhead. You were told not to do it.

     Quit making everyone elses thread your personal "pity party", use your own. Oh that's right, no one goes there. Except your pals. No sport in that , Huh?

      You continue to look to spar with someone, instead of simply making lucid remarks about the topic. In other words, you enjoy trying to bully people with your page long dissertations of BS, and back biting remarks. Sad lonely woman.

Do what? Have a personal opinion?  This is an still an open forum. Talk about long winded. NOBODY can top Ross.  Better look in the mirror Bull...it's "Bull" alright.

Quote from: ROSS on May 30, 2013, 02:34:53 PM

Would you try again that was 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools this is 2013.
I do believe they get graded each and every year.

From:  http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/faq.html#6 (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/faq.html#6)

"A school's National Blue Ribbon School status does not "expire." Once a school receives the award, they remain a National Blue Ribbon School for the year they earned the award. They can always refer to their status as a National Blue Ribbon School of that year. "

Quote from: flintauqua on May 31, 2013, 03:56:15 AM
From:  http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/faq.html#6 (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/faq.html#6)

"A school's National Blue Ribbon School status does not "expire." Once a school receives the award, they remain a National Blue Ribbon School for the year they earned the award. They can always refer to their status as a National Blue Ribbon School of that year. "

Okay I'll buy that.

Quote from: ROSS on May 30, 2013, 02:34:53 PM
What didn't you notice I said:
Would you try again that was 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools this is 2013.
I do believe they get graded each and every year.

Even though they are not capable of retaining the status from year to year, and even if they were to get discredited, they could still refer themselves as a Blue Ribbon School.

I really don't find that ethical because, someone new moves to the area and is hoping for a Blue Ribbon School and think they found one only to find out later that the school was a Blue Ribbon School 10 years earlier, but presently having tons of problems. How cool is that? Rather deceptive isn't it.

So Was 2010 the last time they were technically declared a Blue Ribbon School? Meaning did they fail to maintain the standards the following years?
Was it just a one time effort so they could continue calling themselves a Blue Ribbon School?

Oh, never mind it really doesn't matter to me, it is not in Elk County and others have voiced we are off subject. So I am dropping this foolishness.
Sorry about that.

The Belleville News Democrat reported:

A drug sweep at Lincoln Middle School in East St. Louis showed the kids didn't have any drugs, but police said the guy who was supposed to keep them safe was peddling dope at the school.

Security guard Alvin Golliday, 29, of Cahokia, was found to have marijuana in his car when drug investigators with police dogs searched through the school starting at 9 a.m. Friday, police said. He was charged with possession of cannabis with intent to deliver on school grounds.

The sweep was conducted by the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department and the department's Drug Tactical and Street Crimes units. The Belleville Police K-9 union also assisted.

"We want to keep kids in a drug-free environment. We will assist anytime anyone asks," Sheriff Rick Watson said.