03-14-2003, 04:27 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-14-2003, 05:34 PM by Nicodemus Phaulkon.)
It comes down to this:
Teachers know, on a daily, intimate basis... what is lacking in their classrooms. They have an ongoing concern and requirement to deal with lack of funding, resources, hardware and support.
Government Employees and Elected officials know f-all about it. They don't have the background, they don't have the inclination, and they don't have the desire to learn as they will probably be shuffled into a different portfolio within 2 years or less.
Teacher Strikes suck. I'm not arguing that. They're SUPPOSED to suck. A strike is a last means of garnering attention to an oncoming disaster... so drastic measures are taken to INSURE attention is given.
And WHY do Teacher Strikes suck? They delay instruction. They interfere with graduation and testing. They prevent the children from attending (which throws a HUGE monkeywrench into a dual-income household for childcare).
Look at it this way: If teachers are so fundamental, so intrinsic to your children's education, future and daily stability. If teachers have such a dramatic impact on the society at large... shouldn't you take the time to actually listen to what they're saying are problems?
I will maintain to my dying breath that Teacher's issues have nothing to do with their income, and everything to do with their support infrastructure. Teachers will NOT quote "I need a raise" when asked what they want. They will quote lack of textbooks, lack of resources, lack of infrastructure, lack of investment. Teachers don't want more money. Teachers want MORE TEACHERS. The b.s. over raises is solely an issue of the Unions and Boards... who seem to think that any bargaining session is more "newsworthy" if they discuss income, rather than the real issue.
Teachers know, on a daily, intimate basis... what is lacking in their classrooms. They have an ongoing concern and requirement to deal with lack of funding, resources, hardware and support.
Government Employees and Elected officials know f-all about it. They don't have the background, they don't have the inclination, and they don't have the desire to learn as they will probably be shuffled into a different portfolio within 2 years or less.
Teacher Strikes suck. I'm not arguing that. They're SUPPOSED to suck. A strike is a last means of garnering attention to an oncoming disaster... so drastic measures are taken to INSURE attention is given.
And WHY do Teacher Strikes suck? They delay instruction. They interfere with graduation and testing. They prevent the children from attending (which throws a HUGE monkeywrench into a dual-income household for childcare).
Look at it this way: If teachers are so fundamental, so intrinsic to your children's education, future and daily stability. If teachers have such a dramatic impact on the society at large... shouldn't you take the time to actually listen to what they're saying are problems?
I will maintain to my dying breath that Teacher's issues have nothing to do with their income, and everything to do with their support infrastructure. Teachers will NOT quote "I need a raise" when asked what they want. They will quote lack of textbooks, lack of resources, lack of infrastructure, lack of investment. Teachers don't want more money. Teachers want MORE TEACHERS. The b.s. over raises is solely an issue of the Unions and Boards... who seem to think that any bargaining session is more "newsworthy" if they discuss income, rather than the real issue.
Garnered Wisdom --
If it has more than four legs, kill it immediately.
Never hesitate to put another bullet into the skull of the movie's main villain; it'll save time on the denouement.
Eight hours per day of children's TV programming can reduce a grown man to tears -- PM me for details.
If it has more than four legs, kill it immediately.
Never hesitate to put another bullet into the skull of the movie's main villain; it'll save time on the denouement.
Eight hours per day of children's TV programming can reduce a grown man to tears -- PM me for details.