Friday, 10 July 2009
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Education, Shmeducation! Who Needs It?
Tonight, I find myself irritated (to say the least) with good ol' Texas and its government.
You see, Texas has a position available on the State Board of Education. It's the chairperson position. Who, oh who, does our wonder governor--witless wonder that he is--have in mind to fill this position?
Cynthia Dunbar.
Let's get to know a bit about Cynthia, shall we?
Cynthia is an attorney. (Educated is good...)
She homeschooled her children. (Eyebrow officially raised...)
She has no proven, that I have seen, experience within the public education system. (This alone makes the fact that she even has a position on the State Board infuriating!)
Oh, and let's just add the whammy to this:
Ms. Dunbar can be quoted as saying that public education is "a subtly deceptive tool of perversion." She has also said that Texas schools--how did the paper put it...oh yes--they undermine a parent's "authority to teach children spiritual interpretations."
As an educator, I find it appalling that a woman who has called our school system a tool of perversion should be on the board at all, let alone up for the chairperson position of that board!
What I wouldn't give for ten minutes--nay, five minutes--(what the hell) one minute--alone with Rick Perry. (That's how I will end that sentence as the only alternative way I can think of to end it involves a good many swear words. )
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Comments (33)
I'll do the cussin' for you if you like Krissy.
This story makes me sick and I'm up in Canada! I've seen the same thing happen up here though. Just recently several people in Toronto were fired/let go/resigned after a big scandal in the Catholic School Board. They were a bunch of crooks bleeding the system, took hundreds of thousands of $$ - There were some on the board that had no qualifications, were recommended by relatives, it was ridiculois. Having our national anthem banned from being played or sung in school was another fiasco. At least there's good people like you around to keep an eye on these carpet baggers and hopefully put them in their place!! Good for you.
Well if that doesn't just want to make me bury my head in the sand.
good grief....that would be like letting Osama bin Laden run the US ...after all...we pervert religion for our own means.....
As an educator, I would like to make each and every critic of public education spent six weeks in a public school seeing what it is really like. We've had people come in from the private sector with "better ideas" and then leave in frustration at government regulation, irresponsible parents, clinically ill children who are not being served and the like. It's amazing what actually observing from the inside that which you so freely criticize to give you a stablilizing sense of perspective.
I hope Texas is not saddled with her.
What the heck? This sounds like a bad idea to me...
Nice. As if public education doesn't have enough challenges as it is. Hopefully there's a substanital outcry among sensible Texans.
Sensible Texans. Hmm. That'd be you, I guess.
I can only speak from a students perspective, but from what I observed and experienced saying that public schools are 'subtly deceptive tools of perversion' is a compliment.
Well. At least it wasn't this guy:
Finally, also relating to a mayor, a friend of mine was originally from Nebraska and proudly displayed the big "N" in the rear window of his car, as a supporter of their football team. One day, he said, he parked right outside city hall in Omaha. The mayor happened by, nodded to the sign and said, "You know, son, that letter doesn't just stand for Nebraska football. It also stands for knowledge." As the great Mark Twain once wrote, "Let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of the scene."
(source)
coming from Iowa's education system and placing a child in the Texas education system back in the late 90's I could tell right away that Texas had issues with public education... doesn't seem as though much has changed. I can fully understand your frustration... it's hard being a part of a system that doesn't work as well as it should- especially when there are so many great teachers in Texas working in that system that seems to either chew them up and spit them out or frustrate them into quitting. I think Iowa is lucky in that they have a strong teacher's union, value education as a state resource, and multiple governors who were teachers or at the very least married to a teacher. Texas just doesn't get it and you're right this is further proof!
Well, you're right in saying she probably shouldn't be involved with public education if she feels so negatively towards it (unless maybe she hopes to make a positive difference?), but I tend to agree with her assessment.
Oh wow. That's all I can say. o_O
I am recommending this for all the other Texangans out there. If people don't monitor their government, it's not really democracy.
@averyswife - What part of her assessment? We teachers aren't conspiring to pervert kids, and a good many teachers are very strong Christians. I find it difficult to believe her assessment is anywhere close to accurate.
I don't mind if a parent wants to homeschool a child because s/he wants to ensure a curriculum particularly suited to the child (more one on one time, something more challenging, something more suited to that particular child's learning style etc.), but I do mind when people assume that we are in there brainwashing their children or are in our classes attempting to refute their religious beliefs. We don't have time to do either of those. We are too busy getting on with the day's lesson, and trust me, no one I know has a lesson objective of perverting and corrupting youth. From my experience, youth can manage that all on their own. They don't need us to do it for them.
@Krissy_Cole - It's not the teachers, at all, Krissy, it's the system. My sis-in-law is a teacher and so is my best friend...I have nothing against the teachers. It really is public education that's the problem, like the lady said. Anytime we try to create a generic system for educating the masses it gets perverted by politics, money, and power-hungry individuals. As parents we have virtually no say in what our kids get taught and that's scary because there are many people out there that are not in it for the kids, but rather for the money and influence. I love teachers, I just despise the idea of public education. I understand the need for it in a society where parents can no longer raise their own children, but I think it's sad that we've had to resort to a government-run institution to teach our kids.
@averyswife - Did you ever take any education classes at HPU? If not, I think you would have really enjoyed what Dr. Butler and Dr. Peters had to say about this issue. They hit it right on the head--
Education in Texas will never be fixed until we can kick the power-hungry politicians out of it and put the teachers in charge of their own profession.
You are correct. So were they. Thanks for clarifying.
Um.
I hope that doesn't happen in NY! XD
@averyswife - By the by...are you blogging again?!?! Xanga misses you!!
@Krissy_Cole - I'm blogging over at Blogspot (http://motheringmunchkins.blogspot.com) but I use Xanga to keep up with everyone.
@averyswife - haha. I just went over there to check and found the new site. Your kiddos are growing right on up, girl! And I love that profile picture of you over there.
that sucks =/.
If she thinks the educational system is a tool of perversion already, what stake does she have to make it better? She'll just home school her kids anyway, so who cares if the educational system is going to hell in a hand basket?
Allow me: Fuck that stupid, ignorant ball of cuntwaffles. She needs to be shanked, ganked, hung, drawn, and quartered.
What the bloody hell? That's uncool. She doesn't sound all that...fair. (Anything else I say will be littered with profanity, and since you refrained, I shall, too.)
We have had elders in the church who wanted to boss the youth group while their kids went to another church....yup
@Blue__Summer - Always the lady!
@seedsower - *grin* My disguise is working....:D