California measure fails clean energy promises

[nate]

Parents have to keep pushing the kids to work hard. In pre school it is the pre school teachers that do it. Once they begin elementary school the parents have to take over.

[red321]

Neither of those articles state that MT. The first one compares educational philosophies in pre-school (educational vs. more play oriented) and the second one takes about how upper income children need pre-school less than lower income children, usually based on the fact that their home environments tend to be better...providing the benefits that pre-school provides for those who don't have that type of environment at home.

 

research suggests that if you have the time and money to argue over the merits of a Waldorf preschool versus a Montessori one, little Emma isn’t going to suffer either way. In fact, she probably doesn’t need to go to preschool at all. The kids who truly need early education have parents who, sadly, can’t afford it. It’s hard to tease out the effects of preschool on a child. Part of the problem is self-selection: Compared with kids who skip preschool, kids who attend usually have more well-to-do, encouraging parents who read and do puzzles with them at home. Children who don’t go to preschool are usually from more disadvantaged families, which means they watch lots of TV and are yelled at more than they are praised, which some researchers believe can stunt cognitive development.

[mtangelsfan]

Then perhaps it is their circumstances that cause them to struggle and not the lack of pre-school. 

 

Both my boys went, I just don't think it is the end all, be all of education.  Of all the things wrong in our educational system it is way down the line. 

[Adam]

We need more shitty teachers. Free preschool for all!

[mtangelsfan]

That is the point, isn't it.  Instead of putting the money into getting, training and keeping the best posible teachers and the best possible instruments to do the job, they just want to pay for pre-school.

[red321]

That is the point, isn't it.  Instead of putting the money into getting, training and keeping the best posible teachers and the best possible instruments to do the job, they just want to pay for pre-school.

 

yes...that is usually the slogans we hear...free preschool for all...**** first graders.

 

Or, maybe some folks look at it as part of a larger solution that involves both providing children a solid foundation and then providing them better teachers/instruments, etc. as they grow.

[mtangelsfan]

No, it's like teaching someone how to use a fire extinguisher when their house is burning down.

 

Red, you are around my age.  How many of your teachers do you remember fondly, or at least remember them driving you to learn?

[red321]

I can remember a significant number of my teachers...through all grade levels. In fact I just ran in to my 8th grade civics teacher at a photo workshop I taught, and she remembered not only me, but the fact I had two siblings (one who is significantly younger than I am).

 

I especially remember my French teacher who had just graduated from college...though I could barely speak a lick of French when I graduated from HS.

[mtangelsfan]

You are lucky, I remember only two of my grade school teachers and remember only being encouraged by 3 teachers in high school.  If I didn't have a lock down memory when I was young I would have really struggled at school.

 

Teachers need to be better.  The system needs to be tossed out and restructured.  There is no way all kids learn the same way and that is how we are trying to teach them.  The really smart kids get attention and the struggling kids may get some attention but most students get little to no attention.

[red321]

You are lucky, I remember only two of my grade school teachers and remember only being encouraged by 3 teachers in high school.  If I didn't have a lock down memory when I was young I would have really struggled at school.

 

Teachers need to be better.  The system needs to be tossed out and restructured.  There is no way all kids learn the same way and that is how we are trying to teach them.  The really smart kids get attention and the struggling kids may get some attention but most students get little to no attention.

 

I won't even pretend I know how to resolve challenges schools face. There are some remarkable people who go in to education and I know I would not have the temperament to be one of them.

[mtangelsfan]

I won't even pretend I know how to resolve challenges schools face. There are some remarkable people who go in to education and I know I would not have the temperament to be one of them.

 

Of course there are, but I didn't ague otherwise.  I would just like more remarkable people in education.

[red321]

I would agree with that. 

[Crampknees]

There are some things that liberals want just because. That is, you can cite statistics, costs, common sense, people hurt, and it won't make a difference:

 

1. Preschool. 

2. Condoms and values-free sex education. 

3. Universal health care. 

4. Less military. 

5. Non-judgment or endorsement of sexual proclivities. 

6. Being nice to cute animals. 

7. Taxes, except for cool things like movies. 

8. Publicly funded art they agree with.

9. Rail and anything else where people go to a central, public, planned thing. 

10. Gun control. 

 

These are 

Can you next time cite examples of statistics, costs and common sense please. 

[halomatt]

Of course there are, but I didn't ague otherwise.  I would just like more remarkable people in education.

There are many, many remarkable teachers.  Personally (and professionally), I'm seeing less and less remarkable parents.

[mtangelsfan]

There are many, many remarkable teachers.  Personally (and professionally), I'm seeing less and less remarkable parents.

There are many, many remarkable teachers.  Personally (and professionally), I'm seeing less and less remarkable parents.

that is an easy out.

[juansavage1]

Can you next time cite examples of statistics, costs and common sense please. 

Yes. Although I shouldn't spend too much time since I have this online course that's kicking my ass that I have to finish soon. 

 

1. No evidence that preschool produces long range benefits. If it did, inner city kids would be geniuses since they all get free preschool. You can look up the head start studies. Yet, NOBODY wants to get rid of this gigantic waste of money. 

 

2. Since values-free sex education started in earnest in the 70s, what statistic regarding teens and sexual behavior has improved? None. In fact, everything from sexual activity to STDs, to teen pregnancies are much worse than they were in the 60s, with slight fluctuations year to year. I'm not making a causal connection between sex ed and the bad results, but it hasn't helped and probably hurt. 

 

3. This is debatable. I'm just saying that many leftists believe health care is a human right, something that makes no sense. It's like saying transportation is a human right. The argument with them isn't whether it's a good or bad policy, but how to best implement it. 

 

4. Leftists don't know how much military we should have. They just want less of it. 

 

5. The greatest horror for modern leftists, based on TV series and movements like the slut movement and emphasis on college campuses, is somebody denying themselves sexual pleasure. 

 

6. Environmentalism. How many trees should we have? What's the cost benefit of this policy? Doesn't matter. 

 

7. Liberals generally want higher taxes except for things like movie production. There, they want lower taxes. 

 

8. Even though most art is fine without funds and publicly funded arts suck, most liberals think NPR and arts is a function of government period and that if we don't publicly fund it, we're backwards. It's like if we don't keep funding ineffective preschools, we hate kids. 

 

9. Liberals love rail and all transit for the masses. It doesn't matter if people use it or if 1000 people have to starve. 

 

10. It doesn't matter whether crime goes up with more gun control. It's related to rail in that the government should be the primary dispenser of transit and crime fighting (and preschool and art). 

 

Look this up: Intersectionality. It's a term that the left invented when they noticed that groups can compete with each other over who's more oppressed (Marxism). In other words, white people are oppressors, but white gays and white women can still be cool because they're oppressed. That way, they have over 51%. 

 

It applies here in this way. Let's say that gay men needed guns to enjoy anal sex. Liberals would send every American an M-16 and 500 rounds.

[juansavage1]

You can do this with any ideology, by the way. 

 

Catholics: 

 

1. You can cite rape stories and they still will be against abortion. 

2. Marriage. You can say that two moms are way better than a mom and a dad because kids will be able to use the remote control. No budge. 

 

Libertarians: 

 

1. Fire departments. You can tell a Libertarian (as I have) that fire departments save lives and not having government ones are impractical in downtown Los Angeles and they'll still say that it should be private. 

Edited September 21, 2015 by Juan Savage

[Tank]

that is an easy out.

But that doesn't make it any less true, mt.

My lesson plans are all online. My grade book is all online. Discipline records are all online. Everything is a password and a couple of mouse clicks away. But just last spring I had a parent get downright pissed at me because I wouldn't send him a text about his sons grade in History. Really, dude? I apologized to him, but he hasn't acknowledged me and I doubt he's forgiven me.

There was also the principal whose son was in my class and wanted me to send an email whenever a test was coming up because he was too busy to check the online lesson plans (he was busy writing everyone threatening letters and possibly embezzling money), nor did he trust his kid to write down homework assignments in his school-issued assignment book.

There are more and more parents who challenge us, mt. I've seen them come down hard on good teachers because they don't want to acknowledge any deficiencies in their kids. It blows to work hard but be on the receiving end of misguided wrath.

The process to weed out poorer teachers is better, though not perfect. It's sometimes a problem to keep or attract good teachers, and sometimes that comes from overbearing parents who have an agenda.

[mtangelsfan]

Tank, I'm certain you are a great teacher. The problem is there aren't 100,000 tanks teaching.

As I said to red, there are plenty of remarkable teachers, but not enough.

[halomatt]

Mt...I certainly understand.  Sample sizes always apply in ANY profession. 

 

What Tank said is absolutely true.  I have had similar experiences with parents.  Parent's often times would prefer we be available at all hours to see to their needs.  I've had to tell parents "No." When they get upset, I tell them I have MY OWN kids to look after at that time.  I WILL NOT compromise the needs of my own kids for some parent who feels it's more important for me to meet with them after they get out of work.

 

Also, I have many, many parents who will request that I give them my personal phone number so they can text me about the homework, either because the kid needs help or because they don't know what the homework IS for that night.  No.  EFFIN. Way.

 

The majority of the kids that are strong students come from backgrounds where the parents VALUE education and place an emphasis on learning.  There are always exceptions, of course, where the kids learn IN SPITE of their parents, but that is rare. 

 

While it's easy to say that it's "an easy out", it's nontheless true in many instances. 

[juansavage1]

But that doesn't make it any less true, mt.

My lesson plans are all online. My grade book is all online. Discipline records are all online. Everything is a password and a couple of mouse clicks away. But just last spring I had a parent get downright pissed at me because I wouldn't send him a text about his sons grade in History. Really, dude? I apologized to him, but he hasn't acknowledged me and I doubt he's forgiven me.

There was also the principal whose son was in my class and wanted me to send an email whenever a test was coming up because he was too busy to check the online lesson plans (he was busy writing everyone threatening letters and possibly embezzling money), nor did he trust his kid to write down homework assignments in his school-issued assignment book.

There are more and more parents who challenge us, mt. I've seen them come down hard on good teachers because they don't want to acknowledge any deficiencies in their kids. It blows to work hard but be on the receiving end of misguided wrath.

The process to weed out poorer teachers is better, though not perfect. It's sometimes a problem to keep or attract good teachers, and sometimes that comes from overbearing parents who have an agenda.

I'm a teacher. I wouldn't recommend it to my kids unless they love teaching. 

[juansavage1]

Tank, I'm certain you are a great teacher. The problem is there aren't 100,000 tanks teaching.

As I said to red, there are plenty of remarkable teachers, but not enough.

As a parent, you're your kids' primary teacher. Plus, if your kid wants to learn, I'm pretty sure he'll have the opportunity to do so, unless the other kids make it hard. You should expect a mix of average, slightly below average, good, and great teachers. My own kids have had a mix. They've all done well in school.