So... Providence, Rhode Island... fires ALL their teachers...all 1926

When your job is tax payer funded, like teachers, and the taxes are running low, how can you be surprised when your job is cut?

No money= no job.
Happens with companies all the time. Why is it that people think that Govt jobs are exempt?

Originally posted by defcon5
Especially pay attention to the part about 30 minutes in, where they explain about the teachers who are considered a danger to the children, yet they are unable to fire them because of Union rules. They have to keep them on paid staff, sitting in “Rubber rooms”, where they simply show up and do nothing but absorb our tax money.

Wow!

< shakes head in disbelief >

That's extreme. Well, that makes more sense.

As for Lemon.Fresh's comment...

Still, the students need to be complicit in the teaching experience. I think teachers being solely responsible for a students achievement will only cause teachers to lower the bar so that the everyone passes. At least that is how I see it.

One reason why unions were so against NCLB. They actually would have to teach kids how to read. How ghastly is that?? Unions don't care who is teaching what. Kids aren't old enough to join unions yet to collect dues or vote. Democrats are no scared beyond belief their one major voting block left is being threatened is what is going on and why they are running like rats for cover. They still have communists but not in large numbers. They pushed their socialist agenda too far and last election the voters said enough is enough especially in state elections and now its time to take back our governments from these snakes.

Originally posted by defcon5

If they were in real dire straights they could cut from lots of less necessary things such as suspending road building, closing recreation facilitates, etc.

Apparently you haven't done much driving in Rhode Island, which I can only describe as what I imagine driving on the moon is like But as others have stated, the problem, especially here, is indeed stemming from the ineptitude of the unions. Anyone remember reading about the issues with teachers in Central Falls, RI? We need to start from scratch. At this point, any 'solutions' are akin to slapping bandaids onto machete wounds.

reply to post by Glencairn


I get so tired of having to teach my son every evening because he doesn't understand what he is being taught at school. A lot of teachers here have a Masters in Education. Well, I would put my two years of college against their Masters any day. Apparently, my education was da*&ed good, because even though I can only legally work as a teacher's aide, I do a lot of advanced teaching at home. I know I could teach circles around some of the teacher's I've encountered in my kid's education. The quality of college education has been brought down so much in order to entitle anyone who chooses to have a degree. Not everyone is higher ed material. It's time we started using common sense about education in this country. Why should I need a degree to be a plumber? Bring back apprenticeships and make high school ed more fitted to getting a job. The biggest reason for requiring higher ed for a good part of jobs today is to make money from education and licensing fees. Once you get that degree, you have to sit for exams for licensure at several hundred dollars a pop before you can get a job. It's a racket.

reply to post by Vitchilo



maybe this is a ploy to get money, hope so, otherwise its a bad sign

The day when tax cuts will start, begins and come from education is the day of confirmation of our slave status.

Slaves need no education.

For a resource rich nation to cut funding for education, espacially teachers, would only mean an end to educate our young whom are our only hope, our future and progress.

Education does not mean the path to riches for a student, but it would mean a better awareness of our world and how to improve it, lighting up the path to our common aspirations in life for ourselves and future generations to come, everyone elevated and sufferings alleviated as we build upon present knowledge to propel our civilisation further, as our ancestors with the knowledge of fire had done.

Control masters are hell bent on limiting education, for the educated would be a hinderance to their form of control by social engineering. Commie bastard Mao string the educated and had them hung by their own children during the 60s cultural revolution. Need I talk further about books burning throughout our civilisation by despots and tyrants?

No doubt education can always be improved, as in all aspect of lives, but the curtailing of education, or paying peanuts to get monkeys to waste our precious youths time, or raising taxes/subsidies/costs for education is no better than burning books by tyrants.

There are many other costs that can be cut. US troops in bases around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan should read this, judge it upon their hearts and resign immediately, so that their costs be eliminated to fund education for kids.

We adults have benefitted from the system. Our young must not be denied. Children are innocent and deserve the best, including social studies to make them ethically and morally upright productive citizens of the future, and they will look after us in our old age egalitarianly.

The oversea duty soldier do enjoys his life, as in accordance with the risks they undertake, rightly so, espacially the courageous youth in war zones. But he must ask himself this:- what was it all for? To protect the nation or CORPORATION'S wealth at the risk of their own lives, at the expense of funding for our children?

We adults can go hungry, but not our bright eyed inquisitive children in any form. They are our future. If we, policemen or soldier cannot protect our future, but rather protect the wealth of tyrants, then what have we or are we living our life for?

Originally posted by macman
When your job is tax payer funded, like teachers, and the taxes are running low, how can you be surprised when your job is cut?

No money= no job.
Happens with companies all the time. Why is it that people think that Govt jobs are exempt?

Your military seems to be

Everything except your $800 billion-per-year military expenditure (that's the bit they actually admit to, it's probably MUCH MORE!) and the salaries of your Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and State Officials seem to be fair game for the chop

Real twilight zone scenario, when your infrastructure is crumbling, your public services are being decimated, people are losing jobs and homes left right and centre... all while Wall Street has a bumper year, bankers pay themselves million pound bonuses, your military sucks up all your taxes, and most Americans cheer when a few normal, but essential workers are booted from their jobs.... all cause apparently the mess you're in is down to the Unions, not greedy corporations and bankers, and an out of control MIC.

Wow!

reply to post by Dagar


Ok first, who let the limey in??
If you really want to talk taxes and run away Govt, look no further there.

Our tax dollars are spent on ridicules measures and crap. The purpose of the US fed Govt is Defense, law and order and roads. That is about it. Not Unions, and so on.
I think Senators, Congress, Mayors, Governors and all the like make too much. They should be provided an income no higher then that of the current average household income. That's that.

This is quite a move, especially without a Republican in site.

Providence, R.I. - Mayor Angel Taveras (Democrat)
Rhode Island - Governor Lincoln Chafee (Independent)

reply to post by Tharsis


I agree.

I think the solution is as John Stossel said, and what Belgium does.

Attach the money to the child. If the parents are not satisfied, the kids moves. No kid, no money. No money, school closes.

Competition breeds excellence.

Update : Providence Mayor Defends Firings As Teachers Protest

About 1,500 people jammed the street in front of City Hall in Providence, R.I., on Wednesday to protest last week's dismissal of the city's entire teaching force.

"I thought the only insanity was in Wisconsin, not in Rhode Island," Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told the crowd, which raised signs and banged drums.

Weingarten calls the terminations insane, but city officials say they had no choice: The city is facing an estimated deficit of more than $100 million for the next fiscal year, or roughly 20 percent of the city budget.

reply to post by Vitchilo


maybe these protesters should lay down their signs, and check out just where the money is going in the state......and find some alternatives to bring up to the governor,....I kind of think they will find many things that could be cut that isn't as worthy or needed as education....
we can start with the governor and lawmakers salaries, work our way from there to tax breaks to companies and corporations that were required to create jobs for the breaks, but just didn't deliver, or the jobs are so low in pay that the people working them also spend time standing in the welfare lines! and they can go from there....