Dangerous slogans for education and life
Janusz Maciuba teaches English as a Second Language at a technical college in the Atlanta area. He has written several pieces for the AJC. Here is his latest:
By Janusz Maciuba
In the service of instilling self-esteem in students, teachers and other cheerleaders of scholastic and personal achievement have promoted slogans that are potentially dangerous if taken at face value by students. In fact, some of these motivational mottoes can actually encourage students to drop out of school. I base my observations on teaching 7th and 9th graders and from reading thousands of GED essays, some of which explained why students left school before graduation and what their dreams for the future were.
Here are the top three lies some students believe:
You can be anything you want to be. Yes, you can! With hard work at school or on the practice field or in the orchestra, mixed with talent and luck, the right blend of genes, and teachers and parents who really take an interest in your rise to success, you can be on your way to that happy life.
But, if you can’t spell pediatrician, it’s very unlikely you’ll be one. If you’re 14, short and weigh 90 pounds, the chances of playing for the pros are slim.
My 9th graders really believed in this dream. One day there’s a knock on the door and in a deus ex machina moment the student is plucked from real life and offered a music contract or a chance at professional sports. Generally, the worst students had the biggest dreams. Why study when desire trumps education?
A better and truer motivational message would be the old Army slogan: Be all that you can be. This is much more realistic and directs the student to exploit and capitalize on his natural talents and interests. It tells the student to find a realistic goal and work hard to get there. If he really wants to be a rapper, then he needs to: learn poetry in English class, play an instrument, join the choir, take math so all the big money doesn’t get siphoned off by managers and the inevitable posse, and become a well-rounded person who can control his life and destiny.
Students still believe that almost all the famous rappers came from the streets, when most had a middle-class upbringing. Tupac Shakur, for one, became a gansta later in life and perhaps never had the survival instincts that might have prevented his death.
The next slogan can’t be blamed on teachers but I’m not so sure about football coaches — Never back down. This philosophy shows a lack of critical reasoning and seems to come from a sense of honor learned in video games and movies. This can be a noble gesture at Little Round Top or when facing the Persian army at Thermopylae but, when it comes to school rules, jobs, or life, it is disastrous because the student will expelled, unemployable, and incarcerated. Like Kenny Rogers sings in “The Gambler”: “You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.”
The last slogan is: Be a leader not a follower. Yes, break out the black flag of anarchy as all the students set up their own republics. There are times, in real life, to be a leader and other times to be a follower. Knowing the difference is the key.
Everybody engages in some magical thinking — I’m hoping some literary elves finish my novel one night – but it’s usually harmless. The danger is when unrealistic dreams and an inflated sense of character hinder educational progress.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
So, all you motivators think of the consequences of these slogans and explain the pitfalls of taking them at face value. Or, don’t say anything at all.
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110 comments Add your comment
Beverly Fraud
December 27th, 2012
11:22 am
Cindy? Cindy? Are you not able to offer an effective rebuttal, or explain why it is in error to want to hold our educational leaders to a high ethical standard?
Do not the educators who did things the right way deserve that validation every bit as much as those Olympians who competed against Marion Jones?
Maureen, has the AJC processed the T Shirt order?
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
11:26 am
RCB</b< Good point, except when your county sets up "leadership institutes” you best keep your eyes open to policy-creeping. “Leadership” is not the same thing as management or teaching management. One difference is that “leadership” uses a lack of structure and boundaries. In this way I am guessing that “leadership” completely disregards scholarship on objectives of effective / purposeful management. As I am indicating, it is an altogether different animal when turned into an official script. It is no longer personal as you reference, it is not specific to public service management, instead it is political (meaning: Who has the power).
In a similar manner, teachers are officially told to be “reflective,” which is another misapplication of a personal concept and turning it into official doctrine. It is inappropriate and a perverse use of power, and leads to bad things, where official purpose is turned into indoctrination and intimidation. This use of “reflective teacher” is fairly huge, and used in official policy naming.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
11:31 am
15.5 million returns on Google search term “reflective teacher.” Lots of diagrams. Apparently this beast was hatched from “Marzano.”
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
11:35 am
“Leadership” gang affiliation colors include “gold Jaguar” from what I’ve seen. And I don’t mean because the person is a car nerd.
AlreadySheared
December 27th, 2012
11:38 am
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it
[Chorus:]
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
by R Kelly
RCB
December 27th, 2012
11:41 am
@Private Citizen…I agree with your post as it relates to adults, but I think children should be encouraged to be leaders (i.e. Student Council, club officers, etc.). The way Dekalb practices, their only concern seems to be the status quo of administrative leadership, and I use that term loosely. My parents probably preceded the leader quote with, “If your friend jumps off a bridge,…” LOL
redweather
December 27th, 2012
11:57 am
@Private Citizen, you write “You should be teaching economics and physics, not spending money to direct people in vacant opinions about ‘getting people thinking.’”
I don’t understand your point, especially that about “vacant opinions.” And from an educator’s standpoint, “getting people thinking” is education.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
11:58 am
hey, look, it’s just like school management. You look worn out. Remember. you’re an informant now. That means responsibilities, like conspiracy and confidentiality, but also privileges… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veag-ptUkXI#t=108m20s
SEE
December 27th, 2012
12:16 pm
Well, we’ve made it to page 2 talking about vacuous slogans. Congratulations group, we really can blog on and on about nothing.
Retired teacher
December 27th, 2012
12:16 pm
Oh goodness, but I truely remember these trite little phrases and many more from my teaching days.
Back in the late 80s, I got reamed out by an assistant principal for daring to tell an 18 year old freshman who was in my remedial reading class that there was no way he was going to be a professional football player and that he needed to figure out what he could do to make a living. This kid was scrawny, did not play for the school, and hadn’t played rec ball in a couple of years. I was told “don’t crush his dreams!” and I was told that I was mean. When I dared to ask, “so we are supposed to ignore reality?” I was written up. (What can I say…I was young and didn’t know when to keep my mouth shut.)
Last year, I had a student who had an earned average of 46, but it was school policy to bump grades up to a 50. During one really fruitful quarter, I sent home a weekly email update to his parents and called them every two weeks. I offered tutoring a couple of days after school. He came a couple of times. I documented every single thing. He didn’t come close to passing the CRCT and hadn’t ever actually passed it. During the last 2 weeks of school, in the parent conference, his parents actually complained that none of his teachers did enough to help him and how dare we suggest that he be held back. In fact, they complained, they were tired of hearing lazy teachers suggest the same thing year after year. Of course he was placed in the next grade.
The writing on the wall was clear to me and I retired early. Teachers are being worn out and worn down by documenting every single thing for no real reason other than the fact that an administrator is spineless. School is no longer about learning or preparing for the future. For most students, it is a place holder.
I have a job in the private sector now. It is really nice being treated as a responsible adult.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
12:16 pm
RCB I think you’re getting point, seeing the paradigm.
redweather Thank you for reply. The point is that where content is taught, people are working with carbon nanotubes and real physics. Where behavior modification, “themes” and “values” is taught, pretty much what you are left with after a decade is a bunch of brainwashed zombies who know “hope” and “change” and little else. The result is pretty stark when it comes to production and wealth. Teaching values is manipulative and leads to a peasant society. The real zinger is when the managers are specialised in enforcing “values” and vacant of real content and truly incompetent at managing delivery of content, and in fact create an environment hostile to content delivery. This is very real. There are many education environments in Georgia where content delivery is punished and “hope and change” replacing teaching real knowledge and skills. I do not know if I can make it any clearer. I am making effort. If you want something more than a peasant society full of fakery, you may consider the utility of throwing official indoctrinations out of the door and to the curb, and attending to sequential building blocks of traditional knowledge in place of using daydreams to con easy targets. It’s the oldest confidence game around, to “sell” the mark lots of hope and promises and deliver little or nothing to them. Some say such “hope and change” training is supposed to stimulate confidence. The problem is that today real content delivery is often disregards or outright punished. We must consider the reality of what is actually occuring. Also, it is a lot cheaper to spin up some “values” training than to do real content delivery. The term “dereliction” is appropriate when using “values” in place of “content.” To try and answer your question clearly, there is a difference in “themes” and “values” and mastering content, hence the formal study of economics or physics. Maybe this will sink in in a little while, if this concept currently remains foreign to you. Telling children the sky is bright and blue is entirely different from having the machine to form lenses to correct their vision and headaches. Maybe we should call it “industrial knowledge” how to make things to make life better, instead of pardon me being a bunch of Georgia slobs waiting on the rest of the world to do our work for us. That you have a large “cadre” of managers running a con game seems to be a culture here.
Hillbilly D
December 27th, 2012
12:16 pm
The danger is when unrealistic dreams and an inflated sense of character hinder educational progress.
Some of that can be traced to the emphasis on “self-esteem”. Self-esteem is in over-abundance these days. What the world really needs is more humility, rather than emphasizing self-esteem, which in many cases has turned out a bumper crop of self-centered narcissists. And to make matters worse, some of those folks are now raising kids and compounding the problem.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
12:21 pm
SEE That’s a difference between you and me. Children with headaches who live for years without eyeglasses, and intimidated teacher-workers are not “nothing” to me.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
12:30 pm
And from an educator’s standpoint, “getting people thinking” is education.
No, it is not. Having an existent body of work and transferring content and skills content is “education.” If I am a machinest and when you leave your time with me, you know how to run a lathe, then I have taught you. If I am trained in economics and after you leave your time with me you competently understand markets, and the structure of small and large business, then I have taught you. “Getting people thinking” is like focusing on the quality of “appetite” of being hungry. Friend, you’re going to have a lot of skinny malnourished people who know nothing of how to prepare food or eat, but know quite a lot a about “appetite” and being hungry.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
12:36 pm
redweather I’m going to buy you lunch today. Are you ready? Get your fork out? Here we go. Okay, here’s you lunch. http://www.bonappetit.com/ Now, call me in an hour and tell me how good you feel, renewed, and the strength you have from the excellent lunch I have bought you. No doubt you are now invigorated and ready to conquer the world, go unload a truck full of cinderblocks, or build an airport. Meanwhile, I get paid and you go hungry. But I made you feel good and you fell for it (so to speak).
mountain man
December 27th, 2012
1:03 pm
“Here are the top three lies some students believe:
You can be anything you want to be.”
Hey, you left off the first part of it! With hard work and enough dedication and determination ( and the right physical gifts, for some things), you can be anything you want to be. If you have 20/400 vision, I don’t think they are going to let you fly Air Force jets or be an astronaut. You have to understand your limitations. However, never again will I say I will never live to see a woman or a black person elected president. One has now happened and the other came close to happening.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
1:05 pm
redweather people should be regularly reminded that they can and do control a lot of things
That’s a good point, but the only way I know to make it immediate / specific is that people have a choice in what they consumer, how they spend their money. Developing oneself for a meaningful career is far more complex, although some of the same reasoning can apply, i.e. to not be debt-slave through signing on to university slavery where the student leaves with a great portion of debt. I think there is some room-for-scholarship available to evaluate university programs as well. Many make promises that do not get fulfilled. In fact, there is a class-action lawsuit occurring from law grads who are suing their law schools about official misrepresentation of their career prospects after spending $100-200k(?) on their programs.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
1:15 pm
mountain man you can be anything you want to be
this is not true. people need to identify their own gifts / identity. that is “what you can be.” Mountain Man, I have it on good authority that you can not be a ballet person or concert pianist. but there is likely something you can “be” to be the best at something, but you are going to have to identify it yourself and perhaps find a mentor based on what you decide. The point is, education doctrine or management should not strike a pose and use lies to appropriate identity.
Mountain Man, you or I or anyone else here can not do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_CpwM0czQY In fact, dismissing identity is an insult to the recognition of individuals who accomplish anything and makes a mockery of identity and accomplishment.
keepin' it real
December 27th, 2012
1:30 pm
“She’ll never amount to anything because she doesn’t understand math.” Funny, this quote came from my second grade teacher during a parent-teacher conference, and I over-heard she and my mother discussing my poor math skills. I have never never ever forgotten this horrible woman. Perhaps it was her teaching ability? I have a masters and post masters in science and am successful. What the heck do these teachers know? Nothing!
bootney farnsworth
December 27th, 2012
2:02 pm
slogans worth teaching/embracing:
-pray to God, but row towards shore
-respect yourself
-stand out by standing up
-integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking
mountain man
December 27th, 2012
2:04 pm
Or how about this slogan: “Treat people the way you would want them to treat you.”
bootney farnsworth
December 27th, 2012
2:04 pm
@ mountain man,
I agree. you gotta be realistic, but hard work and desire overcome a lot.
plus, if you don’t try, you don’t know
bootney farnsworth
December 27th, 2012
2:05 pm
or this: do onto others as they have done to you. but don’t give them a chance to do it again
bootney farnsworth
December 27th, 2012
2:07 pm
worthless slogans:
-think outside the box
-soft answer turns away wrath
-the truth will set you free
bootney farnsworth
December 27th, 2012
2:09 pm
at the end of the day, self esteem comes from hard work and achievement, not meaningless phrases and condesending sloganmasters
bootney farnsworth
December 27th, 2012
2:12 pm
most useless slogans ever
-shared governance.
-responsible leadership
-accountability at the top
Ole Guy
December 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
These…”motivational”…slogans have been around for eons. The educational leaders, of the 60s, used to piss me off with these trite expressions: “work hard. blah blah blah”. Let’s just realize that, in their zeal to motivate, many educators simply…don’t have it. Some of the most technical-worthy, subject matter experts were great at plying their trade…educating kids in the art and science of a high school education, but they were lousy at the motivation game. let’s face it (from my experience), motivation, in and of itself, comes from making the grade, whether it’s aceing that test or barely passing a tough nut course. I was equally ellated in barely passing a chem test as I was in maxing an English exam; by the same token, missing a few questions on that English test pissed me off more than missing a few on trig, chem, or physics…all spheroid busters.
Let’s talk, for a moment, about promoting the self esteem thing…THERE’S SIMPLY TOO DAMN MUCH OF IT. From my short exposure in the classroom, far too much time and energy was expended/wasted on issues of self esteem. If the educational philosophy was more-focused on subject mastery and not so much on those touchy feely things like “does little johnny feel good about himself today”, we would be liteyears ahead in preping kids for the mean ole world. If little johnny busted an exam; if little johnny simply ain’t a-gettin it…HE’S SUPPOSED TO FEEL BAD ABOUT HIMSELF; NO AMOUNT OF PSUEDO-MOTIVATIONAL SNAKE OIL IS GONNA ENABLE HIM TO BUST ANY LEARNING BARRIERS. Among a few other reasons, this penchant, within the educational camp, was a major reason for my deciding to leave education (a would-be second career) and return to “my world”.
Teachers, in employing these silly motivational tactics, you aren’t giving your kids enough credit. Be tough, (figuratively speaking) pop em on the six a few times…if they truly want it, they’ll get it; if they don’t/if they want to be losers, no amount of “motivation” will hack it. The education system has to be willing to “drop” a few”. The world will always need menial laborers. DON”T try to change that. The cream will ALWAYS rise.
Prof
December 27th, 2012
2:37 pm
I myself favor William Blake’s slogans:
Prudence is a rich ugly old maid courted by Incapacity.
and
If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise.
ColonelJack
December 27th, 2012
2:44 pm
A year or so ago, I had a student in my 7th grade class whose goal in life was to be a professional football player. Unlike many who make that declaration, he had the size and (for his age) the skills to at least make a good run at it. What he couldn’t do well was read, or write, or do any kind of math, or even stay awake in the classroom. (Of course, he was allowed to play on our middle school’s football team … he *is* a good player!) The morning after a game, while he was still reaping the accolades of his classmates for his great playing, I asked him about his dreams for the NFL. He seemed confident, even cocky about it. Then I reminded him that he would have to be drafted out of college, as the NFL doesn’t have a minor-league system as such. His expression changed in a heartbeat. “College? I gotta go to college?” (That’s an exact quote, by the way.) I assured him that yes, all NFL players have at least some college experience, and while the best-of-the-best may opt for the NFL before exhausting all of their college eligibility, there were exactly zero players in the NFL who were drafted out of high school.
I wish I could say it caused in him a great awakening. It did bring about a minor increase in effort…for a while, anyway. I guess he still thinks he’ll be the LeBron James of football, drafted to the pros right out of high school.
BADA BING
December 27th, 2012
2:50 pm
Want a slogan?
This is a APS T- shirt for Beverly Fraud
“My Child Is An Honor Student”
(Subject to an ongoing investigation)
Uh
December 27th, 2012
2:57 pm
The “Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours” script is part of a character education program called Project Wisdom. Georgia mandates schools do character education, and Project Wisdom is a quick way and relatively inexpensive way to meet the requirement. Each day, there’s a little story or scenario that teaches a superficial lesson which simply concludes with the “make it a great day or not” line. It’s probably useless,but at least it doesn’t take a lot of time away from real academic instruction.
Political Mongrel
December 27th, 2012
3:31 pm
Unfortunately, unrealistic blather is the name of the game in so many areas of society. Politics and religion are the worst.
Old timer
December 27th, 2012
3:41 pm
In my room used to be two quotes
“it is not your aptitude but your attitude that determines your altitude in life”. Jessie Jackson
“You have a brain in your head and feet in your shoes. You can go any direction you choose”.
I did spend a good bit of time at the beginning of the year talking about attitude and I never “gave” a grade to a student they did not earn.
Eddie Hall
December 27th, 2012
3:48 pm
Eddie Hall? Eddie? Maureen, wake up! Seems we have our first winner of the beat a quick and hasty retreat when asked to defend the validity of an attack T Shirt.
I did not retreat Beverly, I just went to work. I don’t question your sincerity or right for that matter to question the issue, but once a horse is dead, it’s dead.
As I asked, did you want the award?
TeacherMom4
December 27th, 2012
3:53 pm
We do “Project Wisdom” every day on the morning announcements, followed by the “Make it a great day or not,” spiel. Like most other things, the kids who listen are not the ones who need to hear it.
Ed Johnson
December 27th, 2012
3:54 pm
Dangerous slogans for education and life? How about these?
“The mission of Atlanta Public Schools is to educate all students through academic excellence, preparing them for success in life, service and leadership.”
“The vision of Atlanta Public Schools is to be a student-centered, high-performing urban school district where all students become successful life-long learners and leaders.”
Mission and vision or just plain old hackneyed slogans that seem so horribly reminiscent of the Beverly Hall era?
Beverly Fraud
December 27th, 2012
4:32 pm
“I did not retreat Beverly, I just went to work. I don’t question your sincerity or right for that matter to question the issue, but once a horse is dead, it’s dead.”
Fair enough; but the horse isn’t dead; did the IOC say “the horse is dead” and let Marion Jones keep her medals?
Did the sanctioning body of the Tour de France let Lance Armstrong keep his victories because “the horse is dead”?
Did Penn State let the Paterno statue stand in memorial because Joe is dead?
No, no, and no. Why? Because each of those institutions know that innocent people were wronged, and continuing to honor them is a slap in the face to those who were wronged.
In each case reporters saw the legitimacy of asking the question.
In this case, should an education organization be held to a lower standard that a sports organization? Should Maureen be held to a lower standard than a sports reporter?
Truth in Moderation
December 27th, 2012
4:35 pm
This Bible “slogan” should be taught in all schools:
“For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”
2 Thessalonians 3:10
Beverly Fraud
December 27th, 2012
4:36 pm
Want a slogan?
This is a APS T- shirt for Beverly Fraud
“My Child Is An Honor Student”
(Subject to an ongoing investigation)
It’s an honest T-Shirt!
BADA BING
December 27th, 2012
4:53 pm
APS T-shirt
“Beverly Hall Won A National Teaching Award, And All My Child Got Was A Lousy Education”
Cindy Lutenbacher
December 27th, 2012
6:31 pm
@Beverly Fraud–I had work.
My response had to do with staying on topic and with your attacks on Maureen and others–not your recurrent concerns over Beverly Hall. I really wish this blog could be a place for sincere discussion.
Also, it’s an either/or fallacy to assume that requests to stay on topic and to desist from attacks to the person mean a speaker or writer endorses the actions of people such as Paterno, Sandusky, Hall, or others.
Beverly Fraud
December 27th, 2012
8:01 pm
@Beverly Fraud–I had work.
My response had to do with staying on topic and with your attacks on Maureen and others–not your recurrent concerns over Beverly Hall. I really wish this blog could be a place for sincere discussion.
Again Cindy, you miss the point; it’s not about Beverly Hall; it’s about the thousands of educators who chose to do things the right way. It’s about those educators whose careers were destroyed by trying to stand up to cheating. It’s about an organization continuing to slap those ethical educators in the face by honoring someone who dishonored the entire education profession.
Again, how is talking about Beverly Hall’s actions an attack on her as a person? Answer; it’s not.
And that’s less problematic to you Cindy than “staying on topic”? Seriously? And what exactly about the above points is “insincere”? (I mean seriously, we are talking about “slogans” not world peace after all.)
And for that matter Maureen wasn’t “attacked” either. Her specific action of making a choice not to address this issue was brought under question. How is that an “attack”?
Cindy Lutenbacher
December 27th, 2012
8:13 pm
Beverly Fraud, my comments about ad hominem attacks do not relate to Beverly Hall at all. I am not talking about your comments about her. Are we clear on that?
You attack others regularly. You make sarcastic comments and direct them to specific individuals, rather than talking about issues.
I’m weary of you dragging Beverly Hall into every discussion. It is a diversion. Here, you got off on the idea of Hall having received an award, and you seem very troubled that there is not a continual storm of voices that the award be retracted—long, long after she’s gone.
Again, you seem to fall for the either/or fallacy in your response to me.
Beverly Fraud
December 27th, 2012
8:32 pm
“You attack others regularly. You make sarcastic comments and direct them to specific individuals, rather than talking about issues.”
@Cindy, if you want to say I make sarcastic comments fine; if you want to extrapolate from that I do not engage in education issues, I think my track record says otherwise.
Case in point: this very issue It’s an issue about restoring integrity and honoring people who did things the right way. You seem to continually avoid that.
To say “long after she is gone” is beside the point. Joe Paterno is as “gone” as it gets. He’s dead. Yet the people of Penn State knew it was fair and just to remove his statue, as it was an insult to the victims of Jerry Sandusky, based on Paterno’s non-actions.
Marion Jones is “long gone” from the international track scene; yet the IOC knew it was fair and just to remove her medals, as it would be an insult to those who competed against her and an insult to the competition itself.
Yes it bothers me that there is not a continual storm of voices that the award be retracted, as I think that is a damning indictment of educators in this state knowing full well what their fellow professional endured in a corporate culture of fear and intimidation (or have you forgotten the APS teacher who was made to sit under a table? Have you forgotten the teachers who were fired merely for speaking out against an ethical outrage?)
Herb Garrett and GSSA apparently have forgotten. As have apparently many Georgia teachers. They have forgotten those dedicated professionals who needlessly suffered because they attempted to do the right thing.
They deserve better than to be forgotten, they deserve to better than to have one who betrayed them and the children of Atlanta allowed the designation of being a “Superintendent of the Year”
There is a reason they remove Paterno’s statue took away Jones’s medals and vacated (I’m sure Maureen can relate) Janet Cooke’s Pulitizer when it was based on a fabricated story.
Should we expect any less of GSSA than we did of Penn State, the IOC and the Pulitzer committee in the above actions?
Yes I find the fact that perhaps educators don’t demand more of “educational leaders” very problematic. Do not their fellow educators who were victims of this scandal deserve more?
Beverly Fraud
December 27th, 2012
8:41 pm
“Again, you seem to fall for the either/or fallacy in your response to me.”
I don’t think I do, and here’s why. We have three choices here.
My postings bother you more than Herb Garrett’s lack of response on the Superintendent award.
My postings bother you less than Herb Garrett’s lack of response on the Superintendent award.
My postings bother you the same as Herb Garret’s lack of response on the Superintendent award.
Whether you are greatly bothered or not at all bothered, I don’t see, logically speaking, a fourth choice.
You have chosen to comment on my posts, and have expressed displeasure in them. While it doesn’t definitively prove, it does indicate that you are then more bothered with my postings than Herb Garrett’s actions.
As such I would not make an attack, but ask a question; what does it say about an educator who is more bothered by a poster on a blog, than (apparently) an education leader in this state who would make a conscious, deliberate choice to honor an educator “long after” (to borrow your term) who disgraced an entire education profession, and destroyed the careers of many dedicated educational professionals in the process?
How is that not a fair and legitimate question to ask?
Beverly Fraud
December 27th, 2012
8:53 pm
Maureen you can hold off on one of the T-Shirts.
But as it stands now, I’ve yet to see someone make a case as to why it is not a fair and legitimate question to ask of GSSA, in light of the established precedent of organizations as varied as Penn State, the IOC, the Pulitzer Committee, the Grammys, and others who have decided it is the morally right thing to do when an award winner has been found to have cheated or otherwise not been worthy of an honor.
And if educators don’t think it’s an important question to ask, what does that say about the importance they place on issues such as honor and integrity?
An Army Ranger will risk his very life to drag a dead comrade to safe haven. Honor and integrity. But Georgia educators can’t even find it within themselves to ask an educational leader to honor victims of the largest cheating scandal in United States educational history to rescind the award given based on the lies of that very scandal?
catlady
December 27th, 2012
9:04 pm
I’d add “Making every student successful.” We are exhorted to do this, but it comes at a price, and we all know what it is: There comes a point where we cannot modify, adapt, or accomodate the curriculum to make the student “appear” successful and still be true to the content.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
9:54 pm
In my personal experience attending the best schools in the United States, there were no slogans anywhere and none mentioned – ever. Not once. Particularly, in high school no teacher spent a moment of their time making themed bulletin boards for the halls, although we had slate floors and couches in the halls. I was fortunate in attending the last days of an old, old campus prior to a move to new facilities in large part because of cost / savings of modern thermal efficiency (cost to heat/ cool). Anyway, no slogans and no one would have put up with. We were trained to quickly identify and attack bad ideas (you may have noticed). People who use slogans essentially are vacant individuals evidencing bad character. To force others to do it is criminal. Somebody needs to write a law to prohibit government schools “character training.” It is someone bad LSD ego trip being forced upon others and leads to bad things. Many, many bad things, the first being worker intimidation practiced by people who are essentially crooks. Giving them an arsenal of required character is basically a weapon they use against teachers. It is a low mindset that attracts a low person to originate and enforce this fakery and it is an example of disrespect of individuals and poor psychological boundaries. Someone needs to clean up this garbage dump that is state policy forcing contrived “character” education and using bad character to enforce this trash on professionals and students.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
9:58 pm
You folks make jokes about t-shirts, but in the age of computers and internet, it is quite doable to make such t-shirts real per order. Count me in and mine to be “Race to The Top Dog Biscuits” using a font / logo similar to Ritz brand crackers.
Private Citizen
December 27th, 2012
10:07 pm
I like this because it does not slander anyone. You could were the shirt in Colorado, or anywhere else, to good effect:
My Child Is An Honor Student”
(Subject to an ongoing investigation)
_______________
I always though there should be an add-on:
“My Child Is An Honor Student”
Your kid should have attend a more difficult school.