Is Louisiana the future of Georgia’s education system?
If you want to see where Georgia conservatives want to take education in this state, look five hundred miles west to Louisiana, where Gov. Bobby Jindal is implementing a voucher program intended to move hundreds of thousands of students out of public schools and into privately run schools at taxpayer expense.
Louisiana officials have made it clear that they do not intend to impose teacher standards on those schools. Students attending voucher schools will be immune to the high-stakes testing that is required in the state’s public schools. In addition, the state will not sit in judgment of what the schools teach or how they teach it.
John White, Louisiana’s school superintendent, has told the press that it should be up to parents, not the state, to gauge whether private schools are delivering a quality education. “To me, it’s a moral outrage that the government would say, ‘We know what’s best for your child,’” White said. “Who are we to tell parents we know better?”
That “who are we to judge?” question is critically important. When fully implemented, the Louisiana program has the potential to shift well over a billion dollars a year in taxpayer money out of the public system into the hands of private for-profit and non-profit schools. Surely that gives state officials not just the right but the obligation to ensure that the money is well-spent and delivers quality education. But that’s counter to the philosophy driving the school voucher movement.
The program was signed into law by Jindal in April and takes effect immediately. The result has been an educational gold rush. For example, Reuters reports that New Living Word, the school offering the most open slots to voucher students, “has a top-ranked basketball team but no library. Students spend most of the day watching TVs in barebones classrooms. Each lesson consists of an instructional DVD that intersperses Biblical verses with subjects such chemistry or composition.”
Part of the first-grade "science" class offered by Accelerated Christian Education, a curriculum that the taxpayers of Louisiana will soon be supporting through their public tax dollars.
That’s not at all unusual. Almost all of the 125 private schools that have applied to accept voucher students in the 2012-13 school year are religious-based. Many teach creationism as science, some using curriculum provided through Accelerated Christian Education, an education ministry. Under its system, ACE boasts, “the school is not considered an arm of the church. It is the church in action.”
ACE’s first-grade curriculum, for example, teaches as science that God created the Earth in six days, that on Day One he divided the light from the darkness and on Day Six made man and other living creatures.
As another example of how intertwined church and state become, the Islamic School of Greater New Orleans initially indicated that it too would participate in the voucher program, but later withdrew after a political outcry. As state Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Watson, explained, vouchers are supposed to finance “teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion,” but “we need to ensure that it does not open the door to fund radical Islam schools…. I do not support using public funds for teaching Islam anywhere here in Louisiana.”
This is the type of program that voucher proponents in Georgia hope to emulate. Last week, for example, Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers acknowledged that if he had his way, such programs would have been implemented “yesterday,” specifically citing Louisiana as a model. But until full-blown implementation is possible, Rogers and others pursue half steps, such as the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot this November giving the state the power to create charter schools over the protest of local districts.
It is also consistent with proposals from GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who advocates turning federal aid for schools into individual grants “so that eligible students can choose which school to attend and bring funding with them.” Interestingly, the Romney plan avoids the term “vouchers”, although that is clearly how such grants would function.
That’s in keeping with the stealthy, incremental process by which this goal is being pursued.
– Jay Bookman
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560 comments Add your comment
Union
July 18th, 2012
10:02 am
you folks talking about this bain?
http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topcontribs.php#
http://www.opensecrets.org/parties/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cmte=DNC
im sure none of that money went to the obama pres campaign..
USinUK - pro-gay-marriage thug and former Girl Scout
July 18th, 2012
10:03 am
PE is important (particularly as the US has a childhood obesity epidemic)
music education and the arts are also important
GT
July 18th, 2012
10:03 am
Elephant in the room this is all about the economy. If we fix this desert of unemployed, health infested, uneducated that anchor this country down we are fixing the economy. The real elephant in the room is how we got here in the first place, Republican administration taking advantage of the southern appetite for believing anything. Ralph Reed has made a fortune off of the strategy as has the Bushes, Nixon and on and on, while we sit in a Greyhound bus station waiting for a bus that never comes to take us out of here.
Erwin's cat
July 18th, 2012
10:03 am
Pea – If you want to go to a PRIVATE school, pay for it yourself. Don’t use my tax dollars.
Isn’t that the same argument the other side uses…I want to send my kids to private schools using my tax dollars?? Does that mean those of us w/o kids in the system can get our tax dollars back? NO…I think that answers the question on whose tax dollars they really are..the govt’s
I have no kids in the system so I really don’t care, but if I did I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be with them in the APS system given recent events…no offense intended josef
If APS offered a better product this wouldn’t be an issue…or would it?
Jay made a great point earlier, that uneducated or low educated parents really have no idea how to position their kids for a higher education because they do not have adequate first hand experience.
TaxPayer
July 18th, 2012
10:04 am
It has to be easier for the uneducated parent to make those tough decisions regarding the value of a science or math class as opposed to learning how much Jesus loves them. I wonder if those charter schools will include courses on finance or if they’ll claim that their students are given first-hand experience on that topic and therefore don’t need a class to cover it. I’m sure they’ll feel quite indebted eventually for that experience though.
Brosephus™
July 18th, 2012
10:05 am
Because without private sector taxes and support govt doesn’t build anything. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.
So, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Without a strong government to back the currency, the private sector wouldn’t have money to pay taxes. You’d be working for chickens, eggs, goats, or any other form of bartering. You would think a small business owner would know as much.
St Simons - he-ne-ha
July 18th, 2012
10:06 am
Religion is made-up mythology. Religion is an attempt to explain
to the ignorant what they don’t understand. And that’s fine. You
can throw chickens feet, stick voodoo dolls, or arrogantly declare
you are the only ones going to ‘heaven’ all you want in the privacy
of your own home.
But your fundamentalist dogma has NO place in academic
education.
Ignorance is NOT a folksy virtue, Republicans, willful or otherwise.
HOT AIR
July 18th, 2012
10:06 am
You asked for it…….. go to google type in Georgia Federation of Teachers and you will see that they are a member of the AFLCIO. That is only one of the unions nation wide representing public school teachers – including those in Georgia.
Jerry Eads
July 18th, 2012
10:07 am
Rome burns.
TaxPayer
July 18th, 2012
10:07 am
Without government, who would established exchange rates for Massey Dollars and Koch Bucks and Monsanto Coins.
godless heathen
July 18th, 2012
10:07 am
You do realize that books are not the only form of educating people, right? PE is good physical exercise to break the boredom of sitting in a classroom all day. Also, there are much needed health benefits involved in that class. Not to mention that one can learn teamwork and cooperation from having to work with other classmates to achieve a common goal, which is the basis for most sports/athletic games.
I agree Bro, but times are hard, and people are taxed out the wazoo for these educational complexes that are built today. Back in the day ( oh no, here he goes about the good old days) a school would have one PE field and a gym. In town a large high school occupied a city block. Now is a Middle School having four athletic fields and a track more important than paying teachers a decent wage?
Brosephus™
July 18th, 2012
10:07 am
Figured I get the typical Obama defending on the Bain employee donations.
Make a typical statement, get a typical response. Seems to be the recurrent theme here.
GT
July 18th, 2012
10:08 am
They are tax deductible too, which mean not only do real tax dollars go to support them they also can detour money that never get to the tax stage. Then they tell minorities they are not allowed. Clever bigots are what they are. When we finally get Romney’s tax returns there will be a lot of this kind of stuff on it. Good old boys making tax loopholes to practice bigotry among other things.
Butch Cassidy (I)
July 18th, 2012
10:09 am
godless heathen – “people are taxed out the wazoo for these educational complexes that are built today.”
Exactly, stop having kids, and the need for these goes down. Which is why I still don’t understand the Rights position on abortion.
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:10 am
godless: I would think we would have a serious interest in helping to ensure we aren’t raising unhealthy kids.
Doggone/GA
July 18th, 2012
10:11 am
“but is more because of the lack of preparation to enter the system”
But that is part of the problem. Parents who, themselves, lack a good education are not prepared to get their children ready to enter school. In a country whose goal is universal education, we need to understand that the schools themselves might have to prepare the students to enter the schools. There’s no other way to raise each successive generation of children to be BETTER educated than their parents might be.
Pizzaman
July 18th, 2012
10:11 am
I’ll be 69 next month. Was educated, 16 yrs of Catholic school and a Masters from the Navy. My parents paid “school tax” even though my sister and I never attended public schools. I have paid school tax for 40 some years. If ANY state tries to take my tax money to teach “creationism” or “God made…. in 6 days”, I’ll probably be in jail for refusing to pay my school tax. The day this country gives up on public schools is the day we give up on education.
Oblama
July 18th, 2012
10:11 am
Brosephus – You have to use a little of the common sense you were given to figure it out. People form governments so they must have been here before the government. They worked before government existed – private enterprise was here before government. Just common sense.
A question
July 18th, 2012
10:11 am
Jay, you hate hate hate taking power out of the government hands do you. The real reason you and Lib are against this is because the little kiddies can not be mindlessly taught to be good little followers by the public sham of a school system.
USinUK - pro-gay-marriage thug and former Girl Scout
July 18th, 2012
10:11 am
“Figured I get the typical Obama defending on the Bain employee donations.”
if Obama gets donations from people serving in the military, does that mean that the Army is making those donations???
of course not.
Erwin's cat
July 18th, 2012
10:12 am
TP – I read a study that showed catholic school kids scored 23 points higher on average on the SAT than public school kids, but there are other factors besides quality of education, like parents with kids in private schools tend to put a higher priority on education etc. and private schools can pick and choose whom they educate…so get the pick of the litter so to speak
Doggone/GA
July 18th, 2012
10:13 am
“Isn’t that the same argument the other side uses…I want to send my kids to private schools using my tax dollars?? ”
That’s what they SAY, but what they try to legislate is using OUR tax dollars for private schools.
A question
July 18th, 2012
10:13 am
Also Jay, how about a little reasearch. What percentage of private schools in Louisiana are religious schools?
Joe Hussein Mama
July 18th, 2012
10:14 am
H. Air — “You asked for it…….. go to google type in Georgia Federation of Teachers and you will see that they are a member of the AFLCIO. That is only one of the unions nation wide representing public school teachers – including those in Georgia.”
Show us where there’s a GEORGIA teacher’s union that represents GEORGIA teachers, please.
GT
July 18th, 2012
10:14 am
Butch your comments on abortion is right on. Seems like the right could save itself a lot of energy with less people to hate if they killed them before they were born instead of torturing and killing em later.
Brosephus™
July 18th, 2012
10:14 am
godless
I agree with you on the extent of the fields and such. Back when I was in school (the good old days II: the sequel), our three high schools shared a football stadium, and baseball games were played on fields that were also used for different leagues. If anything, your observations point to how little emphasis we place on actual classroom instruction nowadays. My idea of a school would include all kinds of buildings for labs, classrooms, and anything else that could be used to prepare kids for entering the workforce. That’s just me though.
Butch Cassidy (I)
July 18th, 2012
10:15 am
BREAKING NEWS: Sheriff Joe Arpaio says Obama Birth Certificate Fraudulent!
SHOCKER!!!!!!!!!! :0
G.I. Joe
July 18th, 2012
10:15 am
Oblama- Liberals register ZERO on the common sense scale. Before you can tell them to use common sense you have to try to explain to them what common sense is – an impossible task for a liberal to comprehend. Don’t waste your time.
godless heathen
July 18th, 2012
10:16 am
godless: I would think we would have a serious interest in helping to ensure we aren’t raising unhealthy kids.
And so do I. We’ve been building these huge athletic complex schools for a long time. What have childhood obesity rates been doing?
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:18 am
Doggone: In a country whose goal is universal education
Ah, but there’s the rub. Some people actually want their populace to remain stupid, so they can continue to control them.
Brosephus™
July 18th, 2012
10:18 am
Oblama
Why don’t you address what I said. Common sense should show you where I was addressing CURRENCY, and not just business. People had businesses before governments were formed, but how many people could form their own currency that could be strongly backed to the point that every other person in the country would use it as well? People were here before government, as was businesses. Prior to government backing currency though, people bartered on what they saw as equal value. Care to go back and address what I said about currency now?
godless heathen
July 18th, 2012
10:18 am
our three high schools shared a football stadium, and baseball games were played on fields that were also used for different leagues.
And now the little darlings can’t even play softball on the baseball field.
Erwin's cat
July 18th, 2012
10:19 am
Adam – Some people actually want their populace to remain stupid, so they can continue to control them.
who would that be?
GT
July 18th, 2012
10:19 am
There are religious schools in the conventional sense that are very good schools. Westminster, Marist, Trinity all came from religious roots. Their purpose was education as was Princeton, Davidson and SMU. The trolls found a loophole in the good and now want to turn it around to a bad. Who will let them? Louisiana for one. We replace education for madness and the GOP stays in power, lucky us.
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:19 am
The real reason you and Lib are against this is because the little kiddies can not be mindlessly taught to be good little followers
Coming from someone whose party is opposed to “teaching critical thinking skills,” that is HILARIOUS.
Jay
July 18th, 2012
10:19 am
The self-serving post by “smartk12funding” (http://www.smartk12funding.com/leadingtheinitiative.html) was artfully wrought, mentioning NAEP (national standardized tests, AKA the Nation’s Report Card) but somehow never mentioning what NAEP actually tells us.
Let’s take a look at real state data, shall we?
In 1992, just 53 percent of Georgia fourth graders taking NAEP performed at a basic level of achievement in math. By 2011, that number had risen to 80 percent.
Here are the other Georgia NAEP numbers broken down:
Eighth grade math, achieving basic level
1990: 47 percent
2011: 68 percent
Fourth grade reading:
1992: 57 percent
2011: 66 percent
Eighth grade reading:
1998: 68 percent
2011: 74 percent
(All years noted are the earliest in which individual tests were given and the most recent. Source: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/)
The progress, while slow, is notable. We are still below the national average, but the gap has closed significantly. It is not good enough, but it is not the record of hopeless failure that advocates of vouchers wish to present.
HOT AIR
July 18th, 2012
10:20 am
Mama _ I just showed you. You do know the AFLCIO is a union? The Georgia Federation of Teachers pays dues to them. Can’t you comprehend? Google Georgia Federation of Teachers and you will see a big AFLCIO seal. What else do you need? Guess you just don’t accept facts.
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:20 am
Erwin’s Cat: Anyone who benefits from a stupid population, or believes that they benefit froma stupid population.
stands for decibels (SfBA)
July 18th, 2012
10:21 am
SFD, I along with everyone else couldn’t know the answer to that question in this lifetime but it’s possible.
Fair enough. Appreciate the reply, Del.
/drive-by
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:22 am
Also Jay, how about a little reasearch. What percentage of private schools in Louisiana are religious schools?
Are you contending that the private schools in Louisiana may have a majority, or at least a good amount, of NON religious private schools? If so, please present the evidence.
Butch Cassidy (I)
July 18th, 2012
10:22 am
Adam – “Anyone who benefits from a stupid population, or believes that they benefit froma stupid population.”
To make it simple, just think Newt Gingrich and the average Georgia voter.
Erwin's cat
July 18th, 2012
10:23 am
Adam – whose party is opposed to “teaching critical thinking skills”
what an completely partisan and stupid statement
BlondeHoney
July 18th, 2012
10:24 am
Hot Air, just because the GFT is an AFLCIO member does not mean they have collective bargaining rights for their members. They do not, so they are not a union in the traditional sense; they are a professional association that is an AFLCIO member. In GA it is illegal for teachers to be part of a collective bargaining agreement because the state sets the rules for tenure, etc. In Florida, where I come from, teachers are able to join a union if they choose, and the union has the right to bargain salary and benefits for its members (i.e. United Teachers of Dade). Big difference.
Brosephus™
July 18th, 2012
10:24 am
HOT AIR
Got copies of a Collective Bargaining Agreement that shows the Georgia Federation of Teachers actively represents any teachers in the State of Georgia when it comes to contract negotiation? If there is no CBA, is there actually union representation? That’s what you should be asking yourself since representation doesn’t mean jack without a CBA that can be enforced. Simple Union 101 that people with no union knowledge would fail to comprehend.
GT
July 18th, 2012
10:25 am
Jay is that because the average student tested is smarter or the average student nationwide, since population movement is going south, is dumber?
Aquagirl
July 18th, 2012
10:25 am
Sheriff Joe Arpaio says Obama Birth Certificate Fraudulent!
Technically it wasn’t Sheriff Joe, it was his volunteer Posse. Whose fact-finding mission included “listening in” on an interview of a 95 year old man’s recollection of technical codes used on birth certificates. Oh, and the interview was conducted by a guy who wrote a book on Obama’s supposedly fake birth certificate.
No wonder cons freak out over education, learning brings their children in direct conflict with their reality.
Joseph
July 18th, 2012
10:25 am
Joe Hussein Mama:
I have a problem funding gubmint programs including Obamacare… Libs don’t seem to mind forcing us to do that….
RJ
July 18th, 2012
10:25 am
Hey, let the GA polilticians force all the right wing kids into private religious schools. Then our public school classrooms will be less crowded and the teachers can give more attention to our kids.
Go for it you crazy republicans! Works for me and my kids! Especially when it comes to college admission – far less competition when these religious kids can’t even deal with basic science! Excellent plan for the future!
godless heathen
July 18th, 2012
10:26 am
The progress, while slow, is notable. We are still below the national average, but the gap has closed significantly
All with GOP in the governor’s chair and the legislature. SHOCKING! /sarc
Never been a great fan of Private Schools and vouchers, myself. In my community “everyone” sends their kids to private schools. IMO, the public schools would be much better if “everyone” had an interest in improving them.
Joseph
July 18th, 2012
10:26 am
Granny Godzilla – Union Thugette:
Then why do you people fight tooth and nail against school choice????
Butch Cassidy (I)
July 18th, 2012
10:27 am
Joseph – “I have a problem funding gubmint programs including Obamacare… Libs don’t seem to mind forcing us to do that….”
See, now your learning how taxes actually work. Everyone pays them, but you don’t get to decide which programs are funded and which are not. Welcome to the world of Status Quo.
Jerry Eads
July 18th, 2012
10:27 am
hot air, most of the rest of us continue to be awed at your and your ilk’s total ignorance of basic fact. There ARE NO UNIONS in the “right to work” state of Georgia. Our teacher organizations are indeed “affiliated” with the national organizations, but they have ZERO traditional union authority. We might point out to you anti-union high-school dropouts that you get to work something less than 7-day a week 12 hour days owned by the company store BECAUSE of unions. “The man” could care less about you other than as a disposable piece of the production process.
That said, NO, I do not like how actual unions (in union states) act these days either, and I do NOT think unions are a good thing for teachers, as they are highly educated and trained professionals, not factory workers. Their status should be more like doctors, not ditchdiggers. For that reason, the function of the teacher organizations in this state suits pretty well as they have NO traditional union power or authority but are primarily professional support organizations.
Joe Hussein Mama
July 18th, 2012
10:27 am
H. Air — “Mama _ I just showed you.”
Nope. You didn’t.
“You do know the AFLCIO is a union?”
Is it a *Georgia* union? (laughing)
“The Georgia Federation of Teachers pays dues to them.”
And?
“Can’t you comprehend? Google Georgia Federation of Teachers and you will see a big AFLCIO seal.”
Tell me about the bargaining power the GFT has with the state, why don’t you? Tell me about their contract with the State of Georgia. Explain to me the provisions of the latest GFT contract and when it expires.
Hmm?
“What else do you need?”
How about some actual *evidence* instead of supposition?
“Guess you just don’t accept facts.”
Guess you’re not much of a teacher.
Jay
July 18th, 2012
10:28 am
GP, national numbers are rising as well.
Joe Hussein Mama
July 18th, 2012
10:29 am
Joseph — “I have a problem funding gubmint programs including Obamacare… Libs don’t seem to mind forcing us to do that….”
Delta is ready when you are, Champ.
Oblama
July 18th, 2012
10:29 am
You said what was 1st the government or private enterprise? Government is not a God – it wasn’t here 1st. Governments rise and fall and it’s the “fall” part I’m concerned about with Obama.
Joe Hussein Mama
July 18th, 2012
10:30 am
Joseph — “Then why do you people fight tooth and nail against school choice????”
We don’t.
We fight tooth and nail against SUBSIDIZED school choice.
Pay for it yourself and we have no argument.
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:30 am
Erwin’s Cat: Adam – whose party is opposed to “teaching critical thinking skills”
what an completely partisan and stupid statement
Oh, you haven’t heard? It’s part of the platform in an “oops, we didn’t mean to let you KNOW that” way:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/texas_gops_2012_platform_accidentally_opposes_teaching_of_critical_thinking_skills.php
azazel
July 18th, 2012
10:30 am
the only gods that should be worshiped in any school syatem are: Tesla, Einstein, Newton and Darwin
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:31 am
I have a problem funding gubmint programs including Obamacare… Libs don’t seem to mind forcing us to do that…
Merging church and state – unconstitutional
Obamacare – CONSTITUTIONAL.
Big difference, chum.
Union
July 18th, 2012
10:32 am
Jerry Eads
July 18th, 2012
10:27 am
“The man” could care less about you other than as a disposable piece of the production process.”
unless you are a valuable employee and contribute to the companies bottom line.. but.. i understand why many would not know this..
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:33 am
You said what was 1st the government or private enterprise? Government is not a God – it wasn’t here 1st. Governments rise and fall and it’s the “fall” part I’m concerned about with Obama.
Old ways are not necessarily the best ways.
Peadawg
July 18th, 2012
10:33 am
“Then why do you people fight tooth and nail against school choice????”
B/c we don’t want to pay for YOUR kid’s private school education. Pay it yourself.
They BOTH suck
July 18th, 2012
10:34 am
HOT AIR
Doesn’t matter who represents the teachers in Ga. They have no collective bargaining rights
PERIOD……
kawasaki kid
July 18th, 2012
10:34 am
Education, prisons, and health services, like other vital public services such as water, gas, and electricity, should never be turned over to for-profit entrepeneurs. When profit becomes the sole objective, corruption will soon ruin everything.
Jefferson
July 18th, 2012
10:36 am
Last 12 years the GOP has and IS the problem. Before they acted like they had some brains, now they are just dumb.
THEY ARE THE PROBLEM. NO DOUBT.
Erwin's cat
July 18th, 2012
10:36 am
Adam – LOL…leave it to Texas
carlos would agree with Willingham that critical thinking skills can not be taught…
carlosgvv
July 18th, 2012
10:36 am
As fundamentalist Christians more and more become the face of The Republican Party, look for states, like Georgia, where Republicans are the majority to push for an increasing number of “voucher schools” which are nothing more than Christian Academys. This will insure that Georgia remains near or at the bottom in academic acheivement.
Naturally, this will not worry fundamentalist parents in the slightest. Why, you ask? Because, to them, “we’re only strangers here, heaven is our home”.
But, won’t Republican politicians worry about this dumbing down? Get real!! The only things they worry about are getting elected and keeping their corporate sponsors happy.
Butch Cassidy (I)
July 18th, 2012
10:38 am
Jefferson – “Last 12 years the GOP has and IS the problem. Before they acted like they had some brains, now they are just dumb.”
I have to disagree, there are many on the GOP side that are actually pretty good and are willing to work in the best interest of the country as a whole. The problem, is that for some reason, the party faithful have decided to endorse the fruitcakes and the third stringers.
Brosephus™
July 18th, 2012
10:39 am
Oblama
Are you comprehensively reading deficient? What I said was: “Without a strong government to back the currency, the private sector wouldn’t have money to pay taxes.” Now, the question is, how in the hell do you glean what you THINK I said from that statement there. Those were my exact words. If you notice, I mention government backing CURRENCY. Geez… Common sense is not your friend.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
July 18th, 2012
10:39 am
Well, things is looking up. Maybe GA can move to this LA school idea. I’m sick of how the public schools raise a fuss when you want to take a kid out to go to a NASCAR race. And I’m real tired of this godless system they have in public schools where the teacher can’t lead the class in a Christian prayer and they can’t even teach about Adam and Eve without talking about this man-come-from-monkeys business. It’s about time we could use our tax money to send kids to school where they can learn what we want them to learn.
That’s my opinion and it’s very true. I say let rednecks be rednecks. Our people are going to be wiped right off of the map if they keep up with all this fancy-smancy edumacation.
Erwin's cat
July 18th, 2012
10:40 am
and he may be right
Tancred
July 18th, 2012
10:41 am
Cultural change does take time, but one should not assume that such change is progressive; what we are seeing here is cultural regression. It’s kinda like DEVO’s idea of devolution. Are the Tea Partiers not men? They are DEVO!
I feel lucky that my dad used to take me to the New York Museum of Natural History rather than some creation “museum.”
godless heathen
July 18th, 2012
10:42 am
As fundamentalist Christians more and more become the face of The Republican Party
I think the influence of the fundies has peaked. A Mormon will be on the ballot on November with (R) by his name.
HOT AIR
July 18th, 2012
10:44 am
Heh the AFLCIO says they are a member….. are you saying the AFLCIO is lying? They pay dues to the AFLCIO. The union hired lawyers to fight the firing of the teachers in the cheating scandal. Teacher’s unions should put children first, not cheating teachers. That is my point. I’m not opposed to unions in the private sector- opposed to unions in the public sector- ad opposed to their misguided effort to defend unqualified teachers. Cheating teachers that corrupt the system for our children should not be protected by the AFLCIO but they are because they pay dues. I have already asked this question once with no reply – do you think the teachers involved in the cheating scandal should keep their job?
Adam
July 18th, 2012
10:44 am
I think the influence of the fundies has peaked. A Mormon will be on the ballot on November with (R) by his name.
Heh!
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
July 18th, 2012
10:44 am
Ah ……………… JAY must have some inside scoop that Jindal is going to be the V.P. nominee.
Therefore, the Bookman “Obama for President” Blog continues.
Jm (LL) -pass TSPLOST silly people
July 18th, 2012
10:45 am
Charter schools are a good and better answer
GA is way behind in charter schools
LA is also volunteering itself as a guinea pig
Thanks LA, even if I think their new legislation is probably a mistake
Mick
July 18th, 2012
10:46 am
America’s dirty little secret; while public schools have been held accountable through testing, private schools have not. Most public schools, not all, are actually superior or at least you know where they rank. Private schools? Except for the obvious, most are very poor at the higher content levels (biology, chemistry, calculus), but definitely excel in religious studies. That’s not going to cut it in the technological age…
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
July 18th, 2012
10:46 am
They BOTH suck:
“Doesn’t matter who represents the teachers in Ga. They have no collective bargaining rights
PERIOD……”
Good ……….. I didn’t in my 34 year law enforcement career either nor should I have.
Jefferson
July 18th, 2012
10:47 am
The country could be running in tip top shape, everyone employed, no debt and some of ya’ll would still vote for Romney, so spare me you faux rationalzations, its so phoney.
Jm (LL) -pass TSPLOST silly people
July 18th, 2012
10:47 am
No education without testing standardization!
JWA77
July 18th, 2012
10:47 am
A child sent to private school or home schooled puts no tax burden on the public. This is why I think the parents of these kids should just be reimbursed for whatever taxes they paid for public schools.
Jay
July 18th, 2012
10:49 am
a child sent to private school or home schooled puts no tax burden on the public. This is why I think the parents of these kids should just be reimbursed for whatever taxes they paid for public schools.
So by that theory, taxpayers who have no kids at all should also be reimbursed, since they too put no tax burden on the public, correct?
And there goes the whole concept of public schools.
East Lake Ira
July 18th, 2012
10:50 am
JWA77
July 18th, 2012
10:47 am
A child sent to private school or home schooled puts no tax burden on the public. This is why I think the parents of these kids should just be reimbursed for whatever taxes they paid for public schools.
So if I don’t commit any crimes nor am I a victim of one I should get a rebate on Police dollars, right?
If I don’t use the fire department, I should get a refund, right?
the cat
July 18th, 2012
10:51 am
Hot Air-I truly hope you teach at a religious school.
Brosephus™
July 18th, 2012
10:51 am
JHM: Delta is ready when you are, Champ.
After reading that, I just had to share this one here.
http://miniatlanta.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/img00058.jpg
http://miniatlanta.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/mini-delta-side.jpg
Erwin's cat
July 18th, 2012
10:51 am
JWA77 @10:47 – what about the kidless taxpayers …can they get a check too?
Butch Cassidy (I)
July 18th, 2012
10:52 am
JWA77 – ” child sent to private school or home schooled puts no tax burden on the public. This is why I think the parents of these kids should just be reimbursed for whatever taxes they paid for public schools.”
Sounds great, while we’re at it, I don’t use any of the welfare services available, so I should get a refund for that as well. Oh, and the Star Wars initiative never really panned out either, so I think I should get my taxes back on that too.
Jm (LL) -pass TSPLOST silly people
July 18th, 2012
10:53 am
The education solutions are apparent
The political will is not
Aquagirl
July 18th, 2012
10:54 am
A child sent to private school or home schooled puts no tax burden on the public. This is why I think the parents of these kids should just be reimbursed for whatever taxes they paid for public schools.
Let’s see…their kid isn’t consuming tax dollars, therefore we should give them tax dollars from people who aren’t consuming tax dollars because they don’t have school age children.
Gotcha.
HOT AIR
July 18th, 2012
10:55 am
You threw in the Georgia Union part not me. I never said they had collective bargaining power. I was talking about the AFLCIO hiring lawyers to defend teachers in the cheating scandal in Georgia. The GFTA is a member of the AFLCIO ( a nationwide union). That is all I said. I NEVER said they had collective bargaining power. I just said they are a dues paying member of the AFLCIO. You decided to take this beyond what I said. It’s in writing – don’t put words in my mouth. Are you a member of TTP? The Thought Police.
Jm (LL) -pass TSPLOST silly people
July 18th, 2012
10:55 am
I want the Atlanta mayor to be able to pick the superintendent, subject to BOE approval….
Jay
July 18th, 2012
10:56 am
Hot Air, I think you’re badly off the mark. I do not believe the Georgia teacher associations have anything to do with the AFL-CIO. If you have documentation to the contrary, please post it.
One of the things those associations do provide their members is access to legal counsel should they need it. Many other professional associations offer similar services. Are you suggesting that the teachers in question should not have representation as they go through the due process system?
Union
July 18th, 2012
10:57 am
Joe Hussein Mama
July 18th, 2012
10:30 am
“Pay for it yourself and we have no argument”
what “we” is this your are speaking of? .. taxpayers?
Mandingo
July 18th, 2012
10:58 am
This ponzi scheme will collapse like all of the others the GOP Johnny Rebs come up with.. Stick with licensed teachers that have demonstrated a level of competence to teach. Help your child at home and work with and get to know his teachers.
A question
July 18th, 2012
10:58 am
Adam, just looked at about half the parrishes in Louisiana private schools 97 religious 29 non religious.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
July 18th, 2012
10:59 am
“President Barack Obama’s Jobs Council hasn’t met publicly for six months, even as the issue of job creation dominates the 2012 election.
At this point, the hiatus — which reached the half-year mark Tuesday — might be less awkward than an official meeting, given the hornet’s nest of issues that could sting Obama and the council members if the private-sector panel gets together.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78637.html#ixzz20zDz33AA
Joe Hussein Mama
July 18th, 2012
10:59 am
H. Air — “Heh the AFLCIO says they are a member….. are you saying the AFLCIO is lying?”
There’s no contract and no collective bargaining rights, so how exactly is that a union?
“They pay dues to the AFLCIO. The union hired lawyers to fight the firing of the teachers in the cheating scandal.”
And the ACLU defended Rush Limbaugh in his doctor-shopping escapades. Does that make the ACLU a conservative Republican outfit?
“Teacher’s unions should put children first, not cheating teachers. That is my point.”
Then sharpen your aim and complain about the AFLCIO, not the nonexistent Georgia Teachers’ Union.
“I’m not opposed to unions in the private sector- opposed to unions in the public sector- ad opposed to their misguided effort to defend unqualified teachers. Cheating teachers that corrupt the system for our children should not be protected by the AFLCIO but they are because they pay dues.”
Grind your axe elsewhere. There’s no GA teachers union.
“I have already asked this question once with no reply – do you think the teachers involved in the cheating scandal should keep their job?”
Guess what? You just asked it a second time with no reply.
My only interest here is in correcting your misapprehension that there’s actually a teachers’ union in GA. Any other causes or issues you have in that regard are completely irrelevant to me.
A question
July 18th, 2012
11:00 am
Thats about a 75% rate of private schools in Louisiana are religious. I would think that most schools appying for the vouchers would then be religious schools.