Mayor McCrory & Education
Charlotte Mayor
Pat McCrory is the perfect example of what is termed a "RINO" (Republican in Name Only). Each year he runs on the Republican ticket, and he gets the votes of the Republicans. Every year he votes and works for the Democrats, so he gets the votes of the Democrats. He has been mayor of Charlotte since 1995, and he is
running again this year, basically unopposed.
As of the writing of this article, his web site does not have any information. However, I heard a clip of his announcement on the radio. He claims he's working to expand light rail (liberal plan), reduce crime (not possible with Democrats on the city council), and tell our children what is acceptable in a polite society (liberal plan).
Well, Mayor (who has absolutely no say or control regarding the schools, that's for the school board) McCrory -- you want to know what's wrong with our schools? How about them encouraging cheating and then insisting that nothing is wrong with it?
The Rhino Times is reporting regarding an "investigation" into allegations by a teacher that he was forced to inflate grades (hat tip to Bill James.
Ok, no further than the first sentence and hopefully you can spot the problem. Person A accuses organization B of wrongdoing. So let's have organization B "investigate." Does anyone on this planet actually think there was even a 0.00001% chance that the organization will find they did anything wrong? Only if you live in a self-proclaimed "reality-based world" -- which means you're a Democrat and believe anything and everything government says.
But hey, it gets worse!
The result of the "investigation" (remember, this is the school investigating itself for wrongdoing): It is likely that people lied and cheated, but no one did anything wrong.
This is what passes for education when you allow a horribly corrupt government-run system educate your children. They are actually learning that people in power, if supported by government, are 100% completely free to lie and cheat, and there is NOTHING wrong with it. Nothing at all.
The teachers in question claim that the principal ordered them to give no student any grade lower than 60%. An email was even obtained that showed he did that. According to the superintendent of schools at the time (a six-figure government salary earner), principals have the final authority to determine all grades for all students, regardless of teacher decisions.
Oh, and one reason for inflating the grades even more -- lack of attendance. Yes, if you are a student and doing poorly, all you have to do is start NOT SHOWING UP and your grade will go up because you didn't have the opportunity to learn SINCE YOU WEREN'T THERE.
And want some real leadership? The chairman of the county board of education, after finding out all the facts outlined here said, "If thatÂ’s what the superintendent and staff said then thatÂ’s what I agree with."
Folks, you absolutely cannot trust your children to the government. Government schools really, really do stink, and they're getting worse. Nothing in this post was hyperbole -- this garbage is really true. There is NO room for education in today's government schools. If you care about your children, get them out. It may not be easy or convenient for you, but you are harming your children by putting them there.
Posted by: Ogre at
05:03 AM
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1
We operate on a system with three six-week terms per semester. Our district has a policy of "no grades below a 50", on the theory that the lower grades could make it impossible for a kid to ever pass. We teachers don't have a problem with that per se -- except when it comes to the third six-week term. After all, there is no way a student can "recover" from the final term of the semester. What's more, the kids know this, and some figure their average and "slide" during that third term, knowing that they cannot fail the semster if they do so.
And we won't get in to the question of a kid who misses 90% of the semester but ends up with a grade of 50.
Posted by: Rhymes With Right at July 20, 2005 09:24 AM (3VVx3)
2
I can see the reasoning behind that sort of system, but I do think it's still dishonest. If the child did 20% of the work the first third, they deserve a 20. If they do 100% of the work the remaining two-thirds, that averages out to 73. Some people aren't supposed to have high school diplomas, and some people simply do not want them. Why do we FORCE people to get them, especially when they have so little meaning anymore?
Posted by: Ogre at July 20, 2005 10:32 AM (/k+l4)
3
"Government schools really do stink?" Excuse me. Which government schools? Where? How, exactly do they stink and why? Does not the fact that someone blew the whistle indicate that at least someone is at least trying to do right within this single school?
Certainly there is administrative stupidity in some schools, but not the majority. If that was true, we would be facing a very real, national disaster. We are not.
If a school board is filled with ninnies, the voters--and here we assume they are not themselves ninnies--have the means to eject them from office and replace them with capable people. That ninnies retain control of school boards is not a comment on the schools and the teachers who struggle mightily to improve them, but on the public who all too often, just don't care.
Posted by: Mike at July 20, 2005 09:23 PM (G5PGV)
4
I went to school in Charlotte back in 74-76. The system was atrocious then. Anyone who had money sent their kids to private school. (We didn't have money.)
One of my closest friends moved to Charlotte five years ago. The system is still atrocious. Two of her kids are in private school. The other is in public school. N- has the math and language skills of an eighth grader but will be graduating this next year. The school passed her in all her classes, despite the fact that she failed most of them, at least by grade.
It's at least as bad as this post describes and I don't see how people can't know it. But they don't act on it. That's obvious. Otherwise, thirty years later, it wouldn't still be terrible.
Posted by: Suzi at July 21, 2005 12:23 AM (3TZQi)
5
Mike -- the fact that someone blew the whistle was good -- but it was a former employee, and the school actually admitted that they lied and cheated, but then declared that NOTHING WAS WRONG. How can anyone consider a system that claims lying and cheating is not wrong is anything but garbage?
Also, I do believe we are facing a national disaster. Take a look at how many people who have high school diplomas from the 21st century that cannot calculate their own overtime pay, find France on a map, or name the second president of the United States.
As for the school board being replaced, you have to realize that the voters do not have that choice. In Mecklenburg County, the school board is ruled by the Democrats who gerrymander districts to absolutely ensure there is zero competition for the school board -- no one else has a chance -- and the elections are rigged in that illegal votes are counted in the very corrupt system.
Suzi, I think the biggest reason people don't act on it is that they don't want to admit "their" school is bad. If they did that, they've have to admit that their child was getting by. It's much easier for people to just look the other way, send them to private school (as you mentioned), or just teach them at home.
It is a horrible, broken, garbage-filled system. Government should absolutely and entirely get out of the business of schooling because they simply cannot do the job. The education system today is about money and power and has absolutely nothing to do with actual education or learning.
Posted by: Ogre at July 21, 2005 07:32 AM (/k+l4)
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