FB: Liberty League

[PBR...]

whew...ol' reg certainly has taken the aluminum bat and swung and hit the hornets nest...LOL

[PBR...]

snoop dogg and buzz aldrin droppin' it like its hot and gettin their jiggy on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-fcRLrSA9A


and the actual video of buzz aldrin gettin' his hip hop on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WthKhHNSCQc

[Regulator]

whew...ol' reg certainly has taken the aluminum bat and swung and hit the hornets nest...LOL

PBR-

This was an interesting topic and I definately learned a few things.  I understand that this is very personal to some people, since they deal or have dealt with it before.  I hope it didn't come across as me painting with a broad "teachers are bad" brush. 

I'm not sure that I have completely been convinced that things within the education system can't be changed.  Accontability needs to fall with someone....I guess we just need to find someone to point at.

Hornets nests aside, thank you teachers....(the good ones)

[PBR...]

whew...ol' reg certainly has taken the aluminum bat and swung and hit the hornets nest...LOL

PBR-

This was an interesting topic and I definately learned a few things.  I understand that this is very personal to some people, since they deal or have dealt with it before.  I hope it didn't come across as me painting with a broad "teachers are bad" brush. 

I'm not sure that I have completely been convinced that things within the education system can't be changed.  Accontability needs to fall with someone....I guess we just need to find someone to point at.

Hornets nests aside, thank you teachers....(the good ones)

you are correct reg, and pbr has been working w/ the school board (neighbor and friend are on the board) and teachers to find common ground and work together. even pilot some test programs and see how they work out. BUT the f'n military union will not budge 1 inch on anything, yet they tell all the media how they want to work w/ the board and families to raise the bar for the teachers be held responsible....it gets more than tiring hearing the same b.s. from the union heads. feel like kicking them all in the azz sometimes.....pbr shouldnt rant just about the union either, some board members are total tools as well. these people have no f'n clue on budget/taxes/finance yet they are making decisions on >100million dollar new schools and budgets. some of these people are so inept it astounds me they can balance their checkbook. they keep trying to get pbr on the board and its almost to the point of complete frustration that pbr is seriously considering doing it other than mpbr knows the barrage of all the headaches and phone calls/emails. my friend on the board has random people/parents stopping at his house at all hours to complain about ish....that is why they want pbr on the board because pbr has a bad habit of calling it like pbr see's it and not sugar coating things and will readily call out union heads/teachers/board members on stupidity and arrogance

[AUPepBand]

Pep encourages LL posters to view the linked video to be introduced to A-P Football Coach Ed Thomas, who was murdered yesterday morning...

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/45146242.html?video=pop&t=a

He was a class act, a successful coach in the true sense of the word, both in Wins and Losses on the field, but more importantly, in encouraging young men to become successful in life...as husbands, fathers, citizens. His emphasis was relationships. Pep never knew the guy, but mourns his loss just the same because it's apparent this guy was the real deal. Pep's prayers are for those he left behind...and for the disturbed young man who took Coach Thomas' life. 'Tis a sad day for football indeed.

[dlippiel]

whew...ol' reg certainly has taken the aluminum bat and swung and hit the hornets nest...LOL

PBR-

This was an interesting topic and I definately learned a few things.  I understand that this is very personal to some people, since they deal or have dealt with it before.  I hope it didn't come across as me painting with a broad "teachers are bad" brush. 

I'm not sure that I have completely been convinced that things within the education system can't be changed.  Accontability needs to fall with someone....I guess we just need to find someone to point at.

Hornets nests aside, thank you teachers....(the good ones)

Reg to be honest I really thoguht you made some great points, ones that made an impression on me and gave me insight to some valuable perceptions. I realize that not only do I owe my students the best I have everyday but I also owe the entire community the best I have. I feel that you are so right on with accountability and unfortunately the ****ing teacher's union (my teachers union) really sucks ass and impedes so much possible progress and growth in education. I think Utah made a good suggestion yesterday regarding cameras inside classrooms. I would be totally cool with that. pbr makes good points as well regarding school boards and the amount of influence and control they actually have on how schools run. Here in Shocktown we have one of the MOST CORRUPT IN NYS! I don't know pbr personally, but from reading many of his posts he seems as if he would be a huge asset to his cities board and the children in his communtiy if he chooses to take part. Don't ya just love the LLPP? We get more done here in a day then the NYS senate in a year!

[PBR...]

R.I.P. Farah Fawcett...

[Jonny Utah]

Just because someone mentioned it I was curious....

I heard in Westchester County, NY that people pay real estate tax AND a school tax?  Is that true there or anywhere else?  Or do only people with kids have to pay a school tax?  That might be a stupid question but I was just wondering.

Here in MA you just pay the real estate taxes that range from 9-13% depending on the town.  That pays for all town services except for water and sometimes trash pickup and other small fee based services.  (ex: a house assessed at 500K in a nice town would pay 6K a year in taxes)

[JT]

If you take a baseline coming in to the year and a test leaving the year then you will see how much incremental growth that the students have developed.  If the growth isn't high enough to get them to the "unrealistic" test, then the administrator should answer to that.  Is it that the test is too hard for the age student it's being given to?  Does the cirriculum not match the test?  I have to ask, how unrealistic is a test if 80% of all students in that age group and grade pass it?

If the baseline from the previous year isn't high enough, then the teacher responsible for that would be held accountable when the students are tested the previous year. (and fail)
If the teacher hasn't taken the students from the baseline to an acceptable level, they would be dealt with.

I am just sick of someone being considered a great teacher (manager) based on people liking them.  And the whole "wonderful kids" comment struck a nerve, because at the end of the day, being wonderful doesn't always get the job done.

Reg-just the fact that you state "unrealistic" tests tells me you really don't know what these kids are asked to do, performance wise, to say they have been successful during a certain year and/or the teacher has been successful. See what I believe you are missing here is that teaching is not a bar graph, its not a profession that is in anyway related to a buisness, at least in a classroom. It is about 80 % social and 20% data based. I just would love to see all the "haters" who love to bitch like ****ing babies about teachers come and spend a day in a classroom with some very challenged students. The funny thing is is that everyone here is a ****ing expert because they ahve gone through school so they know exactly what needs to be done. Our social structure in this country is ****ed. People take no responsiblity for there actions anymore period, especially in urban areas (parenting). I mean suburban schools across the nation are doing fantastic, hands ****ing down, no questions needed. I urban areas children have little to no experience at home with math or exposure to literature at a young age. Then when they are taught all day long they go right back into the world from where they came. A world that is surronded by violence, family disfunction, and drugs. And yet its teachers fault that these kids are not scoring the same as suburban students so are schools are failing? Give me a ****ing break. Be as cold and close minded as you want and think that teachers are failing across the country. How can "wonderful kids" strike a nerve? It strikes a nerve with me that these kids, who are so troubled, are seen as failures because htey don't pass a ****ing standardized test. And their teachers who love them and give them the only caring they ever get are failures because of a test. Bull****. Be a hard liner who takes nothing into account all you want. You don't know and or don't want to hear what is really going on. I am ****ing done with this debate.

JT has taught before and he has seen the result of loser parent(s). Parents who let the school system "raise" their kids.  He's also seen single a mom barely 5' 1" kicking the sh*t out of her 6'+ son because he was disrespecting a teacher. But you have start somewhere with testing.

We have to punish those teachers that are mailing it in.  Give me a teacher with passion.  A teacher with passion reaches more students.

[PBR...]

Just because someone mentioned it I was curious....

I heard in Westchester County, NY that people pay real estate tax AND a school tax?  Is that true there or anywhere else?  Or do only people with kids have to pay a school tax?  That might be a stupid question but I was just wondering.

Here in MA you just pay the real estate taxes that range from 9-13% depending on the town.  That pays for all town services except for water and sometimes trash pickup and other small fee based services.  (ex: a house assessed at 500K in a nice town would pay 6K a year in taxes)

pbr pays real estate and school taxes they are broken apart and paid separately....they were looking into people w/ kids no longer in schools not having to pay school taxes anymore but it would create a gigantic shortfall. so more realistic is they are looking into freezing your school taxes when either your kids are no longer in school or when you officially file for retirement in collecting social security etc...

[JT]

R.I.P. Farah Fawcett...

Sad day.  She was THE poster girl when JT starting hitting "that age".  She fought a long hard battle, hopefully she has now found peace.

[dlippiel]

R.I.P. Farah Fawcett...

Sad day.  She was THE poster girl when JT starting hitting "that age".  She fought a long hard battle, hopefully she has now found peace.

I hear ya there. RIP Farah, what a beautiful woman!

[Jonny Utah]

Just because someone mentioned it I was curious....

I heard in Westchester County, NY that people pay real estate tax AND a school tax?  Is that true there or anywhere else?  Or do only people with kids have to pay a school tax?  That might be a stupid question but I was just wondering.

Here in MA you just pay the real estate taxes that range from 9-13% depending on the town.  That pays for all town services except for water and sometimes trash pickup and other small fee based services.  (ex: a house assessed at 500K in a nice town would pay 6K a year in taxes)

pbr pays real estate and school taxes they are broken apart and paid separately....they were looking into people w/ kids no longer in schools not having to pay school taxes anymore but it would create a gigantic shortfall. so more realistic is they are looking into freezing your school taxes when either your kids are no longer in school or when you officially file for retirement in collecting social security etc...

Ok, so everyone does have to pay the school tax no matter what?  I was just curious, and I dont know how much your average home goes for down there (150K, 300K, 750K?).  But what would your everage family have to pay for both in an average town down there in lets say a 300K house?

[Garnet]

I can't stop laughing JU. That is a good one.  $300,000 house in Westchester County???  bwahhhahhhahahh.

although prices have come down quite a bit they are still crazy

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1128627/westchester-county-median-home-price-dips-below-500-000

[Jonny Utah]

I can't stop laughing JU. That is a good one.  $300,000 house in Westchester County???  bwahhhahhhahahh.

although prices have come down quite a bit they are still crazy

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1128627/westchester-county-median-home-price-dips-below-500-000

Im actually thinking of my cousin that lives up near Peekskill.  A little differen than the westchester you are thinking of down by the city.  He has a decent house for around 350K.