Ambiguously Gendered Revenge of "What is the Hivemind?"

[Jdvn1]

Maryland *is* one of the better states. That's why, since I've had personal experience, I can tell you with confidence that your quest would almost certainly make you a Don Quixote...

Quite possibly. But I do hae some things going for me too. I have a buddy by the last name of Dewhurst -- son of the Lietenant Governor of Texas, the most powerful position in the state (governor has no power here). I have another buddy by the last name of Radack, son of the Land Commissioner (top five most powerful people in Texas), and another friend who's the daughter of another official, although I don't know his position. Also, the last two or three Secretaries of Education have come from the school district I want to work for (for that precise reason).

That doesn't mean it's likely I'll get there, but I do have a much better chance than most. And if I do (and even if I fall well short), I can do a lot of good to further education in the US.

Sure, maybe it's foolish, but it's the most noble profession a person can have and it's definitely worth trying for.

 

[Rystil Arden]

I'm always cynical when people say "we have the best public schools around." If you're comparing your school to the rest of the state or the rest of the nation, you're already lost. Compared to every other industrialized nation, the US is dismal. You're saying your the best among a nation of dismal schools? Good for you, I guess.

And if you want change in schools, parents and students aren't going to do it. Get teachers on your side. Once the Teacher's Union is involved, administrators start listening.

Oh, the teachers were against it too. They wrote letters, same as the rest. The Board of Ed ignored them and/or fired them with impunity. Also, I said we had some of the best public schools *around.* Didn't say they were good, just the best in the area, and I think they were pretty damn good. At least, some of the classes were comparable or better to the quality of equivalent MIT classes...

 

[Jdvn1]

Read the bit after that, too, Rystil.

Mass is weight/gravity.

Like I said, the slash is division.

 

[Jdvn1]

Mass doesn't involve equations to understand....though you can certainly use it in equations

Well, I wasn't trying to relate that to mass specifically, but that is true. Mass is just stuff.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Read the bit after that, too, Rystil.Like I said, the slash is division.

That isn't correct either. Gravity is a force. You are thinking of acceleration due to gravity.

 

[Jdvn1]

Well this was a county Superintendent, so no access to millions, but the boss Superintendent of the county lowered the pay for teachers while simultaneously purchasing himself a $20,000 set of furniture and a professional portrait with a precious-metal frame to hang of himself.

Interestingly, there is no relation between teacher pay and student performance. Sure, he's a moron, but.

 

[Crothian]

I started a Story Hour!!

 

[Jdvn1]

She didn't have a good record. She was relatively new, and had not done anything of note except sit there and get money. Even the few ideas (all bad) that the Superintendent did initiate started with the other Assistant Superintendent, not her.

Well, she had to have a decent record to get the job, at least. But if she didn't that's worse, because maybe she had dirt on everyone else.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Well, she had to have a decent record to get the job, at least. But if she didn't that's worse, because maybe she had dirt on everyone else.

She didn't really do anything, nor did she have a record in the area. She did have a master's degree, and her race and gender. That's about it. And her husband, a disbarred lawyer who was disbarred for threatening people at the court...

 

[Jdvn1]

Oh, the teachers were against it too. They wrote letters, same as the rest. The Board of Ed ignored them and/or fired them with impunity.

If so, that's either not legal or they weren't part of the Union. If they were part of the Union, they immediately got their jobs back. Maybe there wasn't enough teacher support, though?

Also, I said we had some of the best public schools *around.* Didn't say they were good, just the best in the area, and I think they were pretty damn good. At least, some of the classes were comparable or better to the quality of equivalent MIT classes...

Oh, it's just a pet peeve of mine. My high school probably had classes comparable to most colleges too. But being the best in an area in the US says very little. If you said your high school was good and not compared it to anything else, I wouldn't have said anything.